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Many solos and small firms are turning to legal answering services to help them improve client experience (and satisfaction). The experts at Ruby provided a few thoughts about why now is a great time to consider adding virtual reception, and what you’ll want to know when evaluating different types of solutions in the space. Keep reading to learn more.
Are you ready for a legal answering service?
Fortunately for today’s overburdened attorneys, there are a number of answering services out there tailored for the specific challenges legal professionals face.
Virtual receptionists can answer calls on behalf of you or your firm, transfer calls, schedule appointments, take messages, collect information about callers, make outbound calls, and answer basic questions from callers.
Live chat specialists can perform the same tasks for people who visit your website, through an online chat box, engaging in real conversations with web visitors and helping you or your firm capture more leads and convert them into clients.
Legal technology solutions can boost your firm’s client intake, satisfaction, and retention numbers with automated communication, scheduling, relationship management, document management, and finance tools.
Virtual receptionists differ in terms of what they offer. Some services provide just virtual receptionists or live chat capabilities. Others (including Ruby) provide both, as well as integration with legal practice management software.
The benefits of using an attorney call answering service include…
- Increased response rates: Your answering service provider will minimize the number of calls and inquiries you or your firm would miss otherwise.
- Improved lead count: Capture more prospects and collect valuable information about those prospects.
- Better client experiences: It’s an answering service agent’s job to delight your clients and make sure their needs are met.
- Better first impressions: Wow your new clients and prospects every time with a service that fosters personal connections.
- More flexibility: Take the calls you want to take, when you want to take them—and let your answering service manage the rest.
Important answering service features
Not all attorney answering services are created equal. When evaluating your options, look for a provider with demonstrable experience in the legal industry, as well as the capabilities and features your practice depends on.
Ask the following questions about a law firm answering service—every “yes” is a point in the solution’s favor.
- Is the solution integrated with legal technology and law practice management software?
- Does it provide both phone service and live chat?
- Can it provide call forwarding?
- If it provides live chat, does it log chat transcripts?
- Can it handle conference calls?
- Is it optimized for client intake?
- Can the on-demand receptionists make outbound calls in addition to taking inbound calls?
- Does it allow for call filtering and prioritization?
Hopefully this has been a helpful introduction to the benefits of legal answering services and given you some insights into questions you can ask when evaluating different potential solutions. No matter how you choose to proceed, putting thought into the ways in which your practice can be more client-friendly will be a win because customer experience will help build lasting client relationships and increase the likelihood of referrals. To read more about virtual reception services, head to Ruby’s website.
If you’d be interested in learning more about how document automation can help you save time, reduce errors, and improve client experience, schedule a meeting with us to talk more about whether Clio Draft is a good fit for your firm.
