Why You Need to Communicate Quickly with a Potential Client
You may have a powerful and engaging online presence, using all the cutting edge tools—search engine optimization, video, social media marketing, live chat—but still find that you’re not adding a lot of clients to your practice. Chances are it’s tied to one simple factor—how quickly you’re making contact with a potential client, or what’s known in marketing as your “lead response time.” Studies consistently show a direct correlation between how quickly you reach out and how likely you are to convert the lead to a client.
The Difference between 5 and 30 Minutes
It may seem like contacting a potential client within half an hour is a strong and swift response time. Unfortunately, in today’s world, that’s like sending a letter by pony express. One study found that, when you follow up on a lead within five minutes, you’re about 100 times more likely to actually make contact with the person than if you wait 30 minutes. That’s because the prospective client is most likely still focused on finding someone who offers the services you do and hasn’t moved on to something else. Even more telling, the study concluded that lawyers who respond to a potential lead within the first five minutes were over 20 times more likely to turn that prospect into a paying client. If you get back to a lead within five minutes, you’ll likely find little competition—one study of more than 430 companies found that less than 7% were able to consistently respond to a lead within five minutes.
It’s important to understand that most potential clients who contact you are also reaching out to other attorneys. The longer you wait to respond, the greater the risk that another lawyer will contact them first. Though many consumers like to believe that they consider alternatives before making a purchase or securing services, the statistics indicate otherwise—a study by Lead Connect found that four of every five customers did business with the first company to contact them.
How to Build an Effective Lead Response System
So how can you set up your practice and your marketing strategy to take advantage of what you know about lead response times? In most instances, you’ll need more than staff support—you’ll want powerful and effective customer relationship management (CRM) software, with the capability to manage your leads. Look for a program that allows you to integrate chats directly into client records. That will let you use your existing intake form with any live chat prospects. You’ll also want CRM software that incorporates chat from a mobile device, so that you can respond anywhere and anytime, knowing that it will integrate into your client records.
As a general rule, though, to most effectively manage lead response time, you’ll need to prioritize and categorize leads, so that you can give the best response time to the lead with the most potential. Two ways to do this are (1) based on where they come from, and (2) by using practice area keywords or markers.
There are tools available that allow you to automatically respond to a potential client. For example, Facebook Messenger lets you set up an automated response to certain types of inquiries. There’s also “instant contact” software that directs web visitors to a live person, but that requires staff to be available.
Contact GetLegal for Experienced Digital Marketing Services
At GetLegal, we have provided comprehensive online marketing services to lawyers and law firms for decades. Let us help you identify and implement strategies to more effectively convert prospects into clients. Call us at 817-359-7077 or use our convenient online form to learn more.