- Ambitious research study assessed the customer experience of 256 firms
- Professional services firms scored a sobering Net Promotor Score of -42
- Research confirms poor CX is undoubtably costing these firms business
Customer experience (CX) is the new business battleground for the professional services sector, yet a new research study assessing the experiences of potential customers shows many firms are letting themselves down and may have even damaged the business.
The comprehensive study included 256 companies across the UK with 500 new enquiries across four principal types of professional services firms – accountancy, insurance, and finance, legal and property.
The findings now provide a benchmark for customer experience and satisfaction within the professional services industry which is currently performing poorly with a Net Promoter Score (NPS)* of –42. Research by the London School of Economics shows that for every 7% increase in a brand’s NPS, their revenue will grow by 1% as a direct result.
The results, published by insight6 in The Professional Services Client Journey Report 2021, is the customer experience specialists’ most ambitious study to date.
“There is a huge opportunity to improve CX for professional service firms and deliver a superior experience which will attract and retain more” says Richard Knight, Director insight6 Dorset & Wiltshire.
The study found firms providing excellent CX, but for many there is a huge opportunity for improvement. Typically, it is a simple matter of applying emotional intelligence – a human touch, an effort to listen and explain without jargon, and making a follow-up call.
What is interesting is that it is not the complex nature of the job, or the expertise required that is letting professional services firms down, but the most basic of day-to-day interactions that are costing them dearly. As well as calculating NPS scores, the Professional Services Client Journey Report 2021 unveils a catalogue of basic, and avoidable errors, that caused a breakdown of the customer journey and would have potentially lost these firms business.
Customers' expectations are rising. In a world that is moving rapidly to new communication channels, and with younger generations (the customers of tomorrow) increasingly keen to use alternative communication channels, professional services firms are falling behind.
Website contact forms are a quick and convenient way for customers to contact businesses and are frequently used. However, the Report shows over a third (34%) of web enquiries made by a potential client went completely unanswered. A poor experience at the ‘interest’ stage of the customer journey reflects badly on the firm, and prospects may feel their enquiry is unimportant and therefore opt to do business with a responsive competitor.
You may expect professional services firms to have a better handle on traditional communications, but this was not the case. The Report shows 42% of phone calls were not returned, even when the potential new client had left a voicemail. In fact, only 8% of companies bothered to follow up a new customer phone enquiry within the next working week; this rose slightly to 10% when the enquiry was made via email.
Behind poor CX you can find underlying problems in a firm’s culture, such as short-term targets, disengaged teams or siloed working. Beyond technology, effective CX is often about empowering staff and providing them with the skills, tools, and authority they need. Finding the problems is the starting point for improving CX, but it is also half the battle because once the flaws have been identified, the solutions are often very straightforward.
If you would be interested in how your firm compares please contact Richard Knight at richard.knight@insight6.com