Lawyers need to learn from the retail sector on customer satisfaction

The largest customer research project conducted to date has found customer service and communication are the most important drivers to future law firm growth.

Membership body LawNet's The Customer Experience: Lessons for law firms follows two years of research involving nearly 25,000 client experience questionnaires and 1,100 mystery shops across its member community.

While firms got the thumbs up from customers for technical expertise and positive outcomes, the research flagged up key areas for improvement.

The most important areas highlighted by customers as having the potential to increase their satisfaction were speed of response, upfront clarity on timescales and fees combined with regular progress reporting, and fees updates.

The results show that the price quoted for a job is one of the least important factors in the decision to instruct a firm, with recommendation or previous contact being the most persuasive reasons, suggesting customer satisfaction is key to the future growth of firms.

The feedback also showed that advertising alone was not enough to convert customers, with only 3 per cent saying this was an influencing factor, pointing to a need for greater emphasis on sales follow up by firms. Qualitative feedback from mystery shopping showed that where follow up processes were not adhered to, clients interpreted it as a lack of interest and firms were unlikely to convert the business.

Commenting on the results, Andrew McMillan, former head of customer service for John Lewis, said: 'This research is invaluable in providing the big picture to the sector and it underlines the bare truth of what customers are looking for when they buy legal services. It shows that the basics are the same as in any other sector for today's sophisticated purchaser. Without those basics - or so-called "hygiene factors" - in place, it's impossible to make the leap into developing a real customer-focussed personality.'

The research undertaken by LawNet is part of the network's Mark of Excellence, which requires network members to take part in mystery shopping and online customer surveying.

'Retailers have always seen customer experience as the key to success and profitability, whereas professionals still tend to focus on the technical,' said LawNet chief executive Chris Marston, pictured. 'But in a world where clients can place an order online, choose a delivery slot and receive an almost instant email dispatch confirmation, those expectations are being brought into the legal sector and firms must do all they can to improve the customer journey. It's about being easy to do business with.'

He added: 'Some firms within the sector may be unwilling to acknowledge the similarities between themselves and retail operators, but after two years of research we've got a huge, robust set of data to learn from. We've seen members of the LawNet community implementing changes to respond to the findings, often turning to other sectors for good ideas to improve the client experience in their own businesses, and they are already seeing the benefits. It's about being brave enough to face the facts.'

'Having a great service proposition is all very well, but if enquiries aren't captured and followed up, that's a terrible waste. Follow up isn't being pushy, it's about responding to an identified need. Satisfied clients will bring repeat business and recommend you to others, and our research has proved that service is much more important than price - a mere 4 per cent of respondents quoted cost as the reason for instructing the firm.'

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal