Don't worry, this is not some kind of bad joke, but a question worthy of serious consideration.
What is the difference between a law firm and a taximeter?
To answer the question, lets look at how Uber revolutionised the taxi market by addressing some of the common fears of fare-paying passengers.
Uber did something remarkable for their clients, which many others failed to do. The first thing they did was to give the client almost complete control over the taxi journey.
Think of the psychology of getting into a taxi and asking the taxi driver to take you to your chosen destination. The taxi driver sets the meter and away you go.
But at the back of your mind, you're always wondering whether or not they're taking the shortest route or whether a different route might have avoided the traffic jam that's just cost you £13 to sit through!
It's that general nervousness and anxiety you feel as the fare continues to escalate, all of which is outside of your control, or you have to face the social embarrassment of exiting the taxi early because you can no longer stand it anymore – and didn't they lock the doors as you drove off…?
Yet look at what Uber did with beautiful success. They gave fare-paying passengers the ability to not only see the most direct route to the destination in the palm of their hand, they also gave them more certainty in terms of the fees that would be payable. Not only was it usually cheaper than a regular taxi, they avoided the need for the client to have to go and find a taxi on a busy street because the taxi came to them.
In a word – they gave the client one thing – Transparency.
Now contrast this with the journey of going to a law firm for your conveyancing. For most there's the anxiety that whilst a lawyer may give an indication of their proposed fee, this is usually caveated with a number of exceptions, or reasons why the fees can't be tied down to the pound, shilling and pence certainty that the client desires.
And we all know solicitor's time is expensive, right…?
So to my mind, this is where the problem starts, because the client is naturally anxious about being forced into a situation where they might have to spend a fortune when all they want to know how much it's going to cost them to move house.
Not only that, the client is in the difficult position of not knowing exactly what the solicitor is going to do for their money other than help them get the keys to their new home.
By comparison, the client is naturally left wondering whether or not the solicitor is taking the shortest route to the ultimate destination…
Additionally, due to the complexities of moving home, there's usually some other costs which a client may not be aware of, and so experience payment shock in the form of an inflated bill or completion statement, detailing unexpected charges which they were not expecting as part of the process.
So What Does This All Really Boil Down To?
Well, in my mind, it simply boils down to one thing which is: A lack of Communication.
Uber simplified the communication journey, by giving the client all the information upfront in the palm of the hand before they even committed to using that service.
Read that again…
By giving the client greater certainty, it's absolutely no wonder why Uber's service took off and left the old way of doing things completely in the dust. Now we can argue about the legalities of the business structure and all the rest of it, but the simple fact remains that Uber has become a company which has dominated taxi markets globally, and has provided a powerful force to be reckoned with for traditional taxi drivers, who operate in the same old ways which preserves the Status Quo. Madness, when there is a better way of doing things.
Up front and honest communication is an incredibly powerful tool to use when it comes to giving yourself a marketing advantage and avoid having to compete on price to win instructions.
So reflect on this; how much more powerful would it be to provide a similar "Uber" service to your house-moving clients? Do you think it would provide your client with the degree of certainty they're looking for, and would it remove the barriers which create anxiety and uncertainty in the moving process? Undoubtedly it would.
If you agree, the question remains, why are so many solicitors resistant to the very change needed to provide their customers with superior service and accordingly being able to charge a premium for the privilege?
Whilst I don't have a 100% accurate answer to this I do believe it comes down to one simple factor which is resistance to change. I firmly believe that not just solicitors, but many businesses in general, are firmly entrenched in a position of "this is the way things have always been done" which leaves them wide open to disruptive change in the market place.
Outsiders can clearly see an opportunity to do something better, which "insiders" to the game cannot see because they're too close to it to see what's required.
And unfortunately, many are so busy in the day-to-day running of the business that they haven't taken a step back to realise that things could be done better, more effectively, more efficiently and in a way that delivers excellence before tapping into the ultimate power of a satisfied client's referral network.
Change Is Coming
And here's where this blog post comes with a stark warning - the advent of Artificial Intelligence is going to completely shake up and revolutionise the business of conveyancing (and law practices in general) because A.I. will allow those forward-thinking businesses to deliver much faster and more accurate services 24/7/365, without any downtime.
I mean how can any business which employs staff with all the regular headaches of sick pay, hangovers, maternity pay, holidays, time off etc. genuinely compete against a machine that will do the bulk of the heavy lifting 24 hours a day and far faster than a human being? And without complaint…?
To give you an example of the power of AI (and bearing in mind, we are only just beginning to explore its incredible powers), a law firm owner recently shared that A.I. had been pitched against a team of six expert lawyers on a case to decide who could come up with the winning answer.
The team of 6 lawyers were given all the files and were told to go away and come back with an answer they believed to be appropriate whilst the same information was fed into the A.I. machine. It was the ultimate, man-versus-machine, head-to-head battle for legal supremacy.
The Results…?
The team of six lawyers went away and came back with an answer three hours later that was deemed to be 85% accurate. However, the AI machine came up with an answer that was deemed to be 95% accurate and delivered it in just six seconds!
Many people have not yet explored the capabilities or possibilities of A.I., which is why they won't necessarily grasp the sheer power of what is coming and the change that's likely to happen, which could impact around 90% of all jobs. It's not something that's 10, 20, or even 30 years away – it's literally something that's months away.
And those who fail to embrace new ways of doing things will, unfortunately, fall by the wayside.
So if you'd like to avoid the commodity death spiral and thrive whilst others are dying, then Book a Demo of WiggyWam where we'll show you a different way of doing things that'll save you hours and make work a lot more fun – and all without any high-pressure sales.
Want to know more? Then go to www.wiggywam.co.uk and click the Book Demo button now to book in a chat at a time that's convenient for you. I look forward to speaking with you soon.
We'd love to hear your experience, thoughts and insights on this. Please post in the comments section below.