The Business Situation
A business software provider wanted to simplify and sharpen their pricing model for products used by law offices. The goal was straightforward: drive profitability by building a pricing structure that fit the way law firms think, buy, and budget.
But law firms are not a monolith. A solo practitioner and an Am Law 100 firm operate in fundamentally different worlds, with different decision-makers, different purchasing processes, and different expectations from vendors. Before the client could redesign their pricing, they needed to understand the market as it exists, which meant going directly to the lawyers and law librarians who use these products every day and the decision-makers who hold the purchasing power.
The Business Question
We know what we sell. But do we understand how our customers decide to buy it?
The client came in with four questions: What pricing models are law firms currently encountering from their software vendors? How do firms of different sizes approach the purchasing process? What pricing structures do lawyers and law librarians prefer, and why? And what do vendors do, intentionally or not, that makes it harder or easier to get a deal done?
Our Approach
Reaching Experts on Their Terms
We conducted 7 online focus groups, segmented deliberately by firm size: small, mid-sized, and large law firms. Firm size shapes everything from who holds purchasing authority to how pricing flexibility is weighted against administrative simplicity. Mixing firm sizes would have obscured the very differences the client needed to see clearly.
- Sessions offered at multiple times of day. Lawyers and law librarians operate under demanding schedules with limited discretionary time. Making participation convenient was not a courtesy; it was a prerequisite for reaching the right people. We did not want scheduling challenges to filter out the most experienced or senior participants.
- High bar for relevance. Every participant had meaningful tenure in their role, demonstrated familiarity with the pricing models of the products their firms used, and held real purchasing influence.
What We Found
The Market Speaks. The Path to Profitability Gets Clearer.
- How firms at different sizes buy. The research surfaced a nuanced picture of how law firms experience, evaluate, and decide on software products. The client came away with a genuine understanding of how firms at different sizes assess and weigh value when it comes time to renew or expand.
- Which pricing structures created resistance to adoption, and which seemed fair and would promote adoption. The research revealed where flexibility in pricing models made a meaningful difference in purchasing decisions. Not all firms wanted the same thing, and knowing which models resonated with which audiences gave the client a concrete foundation for segmenting their approach.
- The strategic role of the law librarian. The conversations surfaced something the client had not fully anticipated. These professionals often sit at the center of the purchasing process, serving as informed advocates, internal evaluators, and relationship-holders with vendors. Understanding their role opened a clear opportunity the client could act on directly.
The Outcome
Armed with these findings, the client could move forward with a pricing strategy grounded in how their customers actually think. The research clarified not just what to charge, but how to structure, present, and communicate pricing in ways that reduce friction and build confidence at the point of purchase.
It also pointed toward longer-term opportunities: how to develop new products that better meet the evolving needs of attorneys, and how to cultivate the relationships with law librarians and C-suite decision-makers that determine whether a vendor becomes a trusted partner or just another line item.
That’s what it looks like when research illuminates the decisions in front of you.