The Fall of Laggards
My feeds are awash with talk of change. Change to the needs of clients, the operation of firms, the shape of the market. Surely, they can’t all be wrong.
Clues as to how things may unfold can be found in the Diffusion of Innovation or the Rogers Adoption Curve. The curve of the graph rises and falls with innovators, early adopters, late adopters and laggards, visually displaying the development of out with the old and in with the new. And the legal sector is no different.
Corporate law firms continue to believe their traditional methods will ensure their survival, just as they have done up until now. But now, times are changing, clients’ needs have adapted, and traditional firms are being left behind as laggards. Remember Blackberry?
The Rise of Innovators
In her article in Harvard Business Review, Anita M. McGahan described how traditional law firms had failed to adopt new methods to meet the changing needs of their clients. “Executives tend to underestimate the threat to their core activities by assuming that long-time customers are still satisfied and that old supplier relationships are still relevant. In reality, these relationships have probably become fragile.”
To avoid following the same path as corporate law firms, those entering the market as early adopters need to prioritise client satisfaction and put changing client demands at the forefront of their business model. By welcoming new technology instead of shunning it, new law firms and early adopters can achieve better insight into the market and automate time-consuming tasks, enabling their lawyers to spend more time focusing on their clients and the services they’re providing.
Crossing the Chasm
Unfortunately, the path to the top of the Rogers Adoption Curve isn’t that simple. To progress from early adopters to main majority, businesses must first cross the chasm of building a solid business structure, providing high quality services and achieving consistent client satisfaction.
Where many new law brands fall short is attempting to juggle the processes of running a business alongside handling client needs. It’s important to remember that clients aren’t just the key to change but also the key to success.
The Bamboo Platform
The Bamboo platform is a leading platform and community for lawyers to build their practices upon, helping them on their way across the chasm. By providing a complete law firm operating system and handling all the back-office processes required to run a business, we enable lawyers to put their focus back on their clients. What’s more is, should the lawyer need further advice or support, our Bamboo Hub Team have the knowledge and experience to guide their law firm in the right direction.
Developed by innovators for innovators, if you’re interested in progressing from early adopter to main majority, join the Bamboo platform.
