Elevating Client Experience: Insights from CXps 2024

Last week I attended CXps, a client experience conference for professional service firms hosted by Client Savvy. I always enjoy hearing perspectives outside of legal and find it interesting that customer service expectations tend to align across industries ranging from accounting to architecture and engineering. The keynote and wrap-up speakers encouraged attendees to develop an “eyes up” foundation based on the following client-centric principles, which are great reminders for all lawyers:

• Engage as a business partner: We consistently hear in our feedback interviews how important it is for lawyers to understand the client’s business and industry. A standout lawyer tends to be seen as an extension of the in-house team, a collaborative business partner who deeply understands the client’s needs.  
• Focus on outcomes: What does success look like for the client? Understanding how the client defines success is key, so it’s important to ask questions upfront about what exactly the client needs to accomplish and manage expectations throughout a project. 
• Provide proactive communication and insights: What insights can you share from your experiences with similar clients in the industry? Use your broader lens to share trends and lessons learned to help your clients mitigate risk and see around the corner. 
• Ask for feedback: Solicit feedback often and early so that issues can be addressed before they turn into bigger problems. One presenter provided a simple, go-to question for actionable insights: “What should we stop doing, start doing and continue doing?”
• Celebrate the challenging feedback: We were encouraged to throw out the notion of “bad” feedback. Client Savvy cited a 400% increase in customer loyalty when a problem is fixed. Feedback is not punitive; at WPG, we often say it’s a gift and an opportunity to right the course and improve a relationship.