The next wave of client communication isn’t coming, it’s already here. Law firms of all sizes are struggling to keep pace with the barrage of text messages, emails and document requests required to get things done daily. A challenge that the founder of Your Firm App and Attorney Chris Smith knows all too well. When his family law firm found themselves searching for a better way to manage and communicate with clients, he decided it was time to build the ideal platform themselves.
Chris and his team were focused on both solving the everyday challenges of client management, while improving the client’s overall experience. As I’ve discussed in previous articles, working with an attorney is an unfamiliar, often stressful situation filled with emotion and distractions. By creating a central and secure place for clients to work with their attorney, Chris quickly recognized the long-tail benefits the Your Firm App would deliver. Within days of Your Firm App’s first release, he saw a reduction in administrative time, over time an increase in client satisfaction and referrals from clients using the application.
The Your Firm App Overview
Let’s walk through how your law firm would use the Your Firm App. When clients retain the firm, they are asked to install the application on their mobile device. Not only is this an excellent selling point for the firm, it can and should be used to market the practice. As a differentiator, noting the dedication to client service, efficiency and security.
Because Your Firm App account is created for each law firm separately, the experience is branded with your law firm’s logo and colors. Attorneys and staff login into their account online, manage clients, send messages, upload documents, request signatures and payments. While the client receives updates via app notifications, text and email making the communication process seamless and secure.
Killer Features of Your Firm App
Document Scanning
How many clients do you know that have a scanner readily available to them? Not many… especially in the areas of consumer law. Chris cited this example specifically as he demonstrated the ability to take a picture of a document, scanning it into the app, then signing with minimal steps required by the client. A genius solution for eliminating case delays due to the client needing to print, scan, and electronically sign a document!
Messaging
Did you know that over 82% of consumers have opted in to receive text or app notifications from a business they have purchased services from? While text messaging has become the dominant form of communication, that does not mean it is a secure method for lawyers to use when speaking with clients. Which also prevents possible malpractice issues, such as delayed communication because conversations occurred on an employee’s personal device. By moving the discussion into a secure place, law firm administrators and managing partners are able to monitor and participate when necessary.
File Sharing
The Your Firm App documents feature eliminates tedious email chains and searches for missing attachments. All files are saved for the client, outside of email that could be compromised, especially for practice areas such as family law.
Calendaring
The process of gaining new clients is hard enough, then you have to make sure they attend appointments, hearings and know when their case deadlines occur. The shared My Firm App Calendar keeps them apprised of important milestones with push notifications and alerts.
Payments
Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid 94% faster? Paper bills have become a thing of the past. Clients are able to pay with their choice of credit or debit card via Your Firm App’s integration with LawPay.
Cutting Clicks – A Design First Approach
One of the hardest parts of building an application is aesthetics. From the moment you visit the Your Firm App website, it’s clear that a great deal of attention has been paid to the look and feel of the application. For both attorneys, and their clients the interface is clean, intuitive and uncluttered. Which makes it incredibly easy to adopt no matter the savvy of the user.
For those of you looking to ‘cut clicks’ in other areas of your business (or life) I highly recommend subscribing to Your Firm App’s “Cutting Clicks” weekly newsletter. Where the team highlight’s one of their favorite apps or technology tools.
Branding and Marketing
All great business owners recognize the importance of brand consistency, especially law firms who have invested significant marketing dollars into building their name. The Your Firm App’s Enterprise Edition mirrors the look and feel of the law firm’s branding. A logo replaces the Your Firm App moniker, and the color scheme is adjusted to compliment.
Now, law firms that wish to extend the client’s experience beyond the website have a fantastic opportunity to market their services by boasting the use of technology. Many cite a “commitment to security, confidentiality and efficiency” to clients when they are evaluating services for the first time.
Summary: Your Firm App
Personally speaking, after all of my travels my expectation of what a law firm should provide to clients now includes the use of technology. Not only as an expert in the area, but as a frustrated legal consumer. Life is full of distractions, email, text messages, and more notifications than we ever needed.
Bring peace, and a sense of clarity to the chaos that often comes with working through a legal matter. Clients appreciate consistency, and the Your Firm App offers them a quiet digital space to manage their affairs.
To learn how you can set your firm apart, and wow your clients with Your Firm App visit them at:
