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Slide Notes

Richmonte Wells is the business consultancy for law firms with ambition.

Whatever your size, whether traditional partnerships, LLPs, ABS, national, regional or virtual firms, we guarantee you’ll welcome our fresh approach and no nonsense attitude to your business challenge.

We can help you to identify your firm’s strengths and weaknesses, discover your customer value and focus on the best strategies for success. We'll show you where you are missing out on opportunities and leaking profitability. We will then help you to implement change effectively to get maximum results.

We pride ourselves on delivering consistently high quality and commercially relevant results for legal businesses across the UK.

In what follows we set out the core ingredients for our retail strategy - a strategy for all law firms who sell legal services to consumers.

We presented this deck at Legalex 2015
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Retail Strategy for Law Firms

Published on Nov 06, 2015

Most law firms sell to consumers. But few have adopted the techniques that retailers use and are starting to fall behind as a result. This presentation looks at how to resolve that and suggest solutions.

Presented by Sally Calverley at Legalex 2015

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

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Richmonte Wells is the business consultancy for law firms with ambition.

Whatever your size, whether traditional partnerships, LLPs, ABS, national, regional or virtual firms, we guarantee you’ll welcome our fresh approach and no nonsense attitude to your business challenge.

We can help you to identify your firm’s strengths and weaknesses, discover your customer value and focus on the best strategies for success. We'll show you where you are missing out on opportunities and leaking profitability. We will then help you to implement change effectively to get maximum results.

We pride ourselves on delivering consistently high quality and commercially relevant results for legal businesses across the UK.

In what follows we set out the core ingredients for our retail strategy - a strategy for all law firms who sell legal services to consumers.

We presented this deck at Legalex 2015

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The retail sector is experiencing strong growth in the UK + 5.7% year on year (ONS March 2015) and is showing the longest period of sustained growth since 2007.

Sales have been boosted by rising house prices, falling oil price leading to lower retail prices and increased consumer confidence.

Since 2007, the retail industry has undergone a period of massive change: online purchases now account for 11% of all sales.

"Shopping" has changed too: multi channel is the norm not the exception with those who fail to adopt online or click and collect models falling behind their competitors. Shopping is a leisure activity combined with eating and meeting friends/ Buying necessities is often done online. Price comparison is seen as "normal" - Google is cashing in on the growth in this activity!

Discount and bargain brands are building market share and are laying down more space than the upmarket brands.

Right across the sector, retailers are being challenged to decide what their target market is and how to reach it most effectively.

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This presentation answers the questions:

WHY
Should law firms adopt a retail strategy?

WHO
Is a retail strategy relevant to and who will their clients be?

HOW
should a law firm go about adopting a retail strategy?

WHAT
does a retail strategy involve and what needs to be done?

WHEN
should you start?

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People have been predicting the death of the high street since Victorian times. (see http://blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk/futureoflaw/2013/03/how-retail-is-teaching-la...)

But the way we use the high street is changing. Wayne Hemingway (fashion guru and founder of Red or Dead) describes it best: the high street is a place where people meet, shop, walk, do “stuff”

We are seeing more:

- elision between social purposes (meeting friends), food and shops (e.g. bike repair shops with a cafe and free wifi).

- more specialisation (discount and !p store -v- local deli with locally sourced ingredients)

- theatre and gamification (think Hollisters with welcoming scantily clad young men and pitch black interiors/ Curry's client sat buttons)

With each change, so the expectations of the shoppers change and the bar is raised.

If your firm is on the high street, have you adapted to meet this changing environment? If not, why not?

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Given the changing high street, how can law firms attract foot fall? Not just the person who thinks "I know, I am going to get my will done" but the person walking past with no such thought in their head?

How can you make dropping in to your law firm, rather than any other any other provider of legal services, something they want to do?

Most firms are quite unwelcoming! We'll look at new possible designs later but lets just think about the last law firm you visited that wasn't your own...

And does your brand match your website? That may sound like an odd question - but think about it. Does "brand experience" - what your clients feel on the telephone or in your reception - match the "brand promises" on your website? The lesson from retail is that it is important that it does - the majority of people who call or visit you will have looked you up online first.

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How should a law firm go about adopting a retail strategy?

The answer is....

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Retail is detail!

That means:

Taking control
of the interactions with customers and making sure that from the first look at your website all the way through to the final bill on their divorce, you have mapped and planned every step of the way.

Not leaving things to chance
The piles of files you left for archiving in the hall look like something to be worried about to your customer as you guide her through to the meeting room.

Being nimble
to take advantage of new opportunities

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The beauty of this approach in our experience is that in looking at the detail of your practice will find nuggets that you didn't know existed

- something that your clients love about you that you thought was "normal"

- something you have overlooked but which makes you different from everybody else

-something that you can use to transform the way that you do business

Richmonte Wells have designed a process to uncover what your clients really really love about your firm and we then show you how to use that information to grow your business - we help you to become famous for what your clients really love.


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Good Question!

There are a handful of things you need to do and you need to do them well.

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1. Be Creative

I prefer this word to the more common "innovate" which has been worn to death!

2. Be Convenient

Look for and remove anything that makes it hard for your customers to buy - from pricing to process to simply being able to work out where your front door is!

3. Put your Customer first

The old adage "the customer is always right". My old boss Brian Capstick used to insist that the answer to the question "Can I?" was always yes!

But also pay attention to the detail - if your customer is right at the heart of your firm, if you are really listening to what she says, then you can spot opportunities to improve your service and profitability. I'll explain how later.

4. Be Consistent

I hear a lot about "wow factor" service. Truthfully, as I explain later, the biggest challenge is getting it right first time, every time. First touch.

5. Care about value

That doesn't mean being cheap. It does mean making sure that what you deliver to your customers is what they want and how they want it.

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Be Creative

Wait for it...........

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We could literally spend an entire day talking about how to build creative thinking into your firm. so I'm going to stick to just a few key pointers using examples of firms I have worked with:

Accept that to err is human
Yes, that means failing sometimes. But if you try and fail, at least you get to learn.

Reward creative thinking
Say thank you AND reward staff who come up with great ideas. A personally written note with a small gift may be enough - but if the idea saves you £1000s, be generous!

Make creative thinking normal
Encourage everyone to join in, from customers to staff to partners' mothers. Instead of "why don't they...?" ask "How could we...?"

If they have noticed something you could improve - improve it! In one case, one of the partners mothers took Brasso to the doorstep! In another, we reduced the number of times a bill went through human hands and so drastically improved lock up.

Keep trying
Sometimes you will try things that simply don't work - opening hours or a new marketing approach. Try different variations. Then go with the one that worked!

From new products, to revised services to online billing to Dragon dictation to new shop fronts...Pick something and creatively change it for the better.


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This slide shows why you need to be creative and keep improving your business.

The Threshold attributes of your service are the things that customers EXPECT (make sure you know what those are!). If you don't get those right, you are in trouble. Things like knowing what is going on and being able to understand what you are telling them.

The Performance attributes are what they WANT- things they will probably have told you about. Like the date they want to move in for instance.

The Excitement attributes are the things they haven't told you about but which you can work out. You send your divorce clients a letter with their decree absolute, marking the end of an era for them.

Watch what happens over time......

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Thats right..

the things you thought were really special become standard, either because you always delivered them, or because new technology means they are easier to deliver and so not so inaccessible, or because your opposition do it as standard.

Simply doing what you have always done is not enough.

It's not enough in these days of intense competition for attention.

In the retail market you have to be hungry for attention. Determined to get and keep market share.
This is about winning.

So how are you going to win? By being more creative than the firm next door. Delivering not just what your customer expect, or what they want but what they need.

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This is another way of saying: Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS)

Look for everything that gets in the way of your customers being able to buy - parking, doors, chairs that are too low to sit in, not being able to fill out forms, time, money, language, online access, a chequebook....

Then remove those physical barriers one by one.

(Of course you need to comply with Anti Money Laundering Regulations. Just find a way to do it that is as light touch as possible)

We facilitate group problem solving discussions within firms that provide practical solutions to everyday issues. For instance, how can you reduce your billing time? How can you divide your service in easy to buy "packs"?

We also talk you through how, by removing barriers to purchase and replacing them with reassuring messages, you can build the customers' trust and propensity to buy.

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Remember I asked right at the beginning whether your brand is consistent?

Using a well known shop, this is what I mean.

If you go to a John Lewis store, they are easy to spot. You probably will even know roughly where everything is if you have been to a store before, because they are deliberately designed to be similar. You will know what to expect by way of pricing, stock, availability of staff who will be knowledgeable and helpful, a cafe and a collection service s you don't even have to carry your shopping with you.

(Incidentally, all staff get to suggest customer service improvements and have it in their gift to make customers happy - something I suggest to my clients!)

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If you look at the John Lewis website (which they prompt you to do by sending regular, season appropriate newsletters), the same easy to access, easy to buy approach is evident.

Look how the store's Tablet and Phone Apps are prominent on the page. this means you can download the App and take it with you wherever you are, so you don't even need to be at your computer to buy online!

Bear in mind that the majority of searches these days are by mobile and tablet!

But the website offers you more: interesting "lifestyle" articles and seasonal offers. The ability to browse the whole store without leaving the comfort of your home. And they deliver 14million items a year as a result.

But there's more......

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For some people deliveries are a hassle, so stores have developed a "click and collect" service where they do most of the work, choose the items and even pay for them. They are then "held" at a local store for collection.

See - that's another example of removing the barriers to purchase - can't take time off to accept a delivery? Come into the store instead!

But here's note of caution. If you don't get it right, then the offline brand can damage your online brand and vice versa. John Lewis outsourced its delivery last year - resulting in some critical service failures. When your brand relies upon being relied upon, non delivery is a bad thing!

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Often when I walk around law firms, their customers are completely invisible. Of course, thats partly because of client confidentiality. But not completely.

Even behind closed doors, clients are invisible.

Start by understanding who your most important, most profitable clients are (and I'll explain more about that shortly)

Then give them a voice - through your client satisfaction programme, through client focus groups, through informal channels (think KISS - coffee stores use coffee beans, Currys uses buttons, what could you use?). Ask questions such as "What would you do?"

Then do it - tell clients how you have changed the service and ask if it's better. It's called "co creation" and most online business depend upon it these days!

On our website there is a how to guide for DIY client reviews for you to download - or I can send it to you if you email me after the show.

Keep changing, keep moving forward!

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Customer Lifecycle

Who is your customer? What does she look like? What does she buy? How does she like to tell you what she thinks? Do you listen? Do you know what papers she reads or which radio stations she listens to? How?

Each of these ladies is at a different stage in her life and likely to buy very different things. Do you know what?

After all, my partner does not buy his clothes from the same shop as our son. I don't wear the same shoes as my grandmother. Our needs are different because of who we are.

Richmonte Wells has a process for mapping Customer Lifecycles with you, to take you through the unique way in which your clients buy from your firm. We use our experience of firms elsewhere and also some tools which are very clever - I'll tell you more about those in a bit.

When you understand how people buy, it makes selling to them a whole lot easier! At Richmonte Wells we firmly believe that customer service and sales are one and the same thing and we have a track record of delighted law firms who agree!

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Customer Journey

Once you understand a customer's lifecycle (i.e. what she wants to buy), then you are in a position to understand what happens when she buys.

Map all the processes, all the hot spots, all the points at which your customers can be pleasantly surprised or disappointed.

Where are the waiting times?

Where are the points that you can't control but someone else could?

Here's an easy example: moving house. Clients don't buy a conveyance, they buy "moving home". All the want to know is when can they collect the keys. Everything you do to protect them gets in the way of that.

We have broken down the process so that law firms can start to guarantee end to end times. Guess what? Their customers love it and so do the estate agents - a massive win!

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Use all the information that you have gathered to CHANGE!

Be open when clients need you to be, answer the phone, have online chat lines, provide jargon busters and DIY packs .... and yes, these are all examples of projects that we have been involved with and are part of a retail strategy for law firms.

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Consistency is not a fashionable word. Nobody wins awards for being the most "Consistent" law firm. But guess what? That's what customers want.

And if they think they can depend on you to be consistent, they will even refer their friends and family to you! that will help the marketing budget!

Consistent means:

Always - always following the process
Quality - setting a standard and sticking to it
Compliance - doing Lexcel reviews when they are due not just before the assessor comes round!

It means getting the detail right. First touch football.

For many firms we work with this is a significant challenge and requires a culture change!

How can this sit with a creative culture where mistakes happen? By using the process itself to prompt change: making sure your processes positively encourage improvement.

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What he said >>>>>

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Value is in the eye of the beholder - diamonds are really just lumps of carbon. Shiny lumps of carbon. Set it in a ring, give it to someone (me!) on a memorable occasion and it becomes an engagement ring. Hand it to your child on your deathbed and it becomes an heirloom.

So it is important to understand what it is that your clients really really want. Which are the threshold attributes that they expect as standard? What would they be excited about? What are they prepared to pay for?

Think about the difference in service and delivery and peace of mind between a second class stamp and a Special Delivery (the clue is in the name!) Between cattle class on easyjet and Business Class on say, Virgin (other providers are available!)

We show our clients how to deconstruct their services so that they can offer a range of services from DIY to Gold Standard, all with different price points.

Still not sure how this works? Think generic painkillers, Neurofen off the shelf, painkillers from behind the counter, ones the pharmacist recommends, doctors' prescription... Where is the pain point? How bad is it and what is the customer prepared to put up with?


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That ring again...!


The other point to make here is that lawyers often start their pricing not from value but from cost. Or £ per hour x how long it takes.

The cost price is useful to tell you whether you are going to break even on a job.

But the mark up on diamonds?

100% to 1000%!!

think about that next time you are pricing up a job!

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What do you need to do to make it all happen?

Well, the complete Richmonte Wells strategy is a little more involved but here is a very quick overview!

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1 Focus

2 Design

3 Transform

4 Price

5 Deliver

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Identify what it is that you do well and discover what makes your clients love you.

Focus on building your business around these core clients

and find out where the others live!

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This is how you can identify your most profitable clients, build an effective marketing strategy around their expectations, wants and needs. We can tell you where they live, what they wear and even what papers they buy.

Even better, we can give you a map showing where more potential clients live

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then decide what your clients really, really want

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Who are your clients?

Do they want

disposable fashion (DIY packs, unbundled services, online forms?)

reliable brand (personal service, FAQs for DIY packs, click and collect)

prestige (concierge service, one stop solution, at home/office visits)

armed with this information you can make the changes

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I'm using this in the sense of both

Creating and
Intending

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Every aspect of your business can then be by design to meet the expectations, wants and needs of your customers.

From your marketing to your customer service levels to your pricing to the way you answer the phone to the number of times the phone rings to the type of pen you have in reception and whether you have a reception......

And when you have a clear understanding not only of what customers want and how you are going to market it, then selling becomes a doddle!

(but just to be sure part of our strategy involves training all your team in front of house skills, sales process and customer service)

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Here are three completely different design solutions to the same problem.

One is designed to draw people in to browse. There is a self service centre where clients can complete DIY forms (but ask for help if its required), there are packs to buy and take away and quiet consultation rooms.

Another is designed to be more like a doctors waiting room, warm, reassuring and with products for sale on the back wall (supporting local crafts people). The "surgery appointment" - which is 20 minutes identifies the client's need, and how it can be filled. Another appointment may be required but equally the client may be very happy with a quick answer and a pack to take away.

The third is "work zone" for SMEs and their owners and intended to encourage small business owners to come into the building even when they don't have a specific legal need. There is an opportunity for a local cafe to provide coffees and snacks.

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Over time you should aim to design every single aspect of the customer journey. And having designed it, to redesign it, always looking for ways to improve it.

We are offering Green Belt Training to all our law firm clients as we have identified a real need for lawyers to better understand how processes can be reworked and simplified to create not just increased productivity and efficiencies but also fewer points where things can go wrong!

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Change is what we do at Richmonte Wells - we help clients to change the way that they do things. We don't just tell you "this is a great idea.. off you go!"

So we know how hard it can be to change. even small details like where the photocopier is can be hard to handle. Lots of small changes can be unsettling. Completely changing the way that you do things to put customers expectations, wants and needs at the heart of everything you do can be...... exhilarating!

You will be surprised at the feedback that you get and how quickly things can change. One firm we have worked with reported 20% a year on year improvement in revenue. Customers felt more at ease with the firm as we removed the barriers and redesigned how everyone engaged with the customers.

One important measure is trust. Only 40% of people who have used a lawyer would trust them to tell them the truth. If you could transform your business so that most people trusted you to help them.. You would be Slater & Gordon!

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My newsletter on Friday this week will show you the key principles to change management - including the fact that although people may understand that change is necessary and even welcome it, it can still be very sad for some and others may simply refuse to accept it.

It is really important for the firm's leadership to be

strong and
clear and
to communicate often and effectively

Customers also need to be told about the changes, particularly where they are the ones who helped design the changes! For those who may not like them, for example where you are no longer going to be providing a service they rely on, extra care will be required.

And additional marketing to reach out to the new potential customers who haven't yet used you and who love the new store!

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Leadership and Management training

you will almost certainly want to invest in training so that people can

use the new processes
understand the pricing and how to explain it
understand how to sell and what to sell and when
be clear on the online and offline brand and
what their role is in the new set up

Luckily, for businesses in Engalnd and Wales with the potential to grow, you may be able to access government funding for this equivalent to £2,000 per senior member of staff.

(Funding may also be available for the parts of the retail strategy as well, depending where you are based).

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We have talked about pricing for value - we will shortly be releasing some templates for firms to buy in each area of consumer based law that will allow you to work out how much to charge and for what.

If you would like to know when we release these, simply sign up on our website http://www.richmontewells.com

Retail pricing for law firms involves a completely different approach from the usual fixed price approach (although it probably will be fixed prices). No more calculations by cost per hour times number of hours plus a bit. Instead, consider what the clients will pay and break the service down into the smallest chunks possible that work at that price: let me show you what I mean....

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For instance, all these shops sell socks.

Primark's socks come in packs of 5 for £4
John Lewis sells socks in packs of 5 for £12
Harvey Nicks sells socks for £50 (one pair, branded!)

Primark sells lots and lots of socks. apparently some people don't even wash their socks, they just throw them away. And buy some more.

So socks don't have a "price".

A divorce doesn't have a "price" either. But as Mastercard would probably say... A divorce? £1000 Peace of mind? Priceless!

Break that £1000 into chunks that people can afford, a bit at a time. Give them the option to do bits themselves, perhaps in store where there is an expert. Run "How to do your own divorce" evening classes (with a voucher for a local spa?) All these products carry a price tag and it all adds up.

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Track trends to find out what is selling well. We all know that house moves are seasonal and so are divorces and sadly, deaths.

Offer discounts when you are not so busy to keep the work flowing at a consistent level through the firm all year round (or venue better plan your holidays around these periods!)

And ask, if this is doing well and is profitable, how can we sell more of them to more people?!? (See our website for a downloadable tool which will help you decide this for yourself).

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And then all you have to do is deliver it!

Remember to

be Creative in finding solutions
be Convenient by removing barriers
put the Customer first in designing your business
be Consistent in what you do
Care about value

At Richmonte Wells we offer an audit service to our clients so that once you have set your KPIs, we show you how best to measure them (lead indicators not lag) and then, if you like, we come back and see how you are doing and make recommendations for improvement.

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What he said >>>>>

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So all that remains is to ask

When?

are you going to start shaping your services round what your clients really really want?!

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