Make more of the Voice of your Clients, Referrers, Business partners ....

The Voice of your Clients and others you deal with has potential to play much more of a leading role in the ongoing development and evolution of law firms. Here is an overview of how the VoC can be harnessed strategically to maximise its impact and the returns you get from it.

An “Agile” business - as more and more firms recognise the benefits of being one - must have a deep understanding of clients at the centre of everything. The first step is to establish regular and consistent client feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, focus groups, workshops and pilots to trial and test new and better ways of doing things. Client feedback should be analysed and used to inform and influence both strategic and operational decisions here.

The generic model above is a good starting point to show how the voice of the client can feed different aspects of development in the practice - to be customised and further refined to incorporate more of the Agile approach more law firms are aspiring to.?How client feedback can be harnessed strategically to best effect, to play what should be a leading role in the ongoing, continuing development and evolution of a law firm fully equipped to make the most of opportunities.?

Initiatives should be incorporated into the overall business development and marketing strategy, with close collaboration between the business development, marketing, human resources, and technology teams.

It is crucial to have a dedicated person or team responsible for leading, co-ordinating and driving these initiatives across the practice, as well as creating awareness among all employees that hearing and responding to the VoC should always be part of their own responsibilities.

Why the Voice of the Client is critical:

The voice of your clients should be at the centre of all initiatives, from legal services, communication, pricing, and technology, to training and development. If clients value emotional intelligence and commercial initiative, lawyers and other employees should be rewarded for using these skills. If clients are not looking for improvements in these areas, it is essential to understand why and act on this feedback collectively.

Innovation should not be seen as a dangerous concept for law firms, but rather as a gradual process that starts with more tangible client feedback-led initiatives. The best way to make decisions about what changes would add more value is to listen deeply to the clients.

Where to start:

Our benchmark surveys carried out in 2021, 2022, and 2023 (with the ’23 findings just about to be released to participating firms) enable us to understand how law firms use the VoC. Most have not taken this as far as they want yet, when a VOC initiative should be seen as a 3-to-5-year project with stages that need to be managed, re-evaluated, and adapted as everything in the client's world evolves.

It is good to have the right balance of skills and resources, a flat structure, and a supportive office environment to effectively incorporate the VoC.

The first step is to use the feedback to inform the development of new services and improve existing ones. This may include improving the overall client experience, streamlining processes, and incorporating technology to make services more efficient and accessible.

Ideally, a law firm should adopt automated "always on" client listening using tools like MyCustomerLens. This tool automates the aggregation, evaluation, and distribution of client feedback 24/7, making it possible to respond before the feedback becomes stale.

Simple project management tools, such as Microsoft 365 Planner and Project, can be used to support effective collaboration on projects. Tools like Miro or Cemantica can also be used for customer journey maps and interactive sessions.

There is a new opportunity in progressive SME law firms, to combine business development, technology, innovation, and Agile project management, all under the guidance of a separate and respected Voice of the Client role. This role should work closely with the Business Development Director and emphasise the importance of incorporating the VoC in all areas of the business.

Next Steps

For further information about any of the tools and approaches mentioned here, or to discuss how you can best develop your current client feedback and listening programmes, contact Allan Carton at [email protected] or on 07779 653105.?First step then would probably be a Teams call.rom it.

An “Agile” business - as more and more firms recognise the benefits of being one - must have a deep understanding of clients at the centre of everything. The first step is to establish regular and consistent client feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, focus groups, workshops and pilots to trial and test new and better ways of doing things. Client feedback should be analysed and used to inform and influence both strategic and operational decisions here.

The generic model above is a good starting point to show how the voice of the client can feed different aspects of development in the practice - to be customised and further refined to incorporate more of the Agile approach more law firms are aspiring to.?How client feedback can be harnessed strategically to best effect, to play what should be a leading role in the ongoing, continuing development and evolution of a law firm fully equipped to make the most of opportunities.?

Initiatives should be incorporated into the overall business development and marketing strategy, with close collaboration between the business development, marketing, human resources, and technology teams.

It is crucial to have a dedicated person or team responsible for leading, co-ordinating and driving these initiatives across the practice, as well as creating awareness among all employees that hearing and responding to the VoC should always be part of their own responsibilities.

Why the Voice of the Client is critical:

The voice of your clients should be at the centre of all initiatives, from legal services, communication, pricing, and technology, to training and development. If clients value emotional intelligence and commercial initiative, lawyers and other employees should be rewarded for using these skills. If clients are not looking for improvements in these areas, it is essential to understand why and act on this feedback collectively.

Innovation should not be seen as a dangerous concept for law firms, but rather as a gradual process that starts with more tangible client feedback-led initiatives. The best way to make decisions about what changes would add more value is to listen deeply to the clients.

Where to start:

Our benchmark surveys carried out in 2021, 2022, and 2023 (with the ’23 findings just about to be released to participating firms) enable us to understand how law firms use the VoC. Most have not taken this as far as they want yet, when a VOC initiative should be seen as a 3-to-5-year project with stages that need to be managed, re-evaluated, and adapted as everything in the client's world evolves.

It is good to have the right balance of skills and resources, a flat structure, and a supportive office environment to effectively incorporate the VoC.

The first step is to use the feedback to inform the development of new services and improve existing ones. This may include improving the overall client experience, streamlining processes, and incorporating technology to make services more efficient and accessible.

Ideally, a law firm should adopt automated "always on" client listening using tools like MyCustomerLens. This tool automates the aggregation, evaluation, and distribution of client feedback 24/7, making it possible to respond before the feedback becomes stale.

Simple project management tools, such as Microsoft 365 Planner and Project, can be used to support effective collaboration on projects. Tools like Miro or Cemantica can also be used for customer journey maps and interactive sessions.

There is a new opportunity in progressive SME law firms, to combine business development, technology, innovation, and Agile project management, all under the guidance of a separate and respected Voice of the Client role. This role should work closely with the Business Development Director and emphasise the importance of incorporating the VoC in all areas of the business.

Next Steps

For further information about any of the tools and approaches mentioned here, or to discuss how you can best develop your current client feedback and listening programmes, contact Allan Carton at [email protected] or on 07779 653105.?First step then would probably be a Teams call.

www.cartonconsultants.com