LawNet, the network for independent law firms in the UK and Ireland, published its white paper, Targeting Exceptional Client Experience. Here we summarise the top 5 lessons for law firms from LawNet.
LawNet conducted research across 70,000 surveys and 5,000 reviews over six years. Want to read LawNet’s whitepaper in full? You can download it here.
Lesson 1 – Poor client experience costs
With £122 billion lost to the UK economy each year through poor customer experience and 55% of consumers willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience, giving clients a great experience is no longer a “nice-to-have”.
Lesson 2 – take client experience seriously
LawNet’s research found that the key to good client experience is building a client-focused strategy. This needs to be a focus of Senior Management and some firms have already adopted this approach. In 2018 Slater and Gordon, one of the UK’s biggest consumer law firms, appointed its first Chief Customer Officer, with the objective of helping grow the business through an unrelenting focus on the customer.
Lesson 3 – understand the entire client journey
Map out all of the touchpoints of interaction with clients. Think about what their expectations are vs their actual experience. Consider how you can use technology and other solutions to improve your client’s experience. From their first interaction with you, whether that’s your website through to completing compliance checks right through to how they can pay their invoice, giving exceptional client experience means thinking about, and improving, each stage of the customer journey.
Lesson 4 – communicate, communicate… and communicate!
With recommendations and previous contact with a law firm being the most persuasive factors in deciding to appoint a law firm, reputation through delivering great client experience is critical to increasing revenue. LawNet’s research found that the most important area to target is communication: keeping clients updated on progress (even if there is no substantive update), sticking to timescales or explaining why timing has shifted and regular updates on costs.
Lesson 5 – it’s all about simplicity
“Streamlining existing processes or developing new solutions to enhance and simplify the client experience is the foundation for a customer-centric approach, enabling staff to deliver on the cultural promise.” It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about streamlining it. A simplified client experience, like having a way to pay an invoice in 2 steps rather than 12 steps, provides the foundations for exceptional client service.
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