Will Your After Hours Calls Go Unanswered?

Over the years we have found that many personal injury law firms waste a large percentage of their TV and other advertising dollars because they don’t anticipate the weekly volume of calls.

/lawyermarketing101.com/Kevin Quinlan/ 04/28/2009

Over the years we have found that many personal injury law firms waste a large percentage of their TV and other advertising dollars because they don't anticipate the weekly volume of calls or make the erroneous assumption that calls will closely coincide with the air times of their TV spots.

Both of these assumptions present their own set of problems that squander both advertising dollars and opportunities to capture potential clients during and after office hours.  You may have the correct number of perfectly competent intake personnel for a firm that is not doing any advertising, but part of your consideration to market your firm and grow your business should include an evaluation of how you will handle after hours calls and a higher than usual volume of calls during office hours.

In the past, the only options available to handle the overflow were impersonal voice mail systems and answering services that share none of the training and sensitivity of a professional case manager or paralegal at your firm.  At many firms, the receptionist is more of a gatekeeper, fielding calls from vendors, salespeople and every other type of call in addition to case inquiries.  When the volume overwhelms the intake staff at a firm, the overflow usually ends up with the receptionist who may not view each call as a sales opportunity.

Prior to beginning a TV campaign we counsel our clients to talk with one of the specialized legal inbound call center firms that handle every call with empathy and the view that each call is a potential client.  Potentially moneymaking cases can be gained or lost with the first call to our firm and not every call is made from 9 to 5.

In many cases when a caller gets voice mail they typically hang up, and after a less than satisfying conversation with the average answering service, the odds are that your prospects will continue to call other law firms.  When prospects believe that they are talking to a case manager or paralegal in your firm they feel as if they have taken the first step toward hiring the right lawyer for their specific needs

Working closely with a lawyer-marketing firm that has a solid history of producing and airing high production value TV campaigns can help you lay the necessary groundwork and adjust your expectations so that your law firm will be prepared and ready to maximize whatever results you achieve.  A seasoned marketing partner can help you avoid the pitfalls and get the greatest return on your marketing investment.

Social Media Tags:  personal injury law firms, personal injury law, tv campaign, inbound call center, answering services,