Beyond the case: why consistency is key to client satisfaction
When consumers engage with a service provider, they want – and expect – the experience to ‘feel’ the same every time. Whether it’s having the grass cut by a gardener, getting a massage from a therapist, meeting with a bank to discuss a loan or mortgage application, or working with different departments in a long-serving law firm, the principle remains the same – consistency is crucial.
Unfortunately, a uniform and reliable experience that meets customer expectations is by no means guaranteed.
In this blog, we look through the lens of clients interacting with their law firms, and explore what makes for a seamless experience – and what happens when it breaks down.
To set the scene, consider this real life (but anonymised) case study about established client, Jarvis Spear, and his law firm, Merton Hatfield.
Case study: Jarvis Spear, Spear Software Plc
Having successfully built and led his thriving business, Spear Software Plc, Jarvis Spear has relied upon Merton Hatfield for his corporate legal needs throughout his organisation’s lifetime.
Mr Spear has been totally satisfied with his law firm’s corporate department, quoting his appreciation of their professionalism, clear communications and well-structured documentation. As a busy entrepreneur, he values that the end-product legal documents are easy to digest and navigate, featuring tables of contents, cross-references and a coherent layout.
However, Mr Spear recently found himself needing legal assistance beyond his traditional corporate-only affairs. Facing separation from his long-time spouse, he once again turned to Merton Hatfield. This time, he instructed their family team to manage his divorce, their residential conveyancing department to manage the sale of two of his properties, and their tax and estate planning lawyers for tax strategy advice and will drafting. Sadly, these latter experiences didn’t meet the high standards he’d come to take for granted from Merton Hatfield’s corporate solicitors.
A key reason for this was that the other departments lacked uniformity in their approach. One of Mr Spear’s biggest bones of contention was inconsistently formatted documents, clearly the result of a heavy and hurried use of cut and paste, with varying typefaces and alignments often within the same document, and poor structure which made it tricky to read and manoeuvre, and therefore confusing and time consuming. The stark contrast from the corporate department meant Mr Spear began questioning not just the newly introduced teams but the law firm’s overall quality.
Mr Spear’s case study demonstrates how a company’s character and renown is dependent upon the combined efforts of all its employees and when one division excels while others falter, it creates doubt in a long-standing client’s mind, thus serving as a reminder that consistency is everything. Any law firm is only as strong as its weakest link, and in the world of professional services, seamless quality across all offerings is essential for success.
Mr Spear’s case highlights a crucial truth: a law firm’s reputation isn’t built on the strengths of one department alone, but on the collective experience it provides to consumers of its legal services.
What consistency really looks like in practice
A law firm’s identity goes well beyond its logo – it’s shaped by the quality and consistency of every client interaction. From the clarity of an initial consultation to the tone and layout of final documents, each point of contact should reflect the same professionalism and attention to detail.
Clients don’t separate your firm into teams – they experience it as one brand. And that brand needs to show up the same every time, regardless of the department involved.
The impact on clients – and your bottom line
When all parts of the firm operate at the same standard, clients feel reassured they’re in capable hands. Consistency builds trust, strengthens credibility and fosters long-term relationships.
In contrast, even small discrepancies can create confusion, raise concerns and erode confidence – fast. In legal services, where trust is everything, a unified and reliable experience across the board is not optional – it’s critical.
Clients benefit through:
Better customer service. The customer experience is enhanced if each interaction is familiar and undergoes a process of continuous improvement.
Lasting professional relationships. Organisations become more than simply legal service providers, creating emotional connections to stand the test of time.
Support that feels personal. Servicing consumers during happy times, such as launching a new business, and during difficult periods, such as divorce, makes people feel genuinely cared for.
And for the firm, the benefits are clear:
Greater client loyalty. A happy client brings repeat business and chooses the firm over competitors offering seemingly like-for-like services.
Lower spending on business development. The cost of acquiring new clients is higher than retaining existing clients, so firms can upsell and spend less on marketing.
More referrals. Loyal clients refer peers, friends and colleagues, securing a steady revenue stream of new sales opportunities.
Persuasive word-of-mouth marketing. Satisfied customers talk openly about positive experiences and these recommendations are the best form of marketing.
Boosted brand recognition. Presenting the firm in the right way across every department and customer-facing interaction leads to increased awareness and instant recall.
Improved bottom line. It all adds up to healthier profits.
Closing the case: practical steps to stay consistent
If this sounds a little (or a lot!) like your law firm, there’s help at hand in this list of tips to build and sustain a consistent service experience:
Create brand guidelines. Style guides aren’t just for logos – they’re the rulebook for every communication, from emails to reports. Our earlier ‘Brand guidelines: A how to guide’ blog has all the advice you need to get started.
Design a series of document templates. Covering the Microsoft 365 suite (that’s Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint), your brand-compliant templates allow you to produce top-class, on-brand communications in a few mouse clicks.
Make resources accessible. Brand guidelines and document templates are only useful if your employees know how to access them. Don’t keep them for your marketing team alone. Share far and wide throughout your law firm.
Train your people. Continuous training of your workforce is good for business as it impacts efficiency, productivity and profitability. By upskilling to super user standard on your branding and document templates, each person acts as a brand ambassador.
Review regularly. To keep your assets on-brand always, review customer-facing materials on a routine basis and ensure their adoption practice-wide for brand engagement at its finest – both externally and internally.
Reach out to Integrated Office Solutions. If it sounds daunting and too much to handle with potentially limited internal resources, utilise experts in software customisation, training and consulting to become brand champions with ease. The above case study is a real-life client who overcame their ‘inconsistency’ dilemma thanks to our backing.
Keep learning. Our blog is packed full of handy hints, from ‘Microsoft customised ribbons: The benefits explained’ to ‘How important is your brand?’ and much more. Head to https://iosl.co.uk/blog and get reading.
The verdict
Clients may choose you for your reputation – but they stay for the experience. Make sure it’s a consistent one.