Delivering client-centered experiences.

• Author: Inghilleri, Leonardo

In recent times, we have witnessed a greater focus on customer service and the customer experience. Businesses, including law firms, are now looking at client relationships with a different set of eyes.

Customer relationship management systems, once the exclusive privilege of a few top-echelon organizations, are now available to virtually any business. The ability to remember customer preferences, coupled with the advanced technologies of smartphones, allows organizations to create customized, real-time experiences for everyone. Consumers who have experienced better service because of this evolution in customer service technology now have significantly higher expectations for every service provider they use.

How does this impact a law firm and attorneys' ability to deliver client service? The answer is simple: What clients experience at the front desk of a luxury hotel redefines the expectations for their experience at the reception in your office. The intimate knowledge that many businesses have of their clients and the use of that information to create seamless, effective and pleasant interactions have established a new benchmark for client relationships and the client experience for your firm.

Therefore, delivering great legal advice at a competitive cost is no longer all you need to impress your clients. Your lawyers' ability to deliver a positive outcome to their clients might be what attracted them to your firm in the first place; however, it will be the ability to personalize and humanize their touch point experience that will create a compelling reason for them to continue to use your firm's services over time.

The ability to transform an ordinary business event into an experience offers a significant competitive advantage for both attorneys and firms. Understanding what it takes to transform transactions into experiences and being able to create reliable processes around this concept will build high, protective barriers around your business. However, in a competitive environment obsessed with the concept of value, how do we differentiate ourselves from others without resorting to discounted fees? How do we avoid becoming a commodity in an industry where differentiation is hard to create?

Many believe that the most compelling reason to hire a firm is based on the talent of the attorneys, the quality of the legal services and the overall experience. Interestingly, client satisfaction studies relegate these elements to the category of...