Insight6 survey finds ‘enormous opportunity’ for CX improvement in professional services firms

Customer experience (CX) specialists from Insight6 have assessed over 250 companies across professional services firm nationwide and found significant room for improvement in how businesses interact with their customers.

The Professional Services Client Journey Report 2021 details the findings of Insight6 research, which included making 500 anonymous new enquiries with 256 firms across the UK across the legal, accounting, financial and insurance, and property sectors. Researchers made enquiries typical of the ‘bread and butter’ of a business, such as regarding simple house conveyancing, company accounts or initiating divorce proceedings.

Research covered the full customer journey of a new enquiry from the basics, such as how long it took to answer the phone and whether the initial contact was welcoming, to whether the service was warm and engaging and free of jargon. The research also measured whether and how long it took the firms to follow up their enquiries and a host of other topics, and contact was made across different channels including telephone, email and webchat.

The findings of the report found professional services firms averaged a Net Promoter Score, a widely used metric for measuring CX, of -42 with the majority of customers unwilling to recommend their service to others and unlikely to remain loyal to the brand. The report also found that CX declined with the adoption of more modern technology, with online interactions rated lower than telephone contact.

The report also highlighted that professional services firms were falling behind in CX with leading firms, such as Amazon (with an NPS of +53), Netflix (+55) and Apple (+56) that customers are likely to benchmark service against.

In his foreword to the report, Insight6 Founder CEO Jonathan Winchester said:

The COVID-19 pandemic has made CX even more important. As we all faced huge disruption and stress in every aspect of our lives, the companies that could demonstrate warmth and concern for their customers were the ones that thrived.

The value of service and the importance of making a human connection with customers has rarely been starker.

Companies that used COVID as an excuse to let their CX slide missed a golden opportunity to reconnect with their customers at a time of adversity. They will also have missed an opportunity to attract new business, whether by showing a human face to the strangers who walked through their doors, calling them on the phone, or sending them an email. CX is the new battleground for business and, for
professional services companies, this is an enormous opportunity.

Helping customers with their finances, their homes, their jobs or their legal affairs all require a human connection. Establishing that connection with customers through excellent CX is the most effective way to make your company stand out.

Insight6’s full Professional Services Client Journey Report 2021 is available to download and read in full from the organisation’s website, and includes a number of case studies from the sector, outlining ways they have made improvements in their CX.