‘It’s almost impossible as a consumer to be able to differentiate one law firm from another. I can’t tell you the number of websites I’ve looked at which describe the firm as “modern with traditional values, forward-thinking with a focus on customer service…” .’ That sort of stock phase was ‘repeated ad infinitum’. ‘If you’re a member of the public it’s almost impossible to choose between firms and that is why they start thinking: “If I can’t tell the difference, I might as well just get the cheapest.”’
Craig Holt – QualitySolicitors.com, The Big Bang Report.
How can solicitors stand out from the crowd to build a distinctive and thriving business? In this first post of a series I am going to look at opportunities for law firms to create a distinctive niche for themselves, so that they can compete effectively in the post Legal Services Act market.
Opportunity #1: Speed
Countless of successful businesses have been built on the premise of doing things more quickly than the competition:
- DHL took international parcel delivery and guaranteed next day delivery
- Snappy Snaps took photo processing from days to hours
- Kwik Fit built a brand out of being fastest for tyre changes
The nice thing about all these is that time pressed customers will typically pay a premium for rapid service. If I were a law firm I might be thinking about offering 30-minute wills, 15-minute lunchtime speed appointments, and for businesses, maybe things like contract reviews with guaranteed same-day turnaround.
What do you think?
Trouble with speed is that it can diminish the enjoyment of the journey (aka appreciate what you are getting and why you need it)…speed doesn't actually matter that much really. A better word would be convenience.
What matters is expectation management, communication, understanding a need. Communication that you have recognised the need and this is what you propose to meet it. Could take 30 minutes could take three weeks…doesn't matter which if the client knows when they are getting it.
Hi Jon, thanks for comment.
Convenience and speed are often lumped together as the same thing, but I believe they are distinct qualities. As it happens convenience was to be the topic of my next post in this series. Stay tuned….
Mark.