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Make the Obvious Customer Driven Change

Growing a law firm involves a myriad of steps, some of which can be difficult to determine. There is, however, a category of changes that is a good place to start when considering business-building and marketing strategies. They are requests and complaints made by your clients and prospective clients.

A recent experience in a coffee store demonstrates how overlooking the obvious directly resulted in lost sales. It’s the kind of place that sells high-end coffee, but whose owner would cringe if someone referred to their store as a coffee shop. This particular store is directly across from a Starbucks that is usually crowded and doesn’t have much space for people like me who want to work on a computer. I was therefore happy to see this non-chain store, and even happier when I saw a few people working inside on laptops. I walked in and asked the man behind the counter whether I needed a password to use their Wi-Fi. That’s when I found that they don’t have Wi-Fi. I proceeded to find out that people like me ask for Wi-Fi about five times a day. When I asked why they don’t provide Wi-Fi, I was told that the owners wanted to provide a more old-world experience. I suggested that they consider giving their customers what they want.

When considering changes to make to their business, this is an example of low hanging fruit. It’s a screamingly obvious complaint that customers or potential customers repeatedly voice. It doesn’t require a degree in marketing or sophisticated focus group testing to see that, for this store, providing Wi-Fi would be a relatively easy way to keep and attract more clients. I was prepared to give them my money. Moreover, if my initial experience was good, they had a chance of having me return every week or two. Instead, I picked up my laptop and reluctantly crossed the street to go to the Starbucks.

So how about your law firm?

What easy change are your clients and potential clients asking for? Stated differently, what is a clear source of displeasure for your target audience? What do a cross-section of them complain about? Making changes with respect to that issue or topic can be the easiest way to generate more repeat business or attract more and better new clients.