Client experience: the secret to winning business with less activity
Winning more work doesn’t have to mean increased activity for already stretched fee earners.
Small-to-medium firms are uniquely positioned to win new clients by enhancing their client experience (CX) in easy but effective ways.
CX isn’t all about relieving pain points and improving efficiencies with big investment, legal tech and artificial intelligence (AI).
In its simplest form, CX is about the emotional impact of every interaction with your brand – and it’s the secret to winning more work with less activity.
Why CX and why now?
We cannot ignore our post-pandemic landscape. Prospects have had their trust in service delivery and advertising damaged, been deprived of experiences and human connection, and are tired of economic uncertainty.
People want ‘people first’ and value.
Instead of thinking about what more you can do to attract new clients, start by stepping into your prospective client’s shoes and looking at your existing activity.
How does it make them feel? Can it be improved with reference to the emotional drivers?
The emotional drivers
Harvard Business Review has identified over 300 emotional drivers, but there are six key motivators essential to a law firm’s buyer journey:
- I can trust you
- You know me
- You make it easy
- You understand me
- You will deliver
- You solve my problems
Let’s look at a few examples of how these psychological drivers can help you win more work.
Networking
Many lawyers believe the purpose of networking is to sell their services but, where cold contacts are concerned, selling could have a negative impact.
Instead, focus on building connections and making people feel seen, heard and valued.
Prospects will feel you got to know them and made it easy for them to chat to you, making you memorable and your follow-up welcome.
They’ll be happy to join your professional network where they’ll be exposed to your helpful content, effortlessly moving them along the buyer’s journey.
Content marketing
Use your marketing to show that you know and understand your prospect’s needs and wants.
Check your approach to content marketing with a serving mindset:
- what can you write about that will make it easy for the prospect to get the information they need, in the format they want?
- how can you show that you understand and solve their problems?
- what tone of voice can you use to make sure you sound approachable and make it easy for them to contact you when they’re ready?
The easiest way to do this is to research what questions clients are seeking answers to just before they need your service and answer these in a conversational style.
Not only does this serve the prospect, but it will be well received by search engine and social media algorithms, organically growing your audience.
Generating enquiries
Our prospects are doing more due diligence over buying decisions than ever before.
By the time a prospect picks up the phone, they have already reviewed your website, your testimonials and your LinkedIn profile.
Make sure your online presence is working hard for you:
- does your website make it easy for the client to find what they need and does the copy make them feel understood?
- are you sharing testimonials online to demonstrate they can trust you to deliver?
- will your content show them how you solve their problems?
- is it easy for them to submit an online enquiry?
- if a prospect phones your firm, will they be made to feel valued?
Making an enquiry is a prospect’s first experience of what it’s like to be a client of your firm.
Make sure you’re reinforcing their trust with a strong first-contact process.
Conversion conversations
By the time clients have contacted your firm, they are ready to make a buying decision.
They don’t want to ring round other firms so make it easy for them to instruct you, without giving away free advice.
Here is a simple six-step framework you can use to help clients understand the value of your service and neutralise price resistance:
This process is effective because it hits all the emotional drivers.
It shows your clients they can trust you and your knowledge, you know and understand them, you can solve their problems and deliver what they need.
It also provides a great opportunity to extract and manage their expectations and identify any opportunities for cross-servicing that you may otherwise not have known about.
The impact
Paying attention to the emotional impact of your client attraction activity brings clients into your firm with ease.
Continue to deliver a positive experience throughout and they will go on to be your most powerful salesforce.
Why? Because while they might forget what you did for them at a service level, they will remember and talk about how you made them feel.
Their experience will continue to drive work to your door long after their matter completes.
Find out more
Explore the findings from our Financial Benchmarking Survey 2024
Want to learn more about winning new clients? Listen to our expert speakers share their tips in this on-demand recording
Better manage your client relationships, comply with your regulatory obligations and effectively manage risk with our self-paced, online client care microcredential.
For more support and guidance, connect with Emma on LinkedIn, follow her @lawfirmcoach or contact her directly at emma@egertonjones.com.