Every law firm needs clients—without them, the well of revenue will inevitably run dry. However, generating new business is easier said than done. More than half of surveyed lawyers say acquiring new clients is their biggest challenge. Retaining them can also be difficult in today’s fast-paced legal landscape.
Fortunately, there are simple ways to provide an exceptional client experience, appeal to more prospects, and increase referrals. In this article, we’ll discuss what recent research reveals about client expectations and the four strategies your firm can pursue to exceed those expectations for greater success. Let’s dive in.
People love convenience. In a world of retail tap-to-pay and one-click e-commerce checkouts, cash and checks are becoming outdated payment methods.
The Legal Industry Report from LawPay and MyCase (our sister company specializing in legal practice management software) found that 84% of surveyed legal professionals now accept credit cards and ACH payments from clients via online payment tools. Even if you still have some clients who want to pay the old-fashioned way, simply offering the option to pay online can improve client relations. According to Fiserv’s Billing House Survey, 71% of respondents say being offered multiple ways to pay increases satisfaction. In fact, 79% expect local service providers to offer the same payment options as larger national companies.
The benefits of accepting online payments surpass meeting client expectations. Online payments often lead to significantly faster payment cycles and higher collection rates.
Our Legal Industry Report found that collection rates for customers who accepted online payments were nearly 10% higher than those who didn’t.
Additionally, 61% of legal professionals surveyed for the report claimed their firms collect more money because of online payment processing software.
Finally, our Benchmark Report found that LawPay and MyCase customers collected 33% more from clients who paid using LawPay for online payments versus checks and cash.
Consumers today can retrieve information on just about any subject imaginable nearly as fast as they can type. As such, when the need arises for legal advice or representation, most will turn to the internet. It should go without saying that as a legal professional, you must have a website or, at the very least, a web presence of some kind to represent your practice. Failing to do so is essentially telling would-be clients that your practice is not technology savvy.
Your website and online presence need to sell your practice. Below are a few tips to help you make a positive impression that can prompt potential clients to contact you.
Your potential clients are shopping around. If they don’t like what they see up front, they have plenty of other options at their fingertips. So, what can you do to truly impress would-be clients? Respond. Communicate. Show them you are reliable.
Rule 1.3 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct states, “A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.” This may sound like a no-brainer, but a lack of a timely response is one of the most common complaints among clients. In fact, our Legal Industry Report found that almost 70% of lawyers see client communication as a challenge.
Failing to respond within a certain window (typically within 24 hours) may lose you a client. Bear in mind that most clients are reaching out to you at a critical or stressful time. They need legal help as soon as they can get it—if you don’t respond to them, another firm will.
Though the phrase “client experience” has become a bit of a buzzword, it’s a crucial element for any business to get right. Cultivating an exceptional client experience leads to client loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, and, ultimately, revenue growth. How you interact with clients will significantly shape their experience with your firm.
Start off by setting clear expectations from the very first meeting. This may include:
The process your firm takes with cases like theirs, such as the next steps following the initial consultation
The estimated timeline for their case
How you plan to bill their case, including your rate information and when bills will be due, as well as how to pay
That last point is particularly important. The fastest way to create resentment and confusion among clients is through billing and payment misunderstandings. Utilizing a reliable payment platform, such as LawPay, enables you to automate invoice sends and reminders—helping to ensure that payment doesn’t become an issue between your firm and the client.
Meeting the expectations of clients doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. More often than not, it simply means adjusting some existing processes—such as lead management, client intake, and billing and payments—to be more streamlined and client-friendly.
Track time, invoice, and get paid—anytime, anywhere
LawPay’s end-to-end billing and payments platform helps legal professionals keep their firm at their fingertips—anytime, anywhere. Designed specifically for law firms and recommended by the American Bar Association, the LawPay payments platform ensures IOLTA compliance and helps elevate the client experience through simple, flexible, and convenient payment options.
Learn how LawPay can help you run your firm efficiently and free up time to focus on practicing law—anytime, anywhere.
