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.
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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.
I don't disagree with him. He provides more compelling reasons in support of live chat:
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%.
These are all salient points. I take exception to none of them. I suppose it isn't any more burdensome than the current default of having a staffer screen new business phone calls? Still, questions arise. At what price do we family law lawyers chase new business? If we are engaging in advice chat, the chat portal will have to be staffed by a lawyer. Does a ten second chat create a privileged attorney-client relationship? How does one perform a conflict of interest check? What is the operating cost of having a lawyer man the chat portal? What is the operating cost of having a staffer man the chat portal? Does the solo lawyer want chat messages popping up at random times throughout the day? For chat to meet its purpose, it must be live and instantaneous. You won't be able to hit do not disturb like you do with your phone.
I love the idea of live chat. If I am a large national or regional family law firm sure I could see the value of chat. For a one or two person shop I question the cost/benefit ratio. I would love to receive some comments from folks that have actually implemented live chat. Write in!
Please click here to read Mr. Miceli's original article.
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