A recent report into how consumers are choosing legal services has found that users are driven by many factors, but they are not shopping around for legal services.
Shockingly, the report, carried out by the Legal Services Consumer Panel, claims that only 27% of legal service users shop around before using a company.
Because of recent reforms into price transparency by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), and deeper reforms into service transparency by The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), consumers are motivated by things like price, reputation and speed of delivery, but are failing to shop around before making their final decisions.
Despite the SRA’s reforms into price transparency, the most decisive factor in choosing a legal service remains reputation, with 78% of people surveyed valuing this above all other factors.
Price was a very close second with 72% of consumers looking at the price they will pay for legal services. The report also shows a seven year upward trend on fixed-fee arrangements, with 52% opting for this as opposed to 38% of consumers in 2012; further suggesting that consumers appreciate understanding the total costs they would be expected to pay.
Other key factors include: 70% of consumers looking for specialists to complete their legal services, 69% focusing on the speed of delivery and 68% searching for legal service providers with local offices.
Overall, the statistics suggest that the expectations of consumers are high. They demand a quick service and are driven by price. In addition, people are also motivated by reputation and continue to use a service they know will deliver positive results. The survey also indicates that 66% of users will choose to use a solicitor for all their legal service needs.
Have you seen legal service users being driven more by price? Are you still finding new clients based on reputation? How will consumers be encouraged to use legal services in the future?
