As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your firm may be expert at its practice, have an impressive office and website, and retain attorneys that are heavily sought after, but if they aren’t available for clients when today’s “always on” client reaches out, all those efforts will be wasted.
While there are several ways for firms to communicate with clients — social media, email, mail, live chat — one of the trends we’ve seen post-COVID across industries is a strong desire from clients to talk to a real human on the phone. In the legal profession, this can be true to an even greater degree since these calls can often involve emotional or complex issues.
We recently found that 62% of people are spending longer on the phone with businesses than three years ago, and that 76% of customers cite a company not putting their phone number on their website as a major source of irritation. Even if they never use it, clients know they have a way of getting in touch and being able to talk to someone. Further, not seeing a phone number can understandably create trepidation about your brand.
Additionally, almost half of respondents said they would go elsewhere following a poor call, while just over 40% would call back and ask to speak to someone else, and over a third would make the effort to complain to the business.
But the Great Resignation and talent drought that succeeded COVID has also fueled staffing shortages that do not lend themselves to having someone available to pick up the phone any time someone wants to talk. Further, the likelihood of a firm being able to commit an attorney, paralegal or any full-time staffer to this “on call” role does not make good business sense.
We recently conducted our annual “mystery caller” research that showed a mix of service performance for the firms we surveyed in terms of the warmth of the greeting, their helpfulness and their call handling quality throughout the call. At the time, around three-quarters of the firms called defaulted to voicemail or had the phone ring until the caller was disconnected. And when it came to the speed of calls being answered, the best-performing firms answered their calls in an average of one ring or five seconds, while the worst performing answered in an average of six rings or 36 seconds — the longest wait time from any industry.
When you’re looking for representation, or when you’re being represented, a call to nowhere can be a major turnoff or frustration. While live chat can be incredibly useful in fielding inquiries through a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and human support, a client may be looking for further reassurance or need to discuss something more complicated than a chatbot can field.
“Chatbots and AI can enhance the customer experience, but many people prefer the warmth, understanding and problem-solving capacity of a friendly human being on the other end of the phone, particularly when their call is urgent or sensitive.”
From working with firms, we recognized there was a unique need in the legal industry given the sector’s language and terminology. Industries like law have jargon and references that require quite a bit of mastery to be of assistance to clients when an attorney or paralegal are not available to talk. The service also further allowed firms to keep both their lawyers and paralegals focused on the work at hand — providing them with the comfort of knowing the people answering the phone will keep the conversations and work moving in the desired direction.
Beyond ongoing client service, another area we’ve seen firms struggle with is following up on and fielding leads. Studies have found a pick-up rate of 50% to 80% when a firm calls a prospect back within five minutes. A person who has just submitted a contact form may not expect an answer from a real person, but imagine their surprise when an inquiry gets a call back within seconds!
As the world becomes more digital, businesses must remember the value of human connection. Chatbots and AI can enhance the customer experience, but many people prefer the warmth, understanding and problem-solving capacity of a friendly human being on the other end of the phone, particularly when their call is urgent or sensitive.
Research shows that brands with superior customer experience bring in five to seven times more revenue than those that lag in customer experience. And while the prospect of doing it well can be daunting, a little bit of effort can go a long way in driving business.