Market disruption is the new normal

We are all used to looking to the retailers as role models for excellence in customer service, so it was surprising to hear Tesco's chief executive say recently that lack of customer focus had seriously affected financial performance.

It's perhaps less surprising to discover even a major retailer getting it wrong, when one reads the customer service challenges laid out in the experts' predictions for 2016.

As expectations rise, the customer service challenge just gets harder. Indeed, the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) says this will be the year when organisations must aim for a perfect ten, or at the very least a nine, if they want to build trust, secure repeat purchases, or win recommendations from their customer base.

One of the most interesting predictions for our sector comes from Forrester Research. It says that disruption is now the new normal, but traditional companies can fight back against market disruptors and challengers. Our market footprint, capital, and massive amounts of customer data can all be turned to our advantage, but only if we use these as the springboard for change and adopt more agile ways of working and interacting with our clients.

Another important opportunity for the legal sector lies in privacy, which is predicted to continue its shift to becoming a value proposition in itself. Historically, few people cared about privacy risk enough to change their behaviour, but headline-grabbing security breaches and the rise of identity theft have changed the dynamic. As a result, differentiation through privacy protection could win customers for those who take the lead in this area, as well as driving other positive business outcomes, such as containing professional indemnity premiums. All law firms need to take action in this area and consider how they can reassure clients that their information is safe.

But, as well as safeguarding data, customers expect it
to be used to their advantage. They want to be treated as individuals, with every interaction informed and enriched through accurate information about their history and preferences. For firms this means ensuring that the age-old silo mentality is completely overcome, and also that existing client data is analysed and used in an intelligent and creative way.
As the ICS says, data must be more than a 'collector's item'. Effective data analytics and cutting-edge algorithms are predicted to be key competitive weapons in future, and unlocking the potential stored in client databases could be the answer
to providing a truly personalised experience for clients.

Finally, 'sincere support,
not a superficial smile' will be paramount in future, says the ICS, a prediction that resonates against our network's agenda in the field of culture and employee engagement, the topic of our last annual conference. Culture fuels change, and organisations that prioritise skills development and employee engagement will be the ones
to reap the rewards.

Helen Hamilton-Shaw is member engagement and strategy director at LawNet @LawNetUK www.lawnet.co.uk