A recent survey, carried out by YouGov and Europe Economics for the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), questioning more than 4,000 small businesses, business owners and managers has looked at how price transparency would impact on their decision to use legal service providers.
The results found that small businesses are particularly sensitive to price. 60% of respondents viewed costs as a clear barrier to soliciting legal help. The perception of expensive fees and overall price often prevented many from even researching legal providers.
50% of the survey would be willing to research the use of legal services if the company is able to clearly and transparently display all costs on their website.
Those with legal, business issues were hesitant about approaching legal service experts. Instead, they sought other, less expensive options. Many used HR consultants or employment consultants.
Others would use their own experience, dealing with the issue alone.
YouGov representatives said: “Firms should see publishing prices as a business opportunity, and not purely a compliance issue.
“This research suggests that those firms that do publish price information could benefit from increased contact from small businesses as their expectations about the costs of using a solicitor is lower when costs are publicly available.
“And firms that publish price information may gain, or at least retain, market share in an increasingly competitive market.”
The report has also indicated that small firms are extremely reliant on the internet and testimonials. The majority would undertake some market research into finding a legal service provider rather than reusing a solicitor; highlighting the importance of promoting influencing factors like price and service.
Furthermore, 42% of small businesses already spend time searching the internet when looking for legal service providers, while 75% would spend more time doing so if more accessible information was available online.
The SRA report comments: “Firms should see publishing prices as a business opportunity, and not purely a compliance issue. This research suggests that those firms that do publish price information could benefit from increased contact from small businesses as their expectations about the costs of using a solicitor is lower when costs are publicly available. And firms that publish price information may gain, or at least retain, market share in an increasingly competitive market.”
As the December deadline looms, many are embracing the statistics by viewing price and service transparency as a way of actively finding new business, including small businesses that were once reluctant to accept help because of perceived unknown and exorbitant fees.
Will price transparency encourage more small business, sensitive to price, to use legal services?
