"Why should I choose you?" A guest blog from Jim Smith of insight6
Jim Smith is Customer Experience Director at insight6, Customer Experience Specialists.
You may know the answer. You might understand how you differentiate from your competitors. You may know the benefits that your firm will provide to the client. But put yourself in their shoes – how do they know? They need you to tell them.
Despite this, insight6 statistics show that only 40% of firms explain why a customer should choose them when dealing with an enquiry which means that 60% leave potential clients doubtful about whether you are the right choice for them.
If you are wondering whether this question really needs to be answered then look towards to Law Society Review 2016 for evidence. The review shows that buyers cannot differentiate between firms, even between very different types of firm ranging from traditional local firms to online providers that look similar from a distance. The main reason for this? Simply because they haven’t been told what the difference is.
Many firms talk about their knowledge and experience in the relevant field, which is important, but not necessarily a differentiator. Potential clients often expect these qualities, hygiene factors.
So what does differentiate firms? A good differentiator is anything that sounds useful and helpful to the enquirer which is relevant to the circumstances, which means finding out what is important, and explaining why the service provided can help.
Some examples we have seen / heard include:
• We are open late or on weekends which means you can pop in outside of work time
• We are local to you, so you can pop by easily and we can discuss progress
• We have ample parking so we are easy to get to
• We know the area well, we’ve worked on a number of properties nearby
• I’ll be working on your case and I have an assistant, so there will be two of us who will know what is going on
• We have worked recently on exactly this type of case
• We have a team of X, so there will always be someone on hand to help
• We’ll update you as to progress so you know where things stand and what we are doing
The last one is important as we know that 60% of problems and complaints are about ongoing communication.
We know that 25% of people will pay more for excellent service (Institute of Customer Service 2019), so anything that explains why your service is good value and useful to the enquirer, rather than a generic explanation, will help to convince the potential client that your firm is the right choice for them.
One final point, in these days of price transparency it is vital your teams differentiate themselves, otherwise the decision comes down to price. Instead, shift the focus to the value the client will receive to make sure they don’t just decide to go with whichever firm is the cheapest.
Challenge your teams on this topic by asking them ‘Why You?’ And see if they can weave the results into their conversations with enquirers – it will make a difference.
Despite this, insight6 statistics show that only 40% of firms explain why a customer should choose them when dealing with an enquiry which means that 60% leave potential clients doubtful about whether you are the right choice for them.
If you are wondering whether this question really needs to be answered then look towards to Law Society Review 2016 for evidence. The review shows that buyers cannot differentiate between firms, even between very different types of firm ranging from traditional local firms to online providers that look similar from a distance. The main reason for this? Simply because they haven’t been told what the difference is.
Many firms talk about their knowledge and experience in the relevant field, which is important, but not necessarily a differentiator. Potential clients often expect these qualities, hygiene factors.
So what does differentiate firms? A good differentiator is anything that sounds useful and helpful to the enquirer which is relevant to the circumstances, which means finding out what is important, and explaining why the service provided can help.
Some examples we have seen / heard include:
• We are open late or on weekends which means you can pop in outside of work time
• We are local to you, so you can pop by easily and we can discuss progress
• We have ample parking so we are easy to get to
• We know the area well, we’ve worked on a number of properties nearby
• I’ll be working on your case and I have an assistant, so there will be two of us who will know what is going on
• We have worked recently on exactly this type of case
• We have a team of X, so there will always be someone on hand to help
• We’ll update you as to progress so you know where things stand and what we are doing
The last one is important as we know that 60% of problems and complaints are about ongoing communication.
We know that 25% of people will pay more for excellent service (Institute of Customer Service 2019), so anything that explains why your service is good value and useful to the enquirer, rather than a generic explanation, will help to convince the potential client that your firm is the right choice for them.
One final point, in these days of price transparency it is vital your teams differentiate themselves, otherwise the decision comes down to price. Instead, shift the focus to the value the client will receive to make sure they don’t just decide to go with whichever firm is the cheapest.
Challenge your teams on this topic by asking them ‘Why You?’ And see if they can weave the results into their conversations with enquirers – it will make a difference.
If this is a topic worth discussing further, please contact your local insight6 Customer Experience Director.