It’s no secret that if you make it easier for people to reach you using their preferred method, you’re going to get more contacts — ones that could convert to clients. Today, this is especially true of your website. While phone calls have always had the highest conversion rate, from the initial contact to case sign-ups, technology is rapidly evolving and offers more ways than ever for people to contact you.

Let Prospects and Clients Click

Receiving legitimate contacts that may turn into clients should be at the forefront of any digital marketing campaign. Here are a few ways you can use technology to make your law firm easier to contact.

1. Put a click-to-call feature on your mobile website. Pull up your website on a mobile device and see if there is a prominent way to click to call your firm. If there isn’t an obviously clickable number — one that follows the user down the page — you’re missing out on mobile conversions. With over 50 percent of Google searches happening on mobile devices, this could be your biggest change in terms of conversion. So make sure that each page of your site has a prominent click-to-call option.

2. Add a click-to-text option on your website. Texting is rapidly becoming a preferred contact method for many potential clients. Did you know that you can add text widgets to your website? Adding a click-to-text button can help increase conversions by up to 36 percent depending on your target client demographics. Plus, it’s easy to use and you get the client’s mobile phone number right out of the gate.

3. Add responsive live chat, too. Whether you use Ngage, Apex Live Chat, Client Chat Live or a self-staffed live-chat model, adding a live-chat option can increase the number of leads from your website. The key, as with most of these models, is the responsiveness of your agents. Replying promptly is everything because if you take a moment too long, the visitors will stop chatting or will even forget that they started. Your operators need to be quick and should try to get the client’s contact information as soon as possible before the chat ends.

4. Have a callback feature on your site. Although the callback feature has been around for a while, many firms aren’t taking advantage of it. Allowing visitors to have you call them by entering their phone number takes one step away from the contact process and barrier to entry. Services like BounceHelp.com offer this feature as a simple website plug-in where users can even schedule a time to call based on what’s convenient for them, which may increase conversions as well.

5. Respond on social media channels. Potential clients may be reaching out to you on social media platforms, whether it is LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or another channel. Facebook users can even provide a responsiveness score for how long it takes you to respond to messages. By being active on social media, you open up opportunities to join legal-related discussions and respond to consumers where they are already spending most of their web time. With this one, though, you definitely don’t want to set it and forget about it.

Plan to Be Responsive

When trying out new technology like the above, most law firms tend to try everything at once and then neglect to properly track conversion rates — if they track them at all. Keep in mind that if you provide too many options on your website, you might confuse new visitors. Alternatively, if they don’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll leave anyway.

You’re only going to get the good results if you’re there to respond quickly. Lawyers who respond to leads quickly and have an easy online sign-up process will take everyone else’s lunch. Since website contacts can happen at any time, you’ll want an after-hours and overflow answering service in place, plus a good system for following up to convert contacts to paying clients.

Related: Six Fundamental Gaps in Online Marketing for Law Firms by Adrian Dayton

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