In today’s fast-paced, technological world, customers have come to expect immediate and efficient customer service, especially in the legal sector. Phone calls and inquiries can be time-consuming and inefficient for attorneys who are already carrying hefty workloads. That’s why more legal practices are choosing legal answering services to handle phone calls and inquiries, so they can save time for the real work of supporting and representing clients. With so many options to consider when it comes to customer service, we’ve broken down a list of qualities to look for in a legal answering service for your firm.
24/7 Availability
Gone are the days when clients expect to wait until Monday to hear back from a phone call, especially when they find themselves in a state of crisis. Legal answering services that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year not only capture more phone calls and leads, but they also help law firms field calls from different time zones and assuage concerns from clients who might be calling with emergencies.
AI or Receptionist
Some firms employ AI services to field calls. While automated systems can prove effective at taking messages and directing calls, they fail to provide the most effective customer service to legal clients who have real human concerns. Legal answering services that employ actual people achieve greater customer satisfaction because they can handle more complex issues and respond to client concerns with empathy and understanding. Sometimes a customer simply needs to engage with another human being to feel that their concerns are being heard and addressed in a timely manner.
Value for Money
The short-term investment in legal answering services can yield long-term profits. While it might seem like an unnecessary investment to outsource legal answering services, the time saved allows legal experts to focus their time and energy on researching, mediating, litigating, writing, negotiating, and navigating the many tasks and challenges that come with legal work. Legal answering services that make customer service their specialty give you the peace of mind that while the work is being done, your clients are in good hands. Legal practices can choose between charge per call or charge per minute services. Depending upon your typical call volume and inquiry length, you can choose the model that best suits your needs and keeps costs at a minimum.
Bilingual Support
Expand your client base with bilingual support. While not all law firms are able to provide customer support to non-English speakers, choosing a legal answering service that offers multilingual support will allow you to expand your customer base and provide better quality service to meet the needs of all your customers. Legal answering services can act as a liaison between you and your non-English speaking customers to build accessibility and trust.
Most Updated Software
Effective legal answering services are superior to in-house receptionists because they utilize the most state of the art software and apps to suit your individual needs. Depending upon the type of practice, or the preferences of a particular attorney, legal answering services can choose the software and practices that best suit their needs. Use apps or other tools to access calls and messages on the go. Legal answering services adapt to the latest trends in order to provide fast and effective customer services.
Benefits of Legal Answering Services
We’ve discussed some qualities to look for in legal answering services. Still not convinced? Let’s break down some of the benefits of outsourcing your legal answering service needs.
Improved Response Rates: We’re on call, so you don’t have to be. Access 24/7 customer support so clients receive direct, immediate support, at any hour of the day.
Increased Lead Count: New client inquiries are more likely to be converted into leads when they reach a human response right away. Increase your availability and make the conversion with 24/7 legal answering services.
More Flexibility and Productivity: Everyday focus on heavy workloads can be easily derailed by frequent or long-winded phone calls. Utilize legal answering services to streamline your day-to-day work according to your own schedule. Increased flexibility allows for more productivity in a workday. Meanwhile, rest assured that customer service specialists are attending to your clients needs and concerns over the phone, and connecting those clients to the exact services they need.
Better First Impressions: Legal answering service professionals are specifically trained to communicate with callers about legal matters. New and potential clients will receive quality customer service with no wait time, leading to better first impressions and more conversions.
Should you Outsource Legal Answering Services?
Attorneys who outsource calls and inquiries with a legal answering service provider enjoy more efficient time management, new lead conversions, and satisfied customers. If your business could benefit from more flexibility and a team of 24/7 specialists that you and your customers trust, legal answering services could be your stepping stone to the next level of productivity and peace of mind.
