The landscape of our economy and how businesses operate changes every single day. We’ve taken the time to analyze dozens of blogs, articles, podcasts, and webinars to find the best technologies and practices. We’ve also conducted surveys to corroborate our findings and the information we tell our clients, along with information other businesses can rely on. We have broken down an overview of the best platforms for remote work and continuing the service industry intake process. We have also worked with numerous clients to come up with additional projects they can pursue while experiencing an increase in downtime.
Each day brings a new challenge, including the shift from working in the office to working at home. This can be a difficult task as there could be more distractions and challenges for your team in their home environment. How do you keep your team accountable and productive? How do you maintain open communication between each member? There are many questions that are coming at us quickly, and, while it can sometimes be difficult to hear through the noise, we wanted to share with you platforms that we have been watching. These platforms are helping those who are working from home feel like they still have all the tools they need to be as successful as they were in the office.
Jump to a Section:
- Understanding What Potential Clients Want From You During This Time
- Projects to Complete to Maximize Downtime
- Other Marketing Projects We’re Working On
Service: Time Tracking
Company: Worksnaps
About: Worksnaps is a small company with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and they are here to provide a different way of time tracking that is specifically designed for remote work. Track time with proof, see work in real time, and ensure that an hour paid is an hour worked.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Functional Employment Testing, Safety, Environmental, and Occupational Health Services
Company: WorkSTEPS
About: Founded in 1986, WorkSTEPS in the leading national provider and pioneer of functional employment testing, environmental, and occupational health services. Join thousands of companies who trust WorkSTEPS as their partner to make sure the next employee they hire can safely contribute to the success of their business.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Webinar
Company: WebinarJam
About: WebinarJam’s cloud-based broadcasting technology allows you to reach up to 5,000 people in one presentation without breaking a sweat (or breaking the bank). If you have the audience, we can deliver your message to them! And, because we allow up to six presenters, you can go solo or host a roundtable of experts to collaborate and share their knowledge on screen.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Scheduling
Company: Calendly
About: Calendly helps you schedule meetings without constant back-and-forth emails. Create simple rules, and set up is easy. Let Calendly know your availability preferences and it’ll do the work for you. You can share your Calendly links via email or embed it on your website. Then schedule your meeting. They pick a time and the event is added to your character.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Collecting Content
Company: Content Snare
About: Collect content and files from clients on time without email. Ditch endless email trails, massive attachments, and messy Google docs. Gather content and files in one place with automated client reminders.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Chatbots
Company: Drift
About: Qualify leads on your website without forms using Drift Chatbots. Forget form optimization. What you really should sweat is lead response time. Because if you wait just five minutes to respond to an inbound inquiry, you are 10 times more likely to lose that lead forever. That’s where Drift’s chatbot software can help. A Drift chatbot is a powerful tool that can ask your qualification questions and create leads in your CRM.
For more information: Official Product Page
Service: CRM System
Company: HubSpot CRM
About: HubSpot offers a full stack of software for marketing, sales and customer service, with a completely free CRM at its core. They’re powerful alone – but even better when used together.
For more information: Official Product Page
Service: Teleconferencing/Webinar
Company: Zoom
About: Zoom is Market My Market’s “go-to” solution for teleconferencing in larger groups, conducting webinars, and even podcasting. It’s simple to use, especially for providing a link to a room to chat. Recording options for audio and audio + video are available.
For more information: Official Website
Service: Teleconferencing
Company: GoToMeeting by LogMeIn
About: Simplifying how people interact with each other and the world around them to drive meaningful insight, deeper relationships and better outcomes for all has helped LogMeIn grow to become one of the world’s top 10 SasS companies with a leadership position in every one of our markets.
For more information: Official Website
Understanding What Potential Clients Want from You During this Time
We conducted this survey to support the decisions we’re making for the law firms we work with, but we are certain the same applies to nearly all service-based industry. We interviewed 250 people to ask what steps businesses should take during COVID-19 to ensure their confidence and feel informed.
When a prospective client visits a website, how important is it that the website clearly states the law firm is operational during COVID-19?
Out of a scale from 1-10, the respondent answered with an average weighted of:
8.61
In addition to this, the most common response was a 10 out of 10.
When deciding on whether or not you should schedule a phone call for your first consultation with a client or use a teleconference system, we found some interesting numbers that we would like to share with you:
On a scale from 1-10, how sufficient is teleconferencing for an initial consultation?
8.59
In addition to this, the most common response was a 10 out of 10.
Is a phone call preferable for a first time consultation rather than a teleconferencing system?
Yes: 60.49%
No: 39.51%
Lastly, we asked what are the most important actions a law firm can take to ensure prospective clients that the law firm is operating at 100%, as well as current clients they are operating at 100%:
Prospective Clients (Most Common Three):
- Using Social Media
- Update Status Regularly on Website
- Offer Alternative Ways of Contact Like Teleconferencing
Current Clients (Most Common Three):
- Consistent Emails to Clients With Updates
- Make Texting/SMS More Readily Available
- A Personal Phone Call
We also wanted to send over a few suggestions that you can begin working on to make the most out of your downtime. These are projects that we are going to look into doing as well to keep our company streamlined and ready to return when this all clears.
Projects to Complete to Maximize Downtime
Creating a Three-Step System
There is no better time than now to stay one step ahead by putting a system in place that has one desired outcome: Creating one way that your firm will work moving forward. This will allow your company to be fully prepared when it is time to return.
You may be asking what the steps are to ensure that your company is moving forward and in the right direction. Well, we are here to help:
- What is your system?
- Outline the system that you are looking to put in place and what you are trying to accomplish with it
- What is the process for your system?
- Explain how your system works. You can utilize images and documents, video walkthroughs or screen grabs, sample motions, and form letters. This is where you will highlight all necessary information and tools that your team will need to execute your system
- Why we do it this way.
- This is not a question, this is a period! The third step is to let your team know that this is the way it is done and why it is done this way. It gives everyone an understanding of why the system is there in the first place. It also gives your team a set of tools that they can feel confident about
Maximize Your Social Media Presence
Due to our current circumstances, many people are spending their day at home, looking for things to do in a limited space. Social media is quickly seeing an uptick in users and time spent browsing. Utilize this as an opportunity to build your presence on social media and help gain local leads. Why is this important you might ask? Well, let us break it down for you:
- People are craving the feeling of a community and an escape from our current reality
- This is an opportunity to speak to your local followers
- This is an opportunity to establish your brand personality
- This is an opportunity to be seen as community caretaker
Lead Generation
Get creative in these trying times by creating a piece of content that involves the Coronavirus and your practice area. For example, if you are a divorce lawyer, you can write a piece that explores how “quarantine can affect divorce rates in Orlando.”
Once you have your content written, run a Facebook ad campaign in your immediate area, and start to see leads trickle in. While it is a very difficult time, people are searching for information on the Coronavirus. Utilize their curiosity by adding a personal touch with your practice area and inform people on how you can help them.
Transition to Virtual
It is time to ditch the paper and go virtual in these three areas:
- E-Signatures
- Virtual Case Management
- Virtual Consultation
Other Marketing Projects We’re Working On
Many business owners are committing time to doubling down on projects that have taken a backseat. Some of the digital marketing projects we’ve been recommending people do in the interim are as follows, but not limited to:
- Gathering positive testimonials online and adding them to a testimonials/reviews section of website
- Gathering case results/settlements/verdicts and adding them to the appropriate part of the website
- Engaging in FAQs and Q and A for website FAQ Schema and Google My Business profiles
- Including new technology capabilities in both a call to action in the beginning and the end of a page of the website. For example, instead of traditional “contact us,” include a link to scheduling a teleconference, or a direct link to teleconferencing, within the page. We use Calendly for scheduling and then we include a phone number and/or a Zoom link
- Getting a video series going via a smart phone or webcam
- Participating in an existing webinar or creating your own
- Expanding the About Us or individual bios of your team on your website
- Creating your own guide or overview of how your business is operating during this time
Keep Current and Potential Clients Up-to-Date
Keep all clients up-to-date by adding a banner, advising them of your current status. This information can include if your office is open or closed, if you are taking consultations over the phone but not in person, if your hours have changed, etc.
You can also take this time to keep them up-to-date by creating informational videos that they can watch remotely. These videos can include an introduction video to who you are as a person and a lawyer, your background, practice area videos, and answers to commonly asked questions.
The entire leadership team and working group remain committed to you and your team while making sure we are all staying safe and healthy, adhering to the guidelines set forth by the CDC. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, our team is here for you.