How to Optimize the Client Experience
LPM article - Partner comment: How to optimize the client experience
Elisabet Hardy
Head of product, Elite
Law firms are acutely aware that their success lies not solely in the quality of their legal expertise, but in the way they deliver services. The client experience is a critical factor in winning and retaining business. Enhancing business relationships by understanding and delivering proactive solutions to clients’ needs is vital, such as by making sure clients have easy access to the information they need, including real-time visibility over matter progress or performance against budget. Even getting billing right, by ensuring invoices always meet the client’s unique guidelines, can make a huge difference, showing that you know and adapt to their requirements. It’s about consistently providing value in the client experience over the long term.
Leveraging technology is key to helping firms deliver this value, while also empowering lawyers to become more effective and efficient by eliminating mundane and error-prone tasks. Those that strive to be ‘digital-first’ should be well-placed to attract top talent, creating a virtuous circle of standout skills and service.
“Moving to the cloud now looks inevitable for many firms, but those embarking on this journey should remember that the cloud is just a destination — it’s what you can do once you’re there that matters.”
When measuring ROI for tech investments, soft metrics such as client satisfaction and the health of the client relationship are just as important as hard numbers on, for instance, time savings. Ultimately, return on investment hinges on taking costs out of your business, and generating efficiencies that will lead to higher revenue. All of which is centred on how you are delivering work and managing client requirements. Assessing ROI is not always an exact science, and there are many ways to go about it.
Moving to the cloud now looks inevitable for many firms, but those embarking on this journey should remember that the cloud is just a destination — it’s what you can do once you’re there that matters. In the cloud you’ll always have access to the most up-to-date software and the ability to take full advantage of new ways of working, including harnessing data for better-informed decision-making and the deployment of AI to work smarter. Law firm leaders are right that cloud is about future-proofing the business; not moving to the cloud could lock you out of innovation and put you at risk of falling behind.
While you can learn from what others are doing with AI, planning for how you could apply it should put you in a strong position. Take the time to understand what AI can do and where it could make the most impact on your processes. That’s the way to make this game-changing technology work for you, and your clients too.
View the original Legal Practice Management article