It has always been true that providing an excellent client experience is one of the main keys to success in business. Brands develop great client experience through fostering positive interactions with both the people on their team and the products or services that they provide.

To have success in today’s world, however, it is essential that your firm provides a fantastic digital client experience as well. This means that clients need to have a positive perception of their engagement with your firm’s website, app, social media, email, and digital communication channels.

To provide a positive digital client experience your clients need to have the perception that their interactions with the various aspects of your online presence are seamless. This is why your firm needs an omni-channel solution rather than a multi-channel model.

What is a Multi-Channel Model?

Most firms probably find it obvious that they need to have a presence across multiple channels of the digital world. This includes having a dedicated website and email functionality. It also means establishing and maintaining accounts on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Many companies have their own smartphone apps as well, and it has become essential in recent years to provide an option for your clients or potential clients to have the option of a Live Chat.

One of the main benefits of a multi-channel digital presence is that it allows a law firm to meet clients and potential clients where they are. While some people prefer to have a conversation on the phone, others feel more comfortable texting or communicating through Live Chat. Others still might prefer to contact you via email so that they can read and respond to messages in their own time.

Giving your clients a range of communication options ensures that your clients will be comfortable with the method of communication that they prefer. This broadens your potential for the types of clients you will attract, rather than forcing people to engage with you through ha channel they are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with.

Drawbacks of Simply Being on Multiple Channels

While a multi-channel presence is necessary for a business to survive, simply existing on multiple channels may not be enough for you to thrive. Your clients also need and want to have a seamless experience.

At some point, we have all experienced the frustration of a client who has just provided a team member with a lot of information via Live Chat, only to have to give all that same information again when they are speaking on the phone with somebody. In fact, it is likely that you have had this experience yourself as a potential client of a business.

This is the major drawback of simply having a multi-channel presence. If your clients’ various means of connecting to you are not integrated, their overall digital client experience can be far more negative than positive. This is because every time they are forced to repeat information they have already given to someone on your team or a third party, they will come away from the experience feeling unappreciated and

Furthermore, when your firm’s various channels are not in sync with one another, it will leave clients and potential clients with an impression that your business is both out of touch and disorganized. A first impression like this is not one that creates an initial feeling of trust between them and your law firm. Once a person has made those kinds of associations with your brand, it can be very difficult to restore their faith in you.

An Omni-Channel Solution is Essential

An omni-channel environment is an optimized multi-channel experience in which the potential client can access all your communication options in an integrated way.

Having an omni-channel digital environment for your law firm means creating an experience that accounts for each platform and device your potential clients will use to interact with you, making them all equally effective and positive. It unites the strengths of your various channels, allowing you to deliver a much more effective and comprehensive client experience.

With an omni-channel experience, your clients will have an experience of continuity across all platforms. The two most important aspects of this sense of continuity are messaging and data sharing.

Continuity of Messaging

A key means of delivering an integrated experience for your clients is to ensure that you have consistent messaging across all your channels. For example, if you are running an ad, you will want to have the same ad with the same messaging across all your platforms. This will help your clients feel as though they are continually engaging with the same client experience, regardless of which medium they might be using at a given time.

With that in mind, it is important that you avoid using boilerplate messaging. While you want to keep your messaging consistent, don’t employ the same words verbatim from platform to platform. This can lead to being penalized by search engines and social media platforms that are designed to weed out duplicate content. Maintain a consistent brand voice, and you can play variations on the same theme while still delivering a cohesive message.

Sharing Data Across Channels

When building an omni-channel experience, the other crucial element is the capability to transfer your data across channels in real time. For example, if a client is communicating with your firm via Live Chat, any information they provide in that session should be readily available to a team member who picks up the phone when that client calls.

Sharing data in this way will give the client a sense that they are being heard and understood. This positive client experience will make it far more likely that they will look to you for your services rather than taking their custom elsewhere.

Maximize the Client Experience

Remember that building an omni-channel experience is not just about getting more online visibility or increasing sales. These are important outcomes, of course, but they are most likely to come about when you are focused on creating an efficient, user-friendly, and seamless client experience. Focus on keeping things positive for your audience, and they will keep coming back to you.

When you need help creating that omni-channel experience for your clients, we’re the ones to call. You can reach Client Chat Live online or call us at (808) 495-0231.