Part 2 of a 3-part series of short articles. We explain how law firms are using "independent client listening" to generate new business, strengthen ties with clients (referrers and business partners too); to develop new service propositions valued more by clients, innovate on service delivery and develop a client-focused culture across the business. It helps lawyers to find tangible new ways to differentiate from competitors and future-proof relationships with clients.
“For the smartest firms the opportunities are waiting to be seized, but it will take a dynamic and questioning mindset and an ability to look at the business from the client’s point of view, to be consistently successful.”
Law firms should combine
“client listening” with other relationship, account and business development activities as all have a part to play.
We use independent client listening at the front end of most projects, to get a perspective for our clients - from theirs - about what they would value as tangible outcomes for them of the initiative we are about to work on. It helps dramatically to inform the project and the results our clients want to see from it.
Explores the personal and business objectives and priorities of the client; their world.
Recognises that people run your client’s business and that they don’t all think the same
Generates new business.
The best results are produced from one-to-one, face-to-face interviews and we are reluctant to carry out any relatively small scale initiative in any other way. As the numbers rise, it makes more sense to incorporate some other forms of listening; perhaps telephone calls or Skype for one-to-ones at a distance, but interaction is essential. Focus groups can be very productive too in the right situation, but can be expensive and challenging to coordinate for the right mix of people.
Client Listening is not about “client satisfaction” related initiatives, which have a big part to play too and are much more prevalent in the legal sector. They tend to look backwards at what service has been like, asking “how are we doing, what could we do better?”.
The business people we talk to have generally
never experienced this kind of investment and interest in a relationship with them from a law firm
before. They recognise it as exceptional now. Perhaps it wouldn’t have the same impact if all firms did it.
we can talk candidly and very directly about their personal and business objectives
. We can explore the concerns that could generally keep them awake at night to find out about them and their business world, setting specific legal services aside for good parts of the discussion. Experience tells us where to draw the line.
– we don’t agree any actions, making that clear to the person we interview. It is agreed that we take their comments “back to base” for the law firm to chew over and come up with any proposals from there, with a clearer understanding of what the client wants to achieve.
. We are only interested in looking at how the relationship and services should develop going forwards.
Talk about what other firms do and DON’T do
You will find that Independent Client Listening can be used very effectively in a wide variety of situations to help develop your business. It should be a resource that every firm should use one way or another as a matter of routine.
