If any of you are following me on social media, you will have no doubt seen that I have been doing a LOT of traveling with my business recently. I thought I would share with you some of the reasons why I did it and what I have learnt from this process.
Where you will usually find me...
A little over 18 month ago, I founded a technology company called The Link App. I did so because, as a lawyer I could see there was a better way of working and that technology could make the difference. As part of our commitment to customer service I decided it was important to make it out from behind my desk and begun a series of visits to lawyers in various parts of the UK. The purpose of the visits is not only to find out what lawyers current and future needs are for simplifying client communications, but also to meet lawyers face to face and discuss the options that The Link App provides doing so. I am determined that in time my app will be the client communication tool of choice among lawyers across the UK and wider. It is important to reach out to the people who are using your product and understand personally what their experience has been. It is one thing designing something on a drawing board so to speak, but it's important that you have the customers view, and the opportunity to get that feedback first-hand is proving very useful.
Having completed visits to Worcester, Essex, Surrey, St Albans, Liverpool and Edinburgh, I am looking forward to further visits over the next few weeks. It's great to get out and visit firms and see how they work slightly differently. However, the need to offer excellent customer service and find efficiencies is consistent. I find that keeping clients up to date about what is happening with their cases is a constant need for all the firms I have visited so far. Failing to do so adds to work which is why the Link App- a simple to use communication app- is a great saver of cost as well as inconvenience.
The feedback we are getting from this exercise is priceless and I encourage all start-up business to really get to know their customer base personally. We now know how much law firms love our product and also what they want to see as our next steps. One senior law firm partner recently claimed "this will completely revolutionise the way we do things". If I hadn't got out on the road I would still have suspected this was the case but I wouldn't have actually know.
As much as it is attractive from a business perspective to provide remote service with lower outgoings, you really will sacrifice a lot of the customer service experience gained from face to face meetings. It is a balance for any business but not a decision I think you can take lightly. However big The Link App gets I will always endeavour to be as involved with our customers as I possibly can be.
If you are involved in a law firm or work closely with one that really wants to be counted as innovative and prioritising customer service I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to engage on social media!