Taking a close look at client expectations within the Legal sector
On the 13th July we hosted a seminar at Great John Street hotel where a variety of familiar and new faces joined us to talk about Customer Contact in the legal sector. Hosting this event was important to us as Concert understand that our services should be driven by what matters to our customers. There was a fantastic turnout and we’d like to say a big thank you to all who attended.
During the afternoon, we took a close look at client expectations within the Legal sector, discussed how to measure client service and client engagement and the role technology can play in supporting great service.
We expanded on our Secret Shopper 2017 research by looking at the customer journey through a potential new client’s eyes; addressing the challenges law firms face when attracting, engaging and converting new leads as well as retaining their existing clients.
And it would have been rude not to enjoy Great John Street Hotel’s fabulous roof terrace while we were there so the afternoon was finished off with a glass of fizz (or two) overlooking Manchester city centre.
Here’s a summary of what the speakers shared with us…
David Gilroy, Director of Stuff & Things, Conscious Solutions was our first guest speaker and he focused on the subject Sustainability: of Brand; of Employees; of Clients; and of Marketing.
In a world where law firms are failing and online marketing is getting even harder, how does a law firm sustain itself? As always, David was as engaging, funny and enthusiastic as ever when showing us how to utilise best practices in online marketing including SEO, PPC and social media. He touched on how to sustain brand, retain employees and ultimately use different tools to measure your return on investment, retain clients and acquire new ones.
We we’re thrilled to have Steve Dickson, Regional Director at Shopper Anonymous join us. Shopper Anonymous are one of the UK’s leading customer feedback organisations who have a wealth of experience in the legal sector. They have conducted over 280,000 mystery shops and customer surveys and we were lucky enough for Steve to share some of this research data, along with practical interventions on client service level measurement from the legal sector.
Steve touched on generational client change, and their expectations and communication preferences. He also discussed team processes, in building higher ‘enquiry to conversion rates’ to hit revenue lines.
Next, Scott Armstrong, Concert’s Sales Director talked about Communication Technology in the legal sector. Scott has worked in the communication sector for over 10 years, during which time he has gained extensive experience in helping Law Firms to maximise efficiencies and improve client satisfaction using technology.
Scott’s talk explored current client communication trends in the industry through learnings from Secret Shopper 17, our independent secret shop of the legal sector.
At a time when customers are evolving faster than law firms and consumer expectations are higher than ever, it has never been more important to put yourself in their shoes and ask ‘Just how good is the service your clients experience when they call you?’
He explained why it’s important to understand your customers journey from the point of inbound enquiry and how to measure your firm’s performance at inbound enquiry handling. He also showed how improved systems and processes can support a positive customer journey.
Do you wish you had a magic wand to meet increasing client expectations? Firms are now faced with increasingly strong competition within the sector and need to take on modern and customer driven practices if they want to stand out from the crowd. Here are the top tips for Law firms that we learnt at Customer Contact 17…
- Millennials are your future NOW – how will you deal with them will determine your success.
- People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Think about your brand and why you do what you do – this should be reflected at every touchpoint a customer has with you.
- Customers are evolving faster than law firms, put yourself in their shoes and review your existing call handling and inbound enquiry processes.
- Measure performance and use the data to inform decision making – there is a gap emerging between firms that measure and those that don’t. Those that do, sign up more new clients!
- Don’t just follow the pack. Look outside of the legal sector for inspiration when thinking about how to provide great client service.
Specialising in the legal sector has given us extensive experience in helping Law Firms to improve productivity and client satisfaction, resulting in increased profitability through the effective use of technology. If you would like to discover more about customer contact within the legal sector why not download The Legal Communication report 2017, our independent secret shop of the legal sector.
