The Loss of the Client, a High Cost for the Lawyer

Among the various teachings that the economic crisis has provided to lawyers, we could highlight the value that the client has for every office, especially when we have a more competitive professional services market (especially in prices), in which the client has become more demanding in his requirements and less loyal in his relationship, knowing that in a scenario of lack of liquidity, any economic effort he makes should be justly compensated by one of the many professionals who they will offer their services.

One of the main risks of this scenario is the greater likelihood that the client, attracted by a wide range of services, can stop having his lawyer, a loss that, in the current economic situation, will be more expensive than ever.

In this context, it is fundamental for the Defence Lawyer Alberta to deploy all his skills to retain the client and avoid loss, although in the present post we are going to refer to the cost of the loss of a client.

The costs of losing the customer can be classified as direct costs and indirect costs. The first refers to those costs that are perceived by the Defence Lawyer Alberta immediately; the seconds are those that are not apparent and only manifest in the long term. Next, we proceed to its detail:

1. Direct costs.

The loss of income: Logically, the loss of the client is a financial loss for the office, since the client provides us with periodic or irregular income, but in any case income. It is enough to make a statistics of the billing related to client to have an approximate idea of this tangible and direct cost. Naturally, the loss of income will mean a reduction of the benefit or, sometimes, a greater loss of the year.

2. Indirect costs.

    1. Loss of recommendation opportunities: A client satisfied with our services is our best ambassador (prescriber) to potential clients, because when he has the opportunity, he will recommend us to his friends, relatives, and acquaintances. In fact, word of mouth is one of the most efficient advertising systems available to the firm.
    2. Loss of reputation: A dissatisfied customer will not be limited to leaving the office, but as soon as he has the opportunity, he will transmit his dissatisfaction in his personal circle, thus generating damage to the reputation of the firm and, logically, the loss of opportunity to attract future clients who will go to another office that has better references. While there are many statistics on the matter, a dissatisfied customer will tell his experience to an average of 10 people.
    3. Costs generated in customer acquisition: Although it is a difficult concept to quantify, the truth is that the acquisition of the lost customer represents an important cost that in many cases has not been able to be compensated at the time of the client's departure, and both will mean an economic loss.
    4. Costs needed to attract new customers: Experts estimate that getting a customer costs seven times more than maintaining it. Consequently, the loss of a client necessarily entails the realization of new efforts to attract another client with which we can recover the lost billing, efforts that will entail a high added cost. Explore more info at : http://gracialaw.ca/offences/