Your business case for an "always-on" client listening programme
Conclusions from the 2022 Future of Client Listening research
Get in touch to find out more about how we help professional practices to create a cost-effective and affordable "always-on" client listening programme, supported by automated intelligence. You can also choose a time for a no-obligation telephone of video call with Allan Carton.
- Firms are collecting the voice of the client in many different ways; from formal interviews and surveys through to informal emails and conversations. Much of this data is unstructured - text and verbatim comments- making it difficult to analyse manually.
- Despite receiving feedback from multiple formats, the core challenge remains the "top of funnel"- getting enough data in one place so that insights can drive actions.
- Most client feedback is collected at the end of a project, or periodically (e.g. annually) when it's too late to impact those experiences.
- Firms are finding it hard to access the voice of the client, because it's stored in multiple places or formats. This makes it hard see the big picture of overall client experiences, and to discover common themes and root causes.
- Many firms aren't doing enough with the data they already collect. 37% of respondents said insights from feedback prompts action across the firm.
- The firms that do share insights across the firm, are seeing a range of benefits including stronger client relationships, decision-making agility and continuous improvement.
- Over the last two years, firms have been introducing additional forms of online and face-to-face feedback. However, the underlying driver of progress is linked to how well the firm's leadership embraces the resulting insights.
- Looking forwards, firms are planning to evolve both the input and output stages of their client listening programmes. They are seeking ways to listen to more clients more often, and also looking at how they do more with the insights they create.
- Insights from client listening are being used to drive a wide range of decisions. The most prevalent being to improve the overall client experience and to improve client interactions.
- Firms with more than 150 people are investing to improve the scale and impact of client listening. 57% of respondents said their budget will increase, either a little or significantly.
- The majority of respondents said their firm had changed its approach to client listening over the last two years, finding new ways to gather and analyse feedback. In some cases this is through making the process more systematic.
- Client listening is enabling firms to better understand their own firm, as well as the needs and expectations of their clients. Combining these insights enables them to focus on what sets them apart from the competition.
- Firms are seeking ways to listen to more clients more often, and also looking at how they do more with the insights they create.
- Regardless of the type of client less than 35% of firms said that, in a typical year, they will ask more than half their clients for feedback. This is consistent with the earlier result that the most common challenge is collecting enough feedback.
- Firms of all sizes still struggle with the challenges of collecting enough client feedback, and then gathering it together in one place.
NEXT STEPS
Does your firm want to listen to more clients more often? Do you want to do more with the client-related data you already have?
Would you like to see what "always-on" client listening looks like? To explore your options, find out what it costs, how it might work for you?
DOWNLOAD the full report here, where you will find much more of the detail behind these comments >>
GET IN TOUCH for a no obligation demo and discussion. Call email solutions@cartonconsultants.com
Easier still, choose a time for a telephone or video call with Allan Carton here.
Microsoft 365 is now the standard for virtually all law firms. Licensing can be complex with all the updates and modifications, so here is your easy guide to license and working options to help you maximise lawyers' productivity, data security, and collaboration.
Now that use of AI can genuinely deliver results across many areas of practice and is quickly accelerating, a key challenge is getting people engaged and informed about AI's potential and implications. Education & Training, Transparant Communication, Developing Internal Champions.
Digital marketing remains one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your client base, no matter the size of your firm or the type of legal work. Here, we provide practical guidance on how to get the right balance between all the tools available.
Legal Project Management for Corporate and Commercial Lawyers: Forward-thinking firms are finding that Hivelight - when implemented effectively - gives clients greater transparency, faster turnaround times, and demonstrable value for money. Also enabling lawyers to increase profitability while managing workloads, however simple or complex the work.
Master client relationships in your law firm: In today's competitive legal market, proactive client engagement is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity. Learn proven best practice and strategies, from active listening techniques to leveraging technology to nurture client relationships. This is blueprint to help you establish and constantly develop enduring client relationships, your services and people in your law firm.
Sustainability is becoming a crucial component of many law firms' strategies and operations. To drive initiatives in the right direction and build momentum, law firms must engage clients in meaningful discussions about sustainability. This will demonstrate your commitment to clients' values, create opportunities for deeper collaboration, innovative legal solutions, and long-term relationships.
It is a challenge to get everyone to agree and all deal themselves in when a) making decisions and b) staying engaged on implementation of the agreed solution. Particularly as onboarding impacts across all areas of your practice - on lawyers, support staff, compliance, marketing, technology, finance - and because there are so many variations in the options available. This article will help to clarify what you ought to evaluate and compare to decide where best to compromise and balance pros and cons to meet the top priorities for your practice.
We outline how we recommend that a smaller to medium-sized legal practice should think about and plan any new initiative to replace or upgrade legal technology, thinking primarily about practice and case management systems for law firms with up to 300 people, whatever number of offices and types of legal work. Similar considerations apply when you start to dig deeper into adoption of new CRM and Legal AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications, where our specialist law firm consultants can help too.
Although many of the challenges are not new, there are new solutions and approaches that can help you and your colleagues find more time to be creative and persistent enough on business development, with that lack of time and confidence on priorities at the root of the problem for many law firms.
Download this useful free 18-page market report from TwentyCi to inform your discussions in building relationships with estate agents and other introducers. Helpful to understand their challenges and opportunities in the market today.