Between court appearances, client consultations, and conducting discovery and depositions, a personal injury attorney can easily feel overbooked and overwhelmed.
Website chat boxes and automated texting can help ease both business development and client service demands for personal injury law firms and attorneys. These communication tools are proven client service strategies that help create and retain clients because they provide the immediate information and around-the-clock responsiveness people have come to expect.
Personal Injury Law Firm Website Chat Features
While the use of chat features on business websites, including personal injury law firms, is increasing, consumers are also using them more often. Chat boxes can be powered by artificial intelligence (“chatbots”), live agents, or, in many instances, a combination of the two. Many systems are set up so that the chatbot hands off the complex queries to a live customer service representative.
Whether it’s a chatbot or a live person, the chat feature has many benefits for personal injury law firms. We know that potential clients visit personal injury law firm websites to vet referrals or because they were led there via a search. When greeted by a virtual receptionist, these visitors are more likely to be converted from researchers to clients because they can quickly and easily receive the exact information they need. This could be anything from questions regarding the types of cases the law firm handles to the soonest the potential client can schedule an attorney consultation.
Chat allows 24/7 access and immediate responses. The latter is a critical component of quality client service according to multiple surveys of law firm clients.
Chatbots
Chatbots use artificial intelligence and natural language processing to answer questions. Some are simple and some are more technologically advanced, so there is a wide range of options available. According to the 2021 State of Chatbots Report by Solvvy, about 80% of consumers surveyed reported that they will use a chatbot when one is offered.
Live Chat
Live chat can be used by a law firm representative to answer questions during business hours and either turned off in the evening or outsourced to a specially trained agent after hours. Live chats are more popular than chatbots for people between 18 to 49 years old, according to SaaSworthy, with 73% of their clients reporting that live chat is the most convenient way to communicate with a business. In addition, millennials are 20% more likely than other generations to use chat, SaaSworthy found.
Texting w/ur PI Clnt
Communicating with clients via text is, like chat technology, scalable. Some personal injury law firms utilize automated texting platforms to remind clients about court dates or appointments. Many attorneys will use it as a quick and efficient means of communicating with clients directly. There are some potential problems that can arise when texting with clients, but there are also many client service benefits, including:
The ability to communicate with clients from anywhere, whether it be the courthouse or during a break in a deposition. Clients feel heard when the attorney replies to text messages promptly — even just to acknowledge the question was received and let them know a more detailed response will come later.
Eighty-five percent of smartphone users prefer text messages over emails or calls, according to a Soprano Design report published in PC World. In addition, 90% of those surveyed say they open a text within three minutes of receiving it, compared to 20% for email, the report said. Texts have a 45% response rate, the report adds, compared to 6% for emails.
With better response times and rates, attorneys will save valuable time and money on client communications.
Texts can also be used to ask clients to participate in satisfaction surveys and leaving reviews with a higher likelihood of response.
Texting Drawbacks
Given the casual nature of texting, it’s important to ensure the communications don’t wander into unsecured territory. Text conversations should not be about private, confidential, or privileged information. Texting should only be done if the attorney has a way to capture and download the conversation as part of the client file.
Also, given the potential to be reached anywhere at any time, an attorney should speak with clients about communication expectations. Frankly, it’s not healthy for anyone to not have the ability to take breaks from work, so boundaries should be set.
