Podium has been around for nearly four years but what started as client review platform has evolved into a centralized place for law firm to manage reviews and connect with clients via text message thanks to their secure and user-friendly app.
The founder of Podium created the review platform because some years ago his father had a successful business that suddenly experienced a downturn—clients stopped coming through the door. After investigating the cause, Podium’s founder discovered that the downturn was because his father’s company had many negative online reviews. The bad reviews were shocking because the business was popular and had many happy clients. It’s just that happy clients don’t always go out of their way to leave reviews.
Most people are just too busy with their lives to leave reviews or they intend to leave a review and simply forget. Many businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to get satisfied clients to leave reviews but it’s always an uphill battle especially when using traditional methods such as email. Unfortunately, it’s the disgruntled clients who have the energy and motivation to leave a review when they’re not happy with something, and this is why the number of negative reviews left about a company may not really reflect the experience that the majority of clients are having. Podium aims to solve this problem by making it easy for clients to leave reviews.
Text Messaging Outreach Saves the Day
Email isn’t exactly dead but it is a platform where it can be difficult to get attention. In other words, many emails not only go unread, they go unopened. Podium understands this reality and they understand that clients are more likely to open, read, and respond to a text message than an email. That’s why Podium uses a text messaging platform to help businesses get more online reviews. Here’s how it works for law firms who want to encourage clients to leave a review:
- Open the app.
- Enter the client’s name and phone number.
- Send a text message (bulk or individual).
All text messages are branded with the businesses images/logo and include a basic link that the client can click. No opening up a new browser and no need for clients to download a special app. One click, and the client is taken to a window where they can choose where they want to leave a review. Podium gives clients access to 20 different review platforms including Google, Avvo, and Facebook, and it allows the client to leave a review without leaving the page.
Unprecedented Response Rates
Podium has found that over 99% of the text messages sent to clients are opened, and 95% of opened messages are opened within the first 3 days!
Leaving little room for referral loss as your review count increases over time. Even if you receive a poor rating, the rate at which you will be earning new reviews will quickly bury any negatives and also provides a balanced opinion for potential new clients.
Law Firm Profitability
Many law firms rise or fall on the backs of online reviews. Podium has found that certain law firm practice areas benefit greatly from improving and increasing their online reviews. Personal injury, family law, immigration law, criminal defense, and bankruptcy are very dependent upon good online reviews.
Due to the fact that many clients looking for legal services in these areas depend on reviews when deciding what law firm, they’re going to hire. One bankruptcy attorney said that 44% of his business came from potential clients reading the online reviews—that’s a serious referral source!
Secure Client Communication
So many law firms are handling reviews in a way that’s not as systematic, efficient, or secure as it should be. Too many lawyers deal with client complaints or comments via their personal phones and this can cause a problem because that information can’t be tracked or recorded. Podium’s in-app messaging feature makes it easy for law firms to respond to reviews inside the application without using their personal phone number. This means that conversations had with the client are easily accessible to anyone with access to the Law firm’s Podium account. The law firm can also assign attorneys or other staff the task of reviewing and responding to reviews all within the application—no need to share their employee’s personal phone number.
Analytics
Podium makes it easy for law firms to get an overview of their online reviews—who is reviewing them, how many reviews are they getting, and how do their online reviews compare to other law firms—all in-app. Podium aggregates reviews from over 20 different reviews sites so that law firms can see their review data and get an idea of their online popularity. Podium even has a feature that measures the sentiment of reviewers—how do they feel about service, response times, follow-up or any other important matter. The program will go through the reviews and pick out keywords that are mentioned frequently and then attach a sentiment (happy or sad face) with them. All this information can be seen at-a-glance through the Podium platform.
Unique Features
Podium makes it easy to not only get reviews from clients but to continue the conversation without giving out personal information such as a phone number. It even allows law firms to use a landline number, and Podium can direct any text messages sent to that landline right to the Podium app where the law firm can securely respond to client text messages with ease.
In Summary
Reviews matter, and so does the disposition of your clients. Keep an eye on the overall pulse of your law firm’s customer service efforts by offering an easy and accessible channel for them to share with you. Both Podium’s review and secure SMS Messaging features reach clients where they are most likely to respond to you. Over text.
Embrace the fastest growing communication vehicle for legal consumers, ethically with the added benefit of earning more marketing points for your law firm.
Learn more about Podium, and see a free personalized demo of the product at: https://www.podium.com
