From Legal Futures’ Associate Perfect Portal [1].
According to recent research, client expectations have changed in line with technology. Home movers now demand answers in their time and are no longer prepared to wait. They have got used to an immediacy with an attitude of ‘on demand’. It’s a phrase that is common now across television, goods and services. It’s no longer convenient for us to wait around at home for a delivery or the boiler engineer and retailers like John Lewis now text us an estimated delivery time before calling us half an hour before delivering an order.
These client expectations are no different to searching for a law firm to use when moving house. Whilst some may not like to compare the legal market with a retail experience, the fundamentals are very similar, meaning it’s no different to searching for a law firm to instruct in a property exchange. When we search for an item using John Lewis, the likelihood is to progress direct to the checkout. If the item isn’t there, we’ll move on to the next website. So, when searching for a conveyancer, if there isn’t enough information available to ensure an immediate decision, there is a higher chance a consumer will move on to the next website to obtain that information.
Imagine, if your client is at home doing their research to choose their conveyancer and they can generate an instant quote from your website, are they more likely to instruct you, or wait to hear back on Monday via email from multiple other firms? The chances of your firm winning that client from a web quote is much higher. In fact, the firms who provide instant quotes convert upwards of 20% more quotes, than those who don’t.
As a firm you need to evaluate how new business is managed and how you can improve your current tools in order to ensure the highest conversion rate. Home moving is a big step for many consumers so it’s all about first impressions, starting with the first step a client takes when they are looking to move home. They search for quotes first and foremost, so by making the quoting process quick and easy, then you will already be ahead of competitors when it comes to winning that business because they aren’t able to offer that immediacy. That initial step is very important, if you fail to deliver then the client will move on to the next firm who can provide them with all the details required for them to make their decision. New research demonstrates that in the last year only 39% of home-movers obtained a single quote, compared to 59% three years ago. The only reason they shop around is because they are unable to make a decision on a Saturday afternoon without the key information at their fingertips.
Many of the larger firms already have this figured out, they are adapting to the changing client needs by using technology to win new clients. Firms that are members of the Derbyshire Legal Services Limited group, for example, all use Perfect Portals’ online web calculator to provide an instant quote to a prospective client for their conveyancing needs. This web calculator is available to a client 24/7 on their firms’ website. The client can input their details and get a quote instantly without having to wait to contact the firm during business hours or wait for a solicitor to get back to them. This gives your clients access to information at a time, and in a way, convenient to them. In the last year, 26% of recent buyers have obtained a quote online an increase from the last three years, which proves the importance of having an online quoting tool available to clients.
If you are there from their initial research into the process and give them everything they require to make their decision, then they will be more likely to use your firm again for other business. Making things convenient for your client, can be the difference in generating more business.