Client satisfaction is the main factor affecting client retention.
If your clients feel that you are not efficient or helpful, they will find a law firm that is.
It can be hard to keep up with client demands, particularly as your law firm grows, but it is worth remembering how essential client satisfaction is for your overall success.
How happy are clients with law firms?
On the whole, clients who engaged with law firms do seem to be quite satisfied.
The Law Society conducted a survey in which they found that 88 per cent of those who received professional help were satisfied with their adviser.
However, when it came to actually requiring legal assistance beyond advice, the statistics showed a different story.
51 per cent of respondents had a legal need, but only 19 per cent of respondents had their legal need met.
This meant that 32 per cent of respondents had an unmet legal need – 49 per cent of the respondents had no legal need as their matter either was not serious or could be resolved without assistance.
That is a lot of people who are not getting the assistance they need.
How must they feel when they are confronted with a legal challenge and find that law firms are not providing the assistance that they need?
In our own research, we found that 33 per cent of firms hold client retention as a top priority – retaining clients is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
Client satisfaction and client retention go hand in hand, so it is vital that we understand what needs to change to achieve both objectives.
How can we improve client satisfaction?
It is tempting to simply say “give the client what they want” and call it a day, but we know it is more complicated than that.
We found that 35 per cent of firms with 10 to 50 employees reported recruitment as a significant obstacle and this could be impacting client satisfaction.
Having fewer members on the team makes it harder for each member to successfully complete all the necessary work.
Low-value work can also get in the way as time is spent following up with clients for vital information or creating the legal documents that are needed to pave the way for the work to take place.
If a member of the team is absent, it can derail an entire workflow as it can be hard for other team members to keep up with the ongoing discussions with a client.
We are working to improve happiness in law firms, and a big part of that is boosting client satisfaction.
With a secure, efficient communication system, Smokeball can aid with gathering client information by providing everything you need in a centralised location.
Archie, our bespoke AI system tailored for law firms, can provide summaries on discussions with clients allowing anyone in the team to pick up work without having to trawl through notes.
Our AI, Archie, also creates bespoke legal documents taking some of the low-value work out of your day, allowing you to focus on delivering the high-value work that will keep your clients satisfied.
With data encryption and two-factor authentication, Smokeball is secure, so your clients can relax knowing that their data is safe.
Your clients can feel like you are giving them your full time and attention with our instant communication features.
Our workflow management features will ensure that tasks are not missed, so your firm will not be contributing to the unmet legal needs statistic.
Want to boost your clients’ satisfaction? Book a demo today!
