Accessing pricing in legal services
Well, what to do when you are snowed in and all your appointments get cancelled?
A recent report commissioned by the SRA has some very interesting facts and figures, it followed a detailed market study by the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) to help make sense of what is going 'wrong' with the provision of legal services in the UK.
Highlights include:
- Pricing in the legal sector should be easier to access
- Nearly 75% of clients go with a recommendation
- Intermediaries play an important role in recommendations
- Only 6% of clients chose their law firm entirely on price
- The availability of price significantly improves client take up rates
It struck me when reading this report that it's very much the same information that has been shared before highlighting a need to be more transparent, open and honest with clients, still 10% claim to feel overcharged at the end of the process. 83% of firms have a website (phew!) although some I have looked at recently refer to HIPs and Home Condition Reports?
So what of progress? Are we going to see more 'Compare the Market' type comparison sites? Will firms opt to offer more fixed fee work, capped or hourly schemes? Who knows? What I do know is that relatively small structural changes within a practice can yield huge dividends, not always just financial.
When asked why firms advertise their prices 70% said 'to make it easier for our clients to understand' and this is the pay off, if a client can get a price at 11pm whilst prone on the settee then they will just go ahead and instruct you, if they need to wait for you to call back or call you again, and again they will go elsewhere!
If you run a conveyancing firm and would like to discuss this further just get in touch.