3pm.
That’s normally when the thought first pops into my head.
What to do about dinner?
Deliveroo? HelloFresh? Or cook something from the fridge?
They’ll all serve to fill me up.
But they’re not really the same are they?
Deliveroo is fast and convenient. And the best part, no dishes! All I need to do is figure out what looks best. It will also be consistent, prepared by a chef who cooks all day and has made this dish a thousand times. On the downside it’s expensive and I don’t have any control over what goes into the food.
HelloFresh is a step to the centre. I can order what I want but my choice is more limited. I also have to cook it myself even if I get all the ingredients pre-portioned out. That means the quality is going to vary but as long as I stick to the recipe I should be ok. HelloFresh also forces me to think at least a week in advance as to what I think I’d like.
Cooking something from the fridge is the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m going to create a lot of mess, I have to go to the store, I really have to think about what I need and take the time to look up a recipe. I’m not the world’s best cook and with all these variables the result could go either way. It gives me a lot of flexibility though. I can control every aspect of the final product from the ingredients through to the temperature of the oven.
Same outcome, dinner on the table, very different paths.
The right path to the outcome depends on any number of factors.
It’s no different with legal services.
Sometimes clients want Deliveroo, a full service offering that takes care of everything. Price is a tradeoff for convenience, consistency of service and the best expertise.
For other matters the HelloFresh approach makes more sense. Clients are willing to pay a bit extra for some convenience but also recognise that they don’t need the ‘gold’ standard. Sometimes that means waiting a bit longer for a matter to be addressed or working with a team that’s a bit less busy.
Other times cooking from the fridge is the right way to go. Perhaps cost is the biggest consideration and we’re willing to accept that we don’t need the world’s leading subject matter expert or that we can use technology to do something that would ordinarily be handled by an associate.
Clients know when putting out a piece of work what the most important factors are to them in getting to the right outcome.
The problem is that they usually don’t reflect them and law firms usually don’t ask.
So what is most important to the client?
Cost? The speed with which something is addressed? Is it a ‘bet-the-farm’ matter and requires a kitchen sink approach?
This doesn’t have to be hard. At Alacrity we give our clients a simple priority setting tool so both sides are clear on what’s important.
Helping firms know what’s important on every matter allows them to better understand and anticipate your needs leading to better service delivery and new opportunities for them.
Let’s start being clear about what’s for dinner.
Dinner is served,
Christopher Thurn
Founder – Alacrity Law
