Customer Care Proves Critical in Client Retention
When a client chooses a partner or product, they often do so with the expectation they will get exactly what is agreed upon without sacrifice. However, experience tells them they probably won’t get everything they would like from a customer service perspective. This can leave clients happy with a product, but unhappy with the company they chose. If your company is losing clients, examining your customer success plan starts at the very first client engagement. During the purchase decision have a candid conversation with your client to understand how they value customer care and what their expectations are from your company.
With technology, particularly in the legal industry, nothing is one-size-fits-all. Each firm has its unique technology needs, employee demands, and access to resources whether budgetary or time. Due to the uniqueness of each company, technology like client management software must be customized to service each firm in a way that best serves them, NOT the collective. Often technology is built to deliver a large number of solutions and requires an expert to customize the integration for a specific user. Most firms outsource new technology integrations and upgrades to professional services firms like Helm360 to ensure the process and product are best executed.
As we talk about customer care being an important piece to the overall success of client relationships, let’s first acknowledge the role technology plays. With any industry, the product or technology being offered to a client must fit their specific needs, address a pain, solve a problem, or improve efficiency. Things like the data stack solutions from Grouparoo can help businesses organize all their relevant data into one central location and then make it accessible in the existing applications that a business may use, meaning everyone should be able find exactly what they need when they need it. However, having the perceived best technology itself does not assure a positive experience for the client. The worst greatest product can become dramatically less valuable if support and service fall short.
Customer care begins during the first conversations with the client well before a technology integration begins. Take the time to understand your client’s organization and how their team will need to be supported during and post implementation. Spend the time to audit and analyze their existing systems in order to recommend the best services for them to address their needs. Share with the client, in detail, the entire workflow process including ongoing support. Be completely transparent with your client throughout, starting at the very beginning. This will build credibility along with developing a level of trust from your client which will strengthen your relationship moving forward.
As we talk about transparency, it continues as we move forward through implementation. As a true partner during the entire process, you and the client should be working together on each step even if it is “their” responsibility or if your team is “handling” a particular item. Support the client on each item letting them know your expertise is there to make sure they don’t feel like they are on their own. This means including the client in each step your team is responsible for which will eliminate uncertainty that often comes during implementation. The greater level of comfort you provide during this stressful time the greater the client will value your services.
As can happen with technology, there could be challenges during or after implementation which might be frustrating or confusing to a client. This is where customer success quickly turns to customer service. As part of your customer care plan your team should have a process in place to manage issues as they arise. As with each step – quick response, focus on the client’s needs, and transparency will dictate a client’s experience through any rough spot.
Clients who choose to partner with Helm360 often do so because we truly become a part of their team, making their success a top priority. We don’t leave the client with an abrupt disconnect post-implementation. All too frequently clients have encountered these shortcomings with other vendors. Because our team is dedicated to working hand-in-hand with our clients from day one and every day going forward, we have built a successful partnership model our clients appreciate. It’s the very reason they choose to continue our partnership year after year.
The customer care we provide clients stretches beyond their expectations. As we build out the scope of work, we create service benchmarks we absolutely deliver on. Secondly, each step of the way we assess opportunities for improvement in delivery for our client. Not every integration partner out there is focused on the same consultative approach we pride ourselves on at Helm360. We are much more than the technology, we are the people who make the technology work best for you.
ABOUT HELM360
Helm360 is an established leading provider of consulting services on the Thomson Reuters product portfolio and attains certification in Elite 3E application services, Elite 3E technical services and ProLaw application services. Helm360 has also gained certification in Intapp’s product line, enabling our consultants to deliver value-added services across best-of-breed systems for the legal market.
For more information on how Helm360 can help your firm, contact us!