It takes savings of at least 24% to get an executive to even entertain switching providers. You can offer these savings in time or money—but if it doesn’t meet the 24% threshold, you are toast.

How ALSPs Negate Their Own Savings

ALSPs offer raw savings but are getting killed in the client experience. Top legal decision makers report ALSPs are difficult to deal with, deliver a clunky experience, and haven’t embraced client service. And, it’s all about the experience. Any breakdown in client experience costs top legal decision makers their most expensive resource—their time—immediately negating all those cost savings.

Law Firms Beat Out ALSPs in Client Experience

Top legal decision makers, at least the 40% or so who report experience with an ALSP, rank their user experience a 7.2—a good solid C+. These same decision makers say a good primary law firm is ranked an 8.7, while an average law firm earns an 8.2—both well above any ALSP. Only 11% rate their ALSP experience a 10 out of 10, while 50% rate their experience at 7 or below.

The minimum acceptable client experience in the legal world is 8.1. The math isn’t quite working in favor of ALSPs—yet. It’s difficult for clients to see the benefits in the absence of a smooth experience. The clunky ride cloaks everything the ALSP does. Clients tell us the major issues making the client experience rough include:

• Lack of a single point of contact

• No clear project leader

• Continuing stream of change orders

• Lack of updates and status reports

• Staff turnover

• Different interpretations of due dates and deadlines

But the Game Is Still in the Early Stages

ALSPs have been busy perfecting their processes and technology. They realize their market breakthroughs will come from a combination of savvy market development and a good, if not superior, client experience.

The message to law firms is clear: You can only keep the ALSPs at bay if you have the edge in the client experience—or develop your offerings. At some point in every B2B market, client experience rules. We recommend starting the continuous improvement process now—while you still have a substantial lead.

MBR