Your business case for an "always-on" client listening programme

Conclusions from the 2022 Future of Client Listening research

Get in touch to find out more about how we help professional practices to create a cost-effective and affordable "always-on" client listening programme, supported by automated intelligence. 

• Firms are collecting the voice of the client in many different ways; from formal interviews and surveys through to informal emails and conversations. Much of this data is unstructured - text and verbatim comments- making it difficult to analyse manually.

• Despite receiving feedback from multiple formats, the core challenge remains the "top of funnel"- getting enough data in one place so that insights can drive actions.

• Most client feedback is collected at the end of a project, or periodically (e.g. annually) when it's too late to impact those experiences.

• Firms are finding it hard to access the voice of the client, because it's stored in multiple places or formats. This makes it hard see the big picture of overall client experiences, and to discover common themes and root causes.

• Many firms aren't doing enough with the data they already collect.  37% of respondents said insights from feedback prompts action across the firm.

• The firms that do share insights across the firm, are seeing a range of benefits including stronger client relationships, decision-making agility and continuous improvement.

• Over the last two years, firms have been introducing additional forms of online and face-to-face feedback. However, the underlying driver of progress is linked to how well the firm's leadership embraces the resulting insights.

• Looking forwards, firms are planning to evolve both the input and output stages of their client listening programmes. They are seeking ways to listen to more clients more often, and also looking at how they do more with the insights they create.

• Insights from client listening are being used to drive a wide range of decisions. The most prevalent being to improve the overall client experience and to improve client interactions.

• Firms with more than 150 people are investing to improve the scale and impact of client listening. 57% of respondents said their budget will increase, either a little or significantly.

• The majority of respondents said their firm had changed its approach to client listening over the last two years, finding new ways to gather and analyse feedback. In some cases this is through making the process more systematic.

• Client listening is enabling firms to better understand their own firm, as well as the needs and expectations of their clients. Combining these insights enables them to focus on what sets them apart from the competition.

• Firms are seeking ways to listen to more clients more often, and also looking at how they do more with the insights they create.

• Regardless of the type of client less than 35% of firms said that, in a typical year, they will ask more than half their clients for feedback. This is consistent with the earlier result that the most common challenge is collecting enough feedback.

• Firms of all sizes still struggle with the challenges of collecting enough client feedback, and then gathering it together in one place.

NEXT STEPS

Does your firm want to listen to more clients more often?  Do you want to do more with the client-related data you already have?

Would you like to see what "always-on" client listening looks like?  To explore your options, find out what it costs, how it might work for you?

GET IN TOUCH for a no obligation demo and discussion.  Email solutions@cartonconsultants.com

Easier still, choose a time for a telephone Teams call with Allan Carton here.