Claire Smith, head of business development at Moneypenny
The UK’s leading outsourced communications provider to the legal sector, Moneypenny, has launched an interactive online tool to help firms visualise how a live chat service would look on their website.
The technology is simple to use and just requires users to input a URL in order to see a real-time example of a live chat window in situ on their homepage. The widget itself can then be customised in terms of position, colour and chat button style. There is also a range of proactive messages to choose from or alternatively, firms can enter a personalised message to align with their individual brand.
Moneypenny data reveals that 87% of businesses will feature live chat on their websites within the next three years and in the past six months, there has been a 38% increase in clients investing in the technology. Moreover, live chat is quickly becoming the preferred tool for customer service with a satisfaction rate of 74% compared to 61% for email and 44% for phone.
Speaking of the growing demand for live chat within legal firms, Claire Smith said: “Competition within the legal sector is fierce and savvy firms are becoming increasingly aware that if they don’t adapt to the changing demands of clients – they risk losing valuable business. Every week, I speak with a firm who wonders what the technology would look like on their site – now they can see for themselves!”
As well as improving customer service, another key benefit of live chat is that it enables firms to be available outside of traditional office hours.
Claire continued: “41% of the live chats we handle for law firms are new business enquiries and 38% of queries received through this channel are outside traditional 9-5 hours. Consumers don’t expect to be limited by opening times and live chat can turn website visitors into valuable clients around the clock. Enquirers don’t necessarily need to speak with a professional expert out of hours, but live chat gives them the opportunity to park a problem, safe in the knowledge that it’s being dealt with.”
Law firm Laynon Bowdler, launched live chat in 2019 and has seen impressive results. Head of marketing, Amanda Jones, said: “We received 150 legitimate enquiries in the first two months of using the technology – partners couldn’t believe the number of leads that would most likely have gone elsewhere. The ROI of our website has improved drastically and prospects feel more valued – it’s been an extremely worthy investment.”
To try the visualiser, visit: www.moneypenny.com/uk/live-chat/visualiser/
Moneypenny established its dedicated legal telephone answering team in 2008 and now handles over 2 million calls and chats annually for more than 1,000 legal practices across the UK, including 65 of the Top 200.
For more information about Moneypenny, www.moneypenny.com/uk/legal-answering-services/
