By Kelly Clifford, Vice President, Sales | LEAP Legal Software, AAML NJ Silver Sponsor
There are plenty of ways New Jersey law firms can make their business different from the next. One way to set yourself apart from other businesses is by providing quality services to your clients. Legal professionals can utilize available technology in order to do so.
In 2015, Nielsen conducted a study that resulted in many insightful statistics about consumers. One of them being that two-thirds of all consumers choose to do business with entities that have been referred to them before. This means that the quality of services that New Jersey law firms provide could be the deciding factor for a client choosing your firm over another.
LEAP has been a legal technology leader for nearly thirty years, setting the standard for firms looking to maximize efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Here are 4 tips on mastering quality client services, from LEAP Support:
1. Be Flexible
Helping clients is more than answering emails and phone calls. When it comes to receiving information, clients’ preferences can vary and it’s important to accommodate them.
How LEAP Support achieves this: LEAP provides the following features at no additional cost:
- Unlimited access to support communication channels including online chat, email, phone, online case creation, and more
- Online training courses via LEAP University
- A dedicated Practice Management Advisor as a fixed point of contact
- Troubleshooting self-help guides and discussion spaces via LEAP Help Center
- Regular training webinars and videos explaining new and advanced software features
How law firms can achieve this: LEAP offers several channels that law firms can use when communicating with your clients. With LEAP, law firms can:
- Call or text clients using the LEAP Mobile app
- Schedule video conference meetings using integrations with Microsoft Teams and Zoom
- Give clients the ability to schedule appointments based on real-time availability
- Collect client information with online intake forms
- Share and collaborate on documents via a secure web portal
2. Ask Questions
Be sure to listen to your clients for feedback. One of the best ways to know if you are providing quality client service is to ask.
How LEAP Support achieves this: After each support case is resolved, the client that reported the case will receive a short survey asking for their thoughts on their experience with us. Each response is reviewed by a manager to determine if the case is resolved, or if further action is required.
How your firm can achieve this: Implementing a dependable feedback loop doesn’t need to be difficult. By creating a simple online survey for your clients to complete periodically you can avoid the interviewer effect. Regardless of the application, it’s important to view all feedback with an open mind and be willing to make necessary changes.
3. Always Reply
This doesn’t mean you must respond to everyone at any hour of the day or night. Instead, focus on making sure that channels of communication are clear, and prompt. Taking more than a day to reply can turn away clients and prospects alike.
How LEAP Support achieves this: Replying to any communication in a timely manner is important at LEAP. The average time anyone can expect to wait for a chat support response is no more than 13 seconds. We prioritize ensuring that an experienced specialist is available to discuss any issue or question almost instantly.
For more complex issues, clients can submit a request via email or our website and will receive a response after more consideration. Clients can also use our online booking system to schedule meeting time that works best for them.
How your firm can achieve this: Set up an automatic responder if an email inbox will be unmonitored for a period of time. Establish client expectations by explaining when they will get a response from you. In addition, you can review and update any voicemail messages regularly.
LEAP Web Portal is another option to allow your clients to get in touch without your direct involvement. Here are just a few of the many tools you can use:
- Clients can utilize the booking calendar, powered by LawTap. This allows you to select your availability, then clients and prospects can request an in-person or remote appointment that can be confirmed or rescheduled as necessary.
- Clients can utilize the inquiry page that lets prospects log their details, which you can access using the built-in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dashboard. This allows you to record calls, send emails, and transfer the details directly into LEAP.
The LEAP Web Portal feature is available to every user at no additional cost.
4. Go Mobile
In 2015 the ABA found that lawyers were doing 25% of their work away from the office, this number has likely increased due to the pandemic of 2020. It is increasingly important now more than ever to have access to everything on-the-go.
How LEAP Support achieves this: From ticket creation to internal messaging and document storage solutions, LEAP utilizes the cloud. This results in a seamless switch to working remotely for all LEAP users, so much so, that LEAP offers further support to help clients make their own pivot to working from home.
How your firm can achieve this: Consider how you access your most important data. How many times during the day do you need to access important case information while away from your desk? With LEAP, you can be sure that all your data is securely stored via Amazon Web Services . This means you can access all your matter information at any time, from anywhere, with one single sign-on.
Quality service is more than offering support to clients when things go wrong. It’s receiving a clear communication in a way that suits their needs, getting access to helpful knowledge, and dedicated specialists providing the best possible experience.
Implementing quality service can be difficult, but instead of feeling stuck, know that there are legal technology tools available to help your New Jersey law firm grow in this area. Contact us today and schedule a demonstration to see how LEAP, the #1 legal practice productivity solution, can help your law firm master quality client service.
