For most law firms, business development starts and ends with increasing billable hours and capturing new business. As a result, they fail to nurture relationships with existing clients. That’s a mistake that can cost firms not only new clients, but their existing ones as well.
Why are existing clients so important to your firm’s bottom line. A recent article by LexisNexis’ Business of Law Blog revealed that acquisition of a new client costs the average firm 10 times more than keeping an existing customer, and that a mere five-percent increase in retention can increase a firm’s profits up to 125 percent.
So, why, then, does that same article cite a 33 percent contract drop rate by clients in the past year? One reason may have to do with firm priorities. Getting attorneys to engage in activity that eats into their billable hours is no mean feat. And, sure, no one likes to see a drop in hours, but the potential revenue at stake should give more than one partner pause.
How can your firm put a strategy in place for nurturing existing client relationships and turning them into new-revenue generators? Download our latest white paper, “How to use existing clients to unlock new business,” to find out.
