Customer Service: Meeting Clients Where They Are
Customer service is about more than just having someone who can answer client queries. It’s about more than having some FAQs on your website. And it’s about more than an adequate complaints policy.
One occasionally overlooked element of customer service is the importance of meeting your clients where they are, rather than expecting them to come to you. It suggests to clients that you want to make this about them, rather than yourself.
It’s also about making the process as simple as possible for clients and leads. Taking legal action isn’t something people do every day. You know that many can be nervous about proceeding.
Helping clients feel comfortable can go a long way towards helping them enjoy a positive customer experience. And this can come down to the arena in which you carry out your work – before, during and after the process.
Client communication preferences
This attitude extends to communication tools.
In our latest white paper, Making Your Customers Happy, we highlight an IRN Research survey, which found that 28% of consumers who consulted a lawyer during the pandemic used a video conferencing tool, like Zoom. The survey also found that nine out of 10 were comfortable using the tools and would use them again.
But people also want to see you face-to-face. Just over half (51%) of consumers said they’d like to see their legal team in person at some point in the process. So it’s certainly worth finding out how your clients want to communicate.
Do your clients prefer email or text updates? Do they want to approach you on social media? Or are they looking out for a letter after their case is closed? Everyone has a preference – and this can depend on their demographic. So pay close attention to what your clients want.
Reviews – options abound
Can you afford not to focus on reviews? We’ve discussed their importance before, and this is only set to rise in an increasingly connected world.
But it’s one thing emailing clients with a request to submit a review on a specific site that you’ve chosen to focus on – probably the one where you’ve accumulated the best stats. It’s another level of customer service that encourages your clients to review you on various platforms.
Just as they do with the way they communicate, people have their preferences when it comes to leaving their reviews. They spend their time online in different places and have existing accounts for different services.
To provide the best customer service, you could give your clients the choice of where to review you. This could be Trustpilot, ReviewSolicitors, Google My Business, social media or another platform.
Giving clients confidence
Traditionally, law firms haven’t been as focused on providing a positive customer experience as they have on ensuring they do quality work and get the right result for their client. Our white paper revealed that just 41% of firms think good customer service is as important as resolving a client’s legal matter.
But what is it that clients pay close attention to?
The majority are not legal experts. They won’t necessarily know if you’re doing everything in your power to get them the result they want. But they’ll know how you made them feel during the process. Did you help them feel confident and comfortable going forward? Did you help them understand what was happening? Did you tailor your service to them?
Just one simple way of ensuring you can do that for your clients is to meet them where they are. Take the time to identify the channels your clients prefer and ensure that you’re present there. Communicating with them in ways they’re used to can help put clients at ease, which can then make the entire process smoother.
And that can only be good for business.
Find out more about making your customers happy in our new white paper.
