Serving Clients: The power of listening to the Voice of the Client: A strategic advantage

By Brenda Plowman

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, complexity is at an all-time high for leaders. Regulatory uncertainties, market fluctuations, increasing tariffs, operational challenges, aging populations, geopolitical conflicts, economic pressures, and the rise of AI and big data are just a few factors reshaping industries.

This dynamic environment presents an opportunity for lawyers and law firms to engage in deeper, more strategic discussions with clients in order to help them navigate these complexities effectively.

Clients are more informed and demanding. They also expect a high level of personalized service in exchange for the premium fees they pay. Decision-making involves a broader range of stakeholders, making relationship management more intricate. Significantly, client loyalty is on the decline.

In a recent study by DCM Insights, 100 top-level executives were asked if they would use the same professional services (legal, accounting, and consulting) partner or firm they used in the past. Five years ago, 76 percent of these purchasers said they would go with the same partner/firm; today, that percentage has dropped to 53. In the next five years, that number is expected to further fall to 37 percent. These shifts underscore a need for law firms to adopt strategies that emphasize deeper engagement with their clients.

Yet, there is a powerful, often underutilized asset that can drive client engagement and business growth: The Voice of the Client (VoC).

VoC is marketing shorthand that is also used to describe the “voice of the customer” or “voice of the consumer.” In the context of the legal profession, VoC refers to understanding client needs, preferences, and expectations. Hearing the VoC allows lawyers and firms to tailor their approaches, differentiate themselves, and provide solutions that directly address clients’ unique challenges.

Implementing a client listening program

A client listening program is an effective way to systematically gather, analyze, and act on client feedback. These programs can take multiple forms, ranging from real-time feedback on specific matters (at the beginning, during, or post-engagement) to annual strategic discussions aimed at informing long-term growth initiatives.

Client listening initiatives can be either formal, such as structured interviews or using a third-party firm. Or they can be informal, like casual lunches or coffee meetings. Each approach has its advantages and challenges, but the key takeaway is this: Every interaction presents an opportunity to understand your client’s business better. Simply asking open-ended questions about their priorities and challenges can uncover new opportunities for collaboration and future engagements. These conversations can focus on relationship reviews, service improvements, or identifying new areas of collaboration. By understanding clients, firms can enhance retention, drive revenue growth, and foster deeper partnerships.

Leveraging data for deeper insights

Once a listening program has been established, it’s important to integrate client feedback with internal firm data. Not only will this provide a more holistic view of client needs but provide firms with new business opportunities. From this combination of qualitative and quantitative insights, opportunities to facilitate cross-practice collaboration will surface that will enable firms to proactively address client concerns and ultimately strengthen long-term relationships.

Thomson Reuters Market Insights highlights that law firms with a formal client feedback loop achieve significantly higher performance metrics, including increased client satisfaction and a greater share of clients’ legal spend. In fact, clients tend to spend twice as much with firms that actively seek and act on their feedback compared to those that do not.

Overcoming barriers to client-centric strategies

Despite the clear benefits, many law firms struggle to implement effective client listening programs. Success requires strong leadership commitment, a cultural shift towards valuing client feedback, and clear accountability at all levels of the firm. As firms grow in size and complexity, ensuring consistent client service becomes more challenging, making structured feedback mechanisms even more essential.

By embedding client listening into the firm’s operations and reinforcing its value internally, firms can create a culture that prioritizes client experience. Encouraging buy-in across teams and emphasizing the tangible benefits of client insights can help drive widespread adoption of this approach.

Conclusion

In an increasingly competitive legal market, understanding and leveraging the VoC is not just beneficial, it’s a strategic imperative. Firms that actively listen to and act on client feedback will not only enhance client satisfaction and loyalty but also position themselves for sustained growth and success. The question is no longer whether client feedback matters, but rather how effectively law firms can integrate it into their strategies to stay ahead.

 

Brenda Plowman spent nearly 20 years at one of Canada’s largest law firms, nine as chief marketing and business development officer, where she built its first-ever client service excellent program. She was president of the International Legal Marketing Association in 2022 and is now a consultant to professional services firms specifically around service excellence and client listening, business development and growth strategies, and brand development and repositioning. She can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendaplowman/.