Return to site

Why Your Law Firm Needs an Appointment Booking App

Why Your Law Firm Needs An Appointment Booking App

Legal work can be one of the most time-consuming careers to have ever existed. On top of having to ensure you can acquire clients over time, you will need to do a variety of legwork to ensure your client’s case is concrete in the court of law.

 

While most law firms will have a competent staff at hand to deal with the immense work that comes with running a law firm, productivity is sapped away when dealing with acquiring customers. However, this does not mean that you cannot make certain aspects of this career more straightforward for yourself and your employees.

 

Technology has managed to provide many businesses with ways to streamline certain parts of their work.

 

One of the most crucial things a law firm needs to do is ensure they are capable of booking their clients so they can have work. In the past, booking an appointment with a law firm would require the client to call in and inquire about which day and time they could come in to gain the assistance of a lawyer.

 

While effective for its time, it does come with some significant cons, such as holding up calls and being incapable of ensuring the person remains notified of their upcoming appointment.

 

Fortunately, thanks to years of innovation and the introduction of smartphones, apps have become increasingly useful for law firms.

 

Appointment book apps have appeared in the market and have managed to introduce a way for law firms to remain on top of their daily schedule and ensure they continue to acquire clients. These booking apps are packed with all sorts of features that have assisted law firms in making sure their clients and staff remain in touch with one another and help with the retention rate.

 

Plenty of law firms these days use software to assist their lawyers in managing their client relationships, schedules, and working day.

 

That’s why for this article, we shall be going in-depth into why your law firm needs an appointment booking app.

 

Let go over it, shall we?

Increasing the conversion rate

Being able to acquire clients at any time of the day sounds ideal for any law firm. Of course, this can be challenging to pull off since closing hours exist for a reason. Your receptionist is most likely to be present at your firm during business hours.

 

Meaning clients will only be able to make an appointment with you during those hours, which can lead to a loss of potential clients coming in.

 

Appointment booking apps can shine during this part since they are available for clients at your website, Facebook page, and an email signature at all time.

 

Plenty of research has revealed that many online appointments are conducted while outside of business hours.

 

According to information acquired from Getapp, over 70% of people prefer to book appointments online if a variety of booking options are available, compared to the other 20% who prefer booking by phone. While plenty of law firms also utilize content forms on their website, they hold a low conversion rate.

 

The reason for this is because contact forms don’t gain the instant response clients would ordinarily expect when booking an appointment with a law firm online.

 

Want to get a head start on using email marketing for your Law Firm? Grab our 3 best templates to get you started.
Eliminating the manual process

One of the best parts about acquiring and setting up an online appointment app is the automation behind them.

 

These innovative pieces of software are fully automated, which eliminates the process of manually handling many administrative tasks done by several employees. It’s a well-known fact that implementing an automation system will lead to an increase in administrative productivity along with offering more convenience for clients.

 

Setting up meetings, bookings, reservations, cancellations, rescheduling, and appointments will be done during any time of the day through any device utilized by the person visiting your site. When it comes to manual entry systems, bookings can only be conducted during the working hours as we previously mentioned.

Cancellation and no-show reduction

Having a client cancel their appointment or not even show up can be quite costly for any law firm.

 

Studies have shown that online booking systems have managed to successfully reduce the amount of non-attendance rate that is more common with traditional booking systems. The apps are capable of reminding the client regularly by sending a message of their upcoming meet through their email address or smartphone via text message.

 

This automated system is highly effective because your clients will check their smartphones regularly throughout the day, so the chance of them not seeing the reminder is much unlikely.

 

Furthermore, if your client does need to cancel their appointment for several reasons, they’ll be able to do so well ahead of time.

 

By merely going to your website on their device, they will be able to easily cancel the appointment and have the appointment slot quickly return to the booking system for someone else to grab it.

 

Sending out reminders through text messaging (SMS) and emails is considered one of the more preferable contact methods for many clients.

 

Research has revealed that many people have a preference for text messaging if they can use a digital interaction channel and minimize the number of phone calls.

 

The best benefit for your law firm is that this method takes up less time than reminder phone calls, which uses up your support staff time from doing other productive and valuable tasks to ensure the firm’s growth.

Acquiring important information

Plenty of clients have previously stated that it can be challenging to reach out to their attorneys, let alone even capable of seeing them.

 

When they finally manage to get in contact with the firm, there is going to be tons of chit chat with each other, trying to find the best possible time for both parties. In the case of many clients, being able to make an appointment through an online service is a crucial aspect of their experience with your law firm.

 

If your firm isn’t capable of providing an option, the chance of turning clients away from your law firm increases entirely, or otherwise spoiling their experience with your firm.

Client experience

Plenty of clients have previously stated that it can be challenging to reach out to their attorneys, let alone even being able to see them. When they finally manage to get in contact with the firm, there is going to be tons of chit chat with each other, trying to find the best possible time for both parties. In the case of many clients, being able to make an appointment through an online service is a crucial aspect of their experience with your law firm.

 

 

If your firm isn’t capable of providing an option, the chance of turning clients away from your law firm increases entirely, or otherwise spoiling their experience with your firm.

 

Offering your clients a variety of options for appointment booking won’t make you lose anything, whether it be traditional phone booking, walk-ins, or online scheduling. At the end of the day, your client will choose the one they prefer the most.

 

With more and more people becoming digitally inclined, an online appointment system merely offers them exceptional service and ease.

 

Along with having successfully improved your client’s experience with your firm, this will allow you to place ahead of the competition.

 

Not every law firm has managed to catch on to the importance of appointment booking apps, so this will ensure you can position your law firm in a position for profitable growth.

Automating video meetings

In this day and age, video meetings have become increasingly common thanks to the massive amount of innovation done in the tech field. Talking over the phone is one thing, but being able to see the person’s face adds more impact to their conversation at hand. Sometimes clients will not be able to meet you face-to-face for a variety of reasons.

Maybe the client had gotten into an incident that has made it difficult for them to travel to your firm, and it could be the reason why they require your business services. Most appointment booking apps will offer you the chance to make video meetings with these clients.

Software like Bookafy or Google calendar is a perfect example of this, we provide you with a unique URL from either your Zoom or Gotomeeting that can then be included in the scheduled date of the meeting.

Software like Bookafy automates a video meeting is booked along with the confirmation process and reminders being sent out. The meeting will be automatically linked to the calendar available on the software.

Trying to set up an online appointment can take several steps to put together, from having to agree to the meeting time to generate a link for the meeting software, and manually adding the link to a calendar, sending out email confirmations, email reminders with the said link and so forth. It can be a real hassle, but booking apps have managed to simplify the process behind this.

Insights into your business

Have you ever taken the time to see which of your services are the most popular? Which hour of the day is the busiest time for your business?

 

Plenty of online booking apps will offer booking data and analytics so you can seamlessly answer these questions and gain insight to take appropriate action. For instance, if you become aware of the hours your law firm peaks, then you can schedule employee shifts more effectively. Or, if you manage to figure out which of your services is the least popular, then you can determine the best way to either market them or cut them off your service listing.

 

While it is possible to pull this off with traditional booking methods, pouring tons of physical calendars and appointment books will make very tedious and time-consuming tasks. Having a booking app that can automatically pull up this information will save you massive amounts of time and effort, allowing you and your employees to channel your productivity to dealing with these issues at hand.

Saving time and paper

Some businesses feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day to completely manage their business.

 

If you are someone who also feels this way, then implementing an online booking system will allow you to take more hours back in your day. Due to appointment booking apps allowing both you and your clients to do everything online, you’ll be spending less time having to write down dates and contact details.

 

This will allow you to devote far more of your time servicing your clients and growing your law firm.

Calendar synchronization

Most law firms use calendar software, such as Outlook or Google, to keep their schedules up to date. Appointment booking apps have introduced a way for businesses to synch up their calendar system of choice with their booking apps to ensure everything remains up to date. That includes transferring over any past bookings that have been conducted before using the booking software.

 

The best part about these synchronized booking features is the quick update responses they have when picking your dates. From scheduling a day for meeting with clients, blocking out dates due to a hearing, or because you’ve decided to go on vacation during that time. This feature also prevents your clients from accidentally booking twice, so you won’t have to worry about meeting them twice on the same day.

 

The real-time availability also complicates things less and shows which of your staff members are currently available for a client to reach out to.

Conclusion

Appointment booking apps have become a staple for the more savvy law firms these days, making it easy for them to conduct business overall.

 

Booking apps like Bookafy provide these useful services that any law firm would need to ensure their business continues to operate at optimal levels.

 

By integrating an online appointment software to your law firm website, you’ll be able to ensure your business gains more clients and takes the load off your staff, making productivity increase in other aspects of your law firm instead. 

 

If you’re in the market for an appointment booking app that can help you accelerate your law firm’s growth, then give Bookafy’s trial a try!

Want to get a head start on using email for your Law Firm? Grab our 3 best templates to get you started.
Table of Contents
Share with friends!
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
Share on print
Share on reddit
Related Posts
Why Your Law Firm Needs an Appointment Booking App

Legal work can be one of the most time-consuming careers to have ever existed. On top of having to ensure you can acquire clients over time, you will need to do a variety of legwork to ensure your client’s case is concrete in the court of law.

Read More »
7 Ways to Grow Your Real Estate Agency

7 Ways to Grow your Real Estate Business Real estate broker strategies can be hit and miss however detailed your approach might be. After all, property buyers are one of the most savvy audiences on the planet. Apart from the regular investors and builders, a

Read More »
Bookafy – Latka Report 002: The 95% Club

Latka Report 002: The 95% Club In the article below, our friend Nathan Latka shares his insights into startups, fund raising, partnerships and businesses owned y just one person (like Bookafy! ) Before we get started, here is 1 Excel File detailing revenue,

Read More »
How To Share A Calendar

Making sharing calendars an easy and straightforward process is important for any business (and for life admin in general). It helps you stay on top of your colleagues’ schedules, organize events and track projects. To get the most out of calendars, we’ll help you understand

Read More »
5 Ideas for Hosting Engaging Virtual Events Amid the Pandemic

5 Ideas for Hosting Engaging Virtual Events Amid the Pandemic In the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the global market and businesses across the globe. The effect of the virus outbreak is so brutal that many organizations have either laid down most

Read More »
Construction Apps—10 Ways to Build Your Contracting Business From Your Phone

Construction Apps—10 Ways to Build Your Contracting Business From Your Phone Want to grow your construction business? There’s an app for that.   Thanks to modern technology, it’s possible to update blueprints, create and sign contracts, and care for your construction workers from your smartphone.

Read More »
7 Essential Calendar Management Skills (Save hours of work every day!)

7 Essential Calendar Management Skills (Save hours of work every day!) Do you own your calendar like a boss? If not, then read on. You drudge, drudge, and then you drudge some more. Without really putting efforts into the one thing that could make or

Read More »
How to Run a Successful Delivery Company During COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has completely changed the way we live, the way we do business, and the way our economy functions as a whole. Many states are still in lockdown. More people are being asked to work from home. Video conferencing and Zoom have replaced

Read More »
How we Scaled Our SaaS to 21,479 Customers Using These 7 Productivity Tools

How we Scaled Our SaaS to 21,479 Customers Using These 7 Productivity Tools Can your SaaS business grow exponentially with almost no extra staff? How do you know your SaaS tech stack is working for you? When you can on-board 5,000 new customers -> And

Read More »
Best ways to make distance learning effective for students

Distance learning is on the rise now. And if you are planning to launch your own distance learning program this year, you are moving in the right direction. Before you start designing your program, you should learn more about your target audience, the students who

Read More »
5 Tips for Managing Remote Multicultural Teams

Whether your employees come from different parts of the world or just different cultural backgrounds, it’s important that you’re all on the same page when it comes to business. A harmonious work environment is essential if the end goal is having productive employees and a

Read More »
The Ideal Tool Stack for Creative Agencies (10+ Tools)

According to IBISWorld, digital agencies turnover about $16.5 billion per year in the US alone—with predictions of continued growth. This is exciting news for creative agencies as there’s money up for grabs.But with a great opportunity, comes fierce competition. How do you future proof your

Read More »
The 8 Best Free Video Conferencing Apps

In this post we are going to share 8 Video Conferencing Apps that we have tried ourselves, and guess what? Many are free! There are many options for free video conferencing apps; however, not all are designed or suited for collaboration in the workplace. Here’s

Read More »
10 Tips for Video Conferencing

As more and more workplaces transition to being remote, especially during the coronavirus outbreak, we’re learning how to navigate all the aspects of working digitally. Meetings are moving entirely online, which means that we’re attending a lot of video conference calls. If you don’t have

Read More »
Protect Your Business from the Coronavirus Outbreak

Many of my friends and most of our customers run small businesses. The world is told to stay indoors away from people. But businesses somehow need to survive to fight another day, right? How do you pay your rent, your employees, and sustain through this

Read More »
Guide to the Best White Label Software and Service Programs in 2020

White label software and services are a great way for agencies or businesses to expand their offering. This, in turn, can lead to increases in revenue and profits, as well as the opportunity to bring in new clients.   Agencies that use white label products

Read More »
5 Tips to Get More Bookings on Your Website

You may want to get more people to book appointments with you. Sure, maybe you have a person call your business or you may send an SMS reminder to that person, but you can have people book appointments online. Even if you have an online booking system, you may not know how to get more bookings. Give these five tips a try to increase your bookings.

Read More »
10+ Lead Generation Tips to Provide Your Sales Team With More Leads

If you’re in the B2B industry, lead generation is one of the most important things that you have to get right. Think about it: the moment you start struggling with lead generation, your leads start to dry up, and this will impact your sales cycle,

Read More »
Acquiring While Retaining, the SaaS Struggle

Gaining new customers is very important for the scalability of a business. It not only expands the consumer base but also instills a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. At Bookafy, as we are growing our business we wanted to learn where we should focus our

Read More »
15 Ways to Get More Customers on the Cheap

Promotin’ your business ain’t easy. Big companies have it made. They throw down big bucks, and they’ve got rooms full of people working with outside vendors to literally buy attention and brand awareness. But not you. Nobody knows who you are, or why you exist.

Read More »
Start booking appointmentswith Bookafy for free!
Sign up today for a free Trial of Bookafy Pro!

The post Why Your Law Firm Needs an Appointment Booking App appeared first on Bookafy.

https://www.bookafy.com/why-your-law-firm-needs-an-appointment-booking-app/