How to Earn Your Client’s Trust as a Law Firm
Posted On: 08-May-23
Created By: Lawsyst Team
Trust is a glue that holds relationships together and strengthens them, be it personal, romantic, or professional. Consumers treat businesses the way they treat other people which is holding them to certain standards and building relationships with the brands they have faith in. As a law firm, you cannot expect to win a new client or get repeat business without earning your client’s trust. That means you need to earn your client’s trust to build long-term business relationships with them.
Gaining customer’s trust and confidence is essential for the success of your firm, however, it is not effortless and is often an uphill battle. Trust comes with time and requires genuine efforts; you cannot expect your audience to become your loyal clients overnight. However, prioritizing your client experience and adapting to the new market dynamics can help you gain customers’ trust. In this article, we will go over the steps you can take to earn your client’s trust and prove to them that you have their best interests in mind.
Transparency is important to build strong professional relationships with clients and it begins with honesty. You certainly want to provide the best possible assistance to your clients, but make sure you are honest with them and do not over-promise on results you might not deliver. If problems or complications arise in a case, communicate them with your clients so they do not get their hopes up. You also should clearly convey how much time their matter will take and some approximation about the bills they will need to pay after the case is closed.
With the recent advancement in legal technology, modern clients expect law firms to be efficient in communicating case progress with them. They also expect more transparency in terms of legal billing and want to know that you have a genuine reason for your price quotes and that you are not trying to squeeze more money out of their pockets. To meet these expectations, you should use legal time recording and case management software such as Lawsyst that enables lawyers to make detailed invoices and share them with clients instantly.
Having clear conversations early on with your clients is important to discuss and establish expectations. Using time recording and client communication software for lawyers can help you talk through how much you will charge and what services you will provide to your clients. A legal time recording software like Lawsyst can help you track time and expenses on each case and bill clients accordingly. With the cloud-based time recording and billing software, you can ensure transparency in your firm and build clients’ trust.
Making time for your clients lets them know how valuable they are to your business. When you become available to your client whenever they need your guidance and legal service, they understand how much you value them. On the other hand, if you don’t attempt to form a deeper relationship with a client, and neglect their needs, they will not feel as though you value them as a client. Failing to respond to your client’s massagers or calls and being consistently late for meetings can make them feel neglected and they may shift to other law firms for help.
Lawyers are required to handle many tasks in a busy law firm and while doing their routine tasks they may miss following up with clients, forget meeting time, or do not get time to respond to queries of a potential client. To avoid these situations and improve your accessibility to customers, you need to establish appropriate methods of communication. You can use comprehensive civil litigation case management software like Lawsyst to empower your clients to stay on top of their tasks and better engage with clients. With proper case management and CRM software, your team will be able to respond to customers’ questions, concerns, and requests promptly and earn their trust and confidence.
Don’t always wait for your clients to reach out to you. Follow up on clients from time to time and let them know that you are thinking about their needs and that you have their best interests in mind. By maintaining effective communication with your clients, you can earn their confidence and make them more receptive to your advice. So, invest in powerful CRM and criminal law case management software and improve communication with clients and build long-term business relationships with them.
Good communication is the key to building trust in a relationship. It is obvious that the more you are in regular contact with your client, the stronger their trust will be in you. If your client sees that they can contact you and get a timely response, it will make them rely on your business for their needs. Therefore, you should have suitable communication methods to be more reachable to clients. When important questions arise, your clients should have multiple means to reach out to your business and get help. Not only that, but you should also inform your clients about any important news or updates that are relevant to them or their cases.
Overall your relationship with your client should remain professional but as a lawyer, you may find yourself learning a lot about your client. It is great if you can communicate regularly with your client on the case progress– it will make your working day pleasant and build client trust. Maintaining regular communication doesn’t mean meeting your clients daily, you can rather use online portals like that in Lawsyst’s civil litigation software to virtually meet and discuss case particulars with them. You and your clients can also share documents using Lawsyst with more safety than before.
Having a stronger understanding of your client’s expectations and requirements is important to serve them accordingly. With better know-how about your clients, you will be able to provide personalized experiences to them and earn their confidence and trust. Modern case management software like Lawsyst can help you monitor, store, and track your client's data and get a better understanding of them. The strong reporting tools will help you visualize trends and evaluate data so that client success is quantified and qualified. When you deploy a cloud-based time tracking and case management system, offering exceptional client experience becomes easier.
With integrated practice management software, law firms can keep track of all cases and collaborate efficiently to ensure all clients are happy and satisfied. You can organize tasks and assign cases to your employees easily and keep track of each case's progress and each attorney’s performance. Powerful law firm software like Lawsyst also helps address your client’s needs by providing tools to record notes, address service requests, share documents, and set reminders for tasks. You can also use these technologies to collect and organize customer service interactions that occur on any channel.
The legal sector is a competitive field and winning new business and retaining clients require offering the best client service and the most up-to-date advice possible. To be a reliable and trustworthy option for your clients, you need to stay on top of legal changes and industry developments. Adapting to changes and staying relevant can help you become an attractive law firm for your customers and earn their trust.
If you invest in the right skills and technology, you can make yourself a better option for your clients. For instance, when you have the most experienced and talented lawyers, the best communications tools, and an efficient case management system, you can become a go-to option for modern consumers.
Modern customers expect law firms to go the extra mile to meet their requirements. Luckily, there are modern tools that can help you meet and exceed modern clients’ expectations and bring in more business. For instance, litigation case management software like Lawsyst automatically collects and keeps client interactions organized in one central place, helping you to get a clear view of your firm’s performance and make necessary improvements in your way of doing business. These modern case management tools can also help you anticipate what your customers need before they tell you, helping you build a reputation for exceeding your customers’ expectations—and nurture lasting relationships that will benefit you in the years to come.
Meeting and exceeding your client’s expectations can help you retain your clients and earn new business as well. Law firms that exceed expectations have lower rates of churn and comparatively higher growth rates. To earn repeat business and generate positive word of mouth for increased growth, you should also go a step or two further to exceed customer expectations. The first thing you can do is to get your firm a modern time tracking and case management software like Lawsyst that will help you meet and exceed your client's expectations and build trust with them.