The world of customer service is changing. People are more likely to find about your law firm online—especially if your SEO strategy is working the way it should. That means they’re more likely to want their questions answered while online.
A FAQ page is a great idea, but you can’t anticipate every question about every possible situation. That’s why live chat for lawyers has become an important part of customer service.
Studies have shown the live chat provides higher satisfaction levels for prospects and that it increases revenue by nearly 50 percent based on the work hours invested in it.
Why does live chat have a significant impact on your bottom line? Here are 3 reasons why.
Speed
The Internet has changed the mindset of all of us at some level, especially when it comes to how fast we expect answers to our questions. The days of people being willing to wait on hold or work their way through an automated phone system are going away. This is especially true if it’s an easy question that they can just type into a chat box.
These prospects are going to work with the law firms that meet them where they’re at—particularly a younger generation that may be forming lifelong business relationships right now.
Efficiency
If you have 1 person handling your customer service, they can only take 1 call at a time. What if that call is a long one? Now the staff member is tied up for an extended period of time and the callers that had to be put off may be lost.
You invested more, in terms of work hours, than you would have for live chat and got less of a return. With a chat box, juggling multiple queries at once is manageable.
Documentation
Many of the benefits of live chat apply to every business, but documentation has a special value to those in the legal profession. There’s no room for misunderstanding in terms of what a prospect was or wasn’t told regarding their potential case. Live chat records are saved and are a part of your file.
Live chat offers terrific benefits, but a word of caution—don’t rush into it until you’re ready to commit. Once that live chat box pops up on a prospect’s screen, they’re going to expect fast service. You need to meet that expectation. Your staff has to be ready for the interruptions that the ever-present chat box will provide.
However, if you’ve prepared yourself and your staff for the new way of doing business, live chat can be a boon for your law firm.
