A webpage is a vital component of almost any lawyer’s or law firm’s marketing strategy. Therefore, it is imperative to have a law firm that is visibly appealing and loaded with relevant content about their practice areas. Nowadays, many legal consumers are turning to online search engines to find lawyers and law firms in the practice area where they need legal assistance.

However, most lawyers and law firms must try to best interact with those in need of legal services who navigate to their webpage. Just about any law firm webpage has essential contact information on it. For example, almost any law firm webpage contains the phone number, address, and email address available of the law firm. Many law firm web pages also have a contact page where potential clients can submit a form to reach out to the law firm by submitting their contact information and a basic description of their legal needs.

Do You Have Online Chat on Your Webpage?

Many law firms are still missing an online chat feature on their webpage where potential clients can engage in an instant messaging conversation with your law firm. The online chat feature typically appears in the corner of your webpage. It invites those on the webpage to engage in an instant messaging chat. Today, an online chat feature is vital where a law firm needs repetitive business. However, for whatever reason, many lawyers and law firms are still not implementing online chat on their webpage.

One objection that many law firms have is that they are not available to chat with potential clients online. They also might not feel they have the staff to do it for them. However, there are many online chat services available for law firms where live, third-party operators can chat with your potential clients. These online chat services involve hiring an outside vendor to engage in essential level communication with potential clients where they can learn the basics about a matter and pass it on to your law firm. The beauty is that many of these chat services can also communicate with potential clients on nights and weekends when your law firm is not ordinarily responding to potential clients and losing many leads as a result.

Rest assured, most of these chat services are also just collecting the contact information. They know well that they cannot give legal advice. Instead, they work merely as an online receptionist where they accumulate contact information and pass it along.

In terms of pricing, it is vital to know that many of these chat services can charge law firms by the chat. Thus, the cost of using online chat can be prohibitive for many law firms if many chats take place daily (and the law firm is being charged x amount per chat). On the other hand, if the law firm is getting quality leads from the online chats, the cost of the service may be well worth it. However, some companies also offer live chat at a flat fee per month if you do some investigation.

Chat Plugins Can Help at a Minimum

For those law firms who do not want to swallow the cost of an online chat service, a chat plugin, at a minimum, is a must for most law firms. Most web pages published through WordPress allow law firms to employ a chatbot on their webpage for free with a simple plugin. These chatbots can utilize a script where they get the client’s name, phone number, and basics and then forward it to your law firm. The chatbot typically shows in the corner of your webpage while the potential client is navigating on your webpage and invites individuals to interact with it. While the chatbot is not as nice as a live operator, it is better than nothing for most law firms.

At a bare minimum, it is a big mistake for most law firms not to have a chatbot on their webpage. Many potential clients will not pick up the phone or take the time to send your law firm an email. But when the chatbot pops up on the webpage, many potential clients will forward their information to your law firm through the chatbot.

The ability to succeed with online marketing heavily depends on a law firm leveraging its webpage in the best way possible to accumulate potential client leads. If your law firm is not using an online chat service or a chatbot, it is time to consider using it on its webpage now.