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    Get More From Your Law Firm Website With Live Chat

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      In today’s consumer-driven marketplace, law firms must compete feverishly for a limited number of potential clients shopping the web for services. Today’s consumer also has a limited attention span and wants instant gratification in return for their visit. As such, your firm needs to take notice of every visitor that comes to your site and to acknowledge them promptly.

      A law firm website has approximately 7-10 seconds to convince visitors to take action and many people simply prefer not to call in or submit a contact form. One way to help get more out of that short window of time is to implement chat functionality. Live chat can help your firm in a number of different ways.

      Give Prospects an Immediate Response

      Unlike calling in to your office or submitting a contact form on your home page, live chat offers the ability to interact in real time with a prospect. They’re happy because they’re in the hunt for your services, they want instant acknowledgement and you’re interested in booking that consultation appointment. When it comes to lead generation, there’s no time like the present to take action and engage.

      Capture More Leads

      By getting the basic information of the visitor, the person fielding your firm’s chat inquires will be able to schedule a consultation, or at least take their information for a follow up call. Assuming your firm is organized and methodical in following up with leads, live chat will likely help boost your monthly total. How much? A study by Forrester Research indicated live chat increases website conversion by 20%.

      Prevent Them From Leaving and Bring Them Back To Your Site

      For those visitors that do not engage, live chat has been shown to reduce your bounce rate (rate of exit directly from the page) and it also helps boost the number of visitors who return to your site for another visit. A good rule of thumb is to engage someone who has been idle on a particular web page, for at least 15 seconds, with a pop-up chat window. These are often accompanied by audible sounds that alert the visitor as well.

      The bottom line is live chat can be a productive tool to consider for your firm. For ethical reasons, you’ll need to consider who will be fielding the chat inquiries (an attorney, paralegal, or receptionist), and be careful about the extent of the information that gets disclosed. You’ll likely want to limit that information to some general case details and the contact information for the lead.

      There are a number of reputable online chat services that can be easily installed on your site. When selecting which one to go with, a good place to start is always an established online directory with a solid track record and lots of individual reviews. Start by testing the waters and gradually increasing chat coverage throughout the day and possibly even after hours if the results are positive.

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