Spencers Solicitors a 123-txt Case Study

Spencers Solicitors are a Chesterfield based law firm that have been delivering exceptional legal services for over 40 years. Their reputation is founded on a commitment to a tailored, personal approach that puts their clients at the heart of everything they do.

With a broad range of expertise, the multi-accredited & award winning law firm has developed a strong reputation for its work in wills and probate, HR, employment law and personal injury.

What were the initial requirements?

A number of years ago Spencers Solicitors located two important areas of their business that they believed could be improved through the deployment of modern communications technologies. The first requirement was finding a software solution that would be able to keep clients up to date with their case progression in a way that was convenient for the client, providing them with timely information but in a non-intrusive way. In the context of a legal practice, having strong and reliable lines of communication with the client can prove to be invaluable for not only the client/firm relationship, but also the success of cases. Therefore, making sure the solution was easy to use for both the client and firm was imperative.

The second requirement was for a communications tool that could be used in the context of business continuity and disaster recovery. Spencers Solicitors desired the ability to communicate with all relevant staff in real time to provide information in cases of emergency, as well as situations such as unexpected office closures or power outages. Any solution would therefore need to be flexible and resilient.

Having located these two areas of interest, Spencers Solicitors turned to one of their technology providers, ProcessFlows, who had developed a well-established relationship with the firm as providers of RightFax.

Ryan Jackson, Software Developer at Spencers Solicitors:
“Both TMS and 123-txt provide easy to use, easy to
maintain and easy to learn software platforms.”

Versatile, reliable and cost effective – SMS the clear choice for Spencers Solicitors

Following initial exploratory discussions, SMS quickly presented itself as a solution that would not only be able to accommodate Spencer Solicitors current requirements, but also provide additional useful functionality beyond the firm’s initial scope.

SMS deployed for client communications

With regards to client communications, SMS provides a number of advantages over other forms of commination for the recipient. The first is the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones. Where an email might be overlooked, a text message is almost always going to be received in a timely manner, wherever the recipient happens to be. SMS also tend to be considered unintrusive by recipients. This makes for a communications channel that is timely and convenient for Spencers Solicitors clients.
SMS also provides lots of useful messaging options for a firm. For example, standard or regular messages can be templated or fully automated to be triggered by external events or actions within the messaging system. This means that during certain milestones within the course of a case, or as meetings are set up, clients can receive automatic updates with information and dates.

ProcessFlows SMS systems also provide the flexibility to send out messages to groups or individuals on the fly, allowing for fluid communication with clients that is as easy as sending out a message from your phone.

SMS meets disaster recovery and business continuity requirements

In addition to the important client communication role, SMS can also be utilised in the vital communications role when forming disaster recovery and business continuity plans. The platform is such that info blasts and alerts can be configured to be sent out at a moment’s notice, or automated entirely, meaning that in the case of an incident, employees and other relevant individuals can be immediately notified.

Due to ProcessFlows’ commitment to straightforward and transparent pricing models, SMS deployed in this context represents unbeatable value for money as the SMS systems are designed so that you only pay for the messages sent out.

When asked about their experience with ProcessFlows, Ryan Jackson, Software Developer at Spencers Solicitors said:
“Excellent. We have been involved with ProcessFlows for many years and will continue to do so due to the software packages and support they provide”

TMS to 123-txt migration

Since taking the decision to adopt business SMS communications in the two use cases outlined above, Spencers Solicitors have used ProcessFlows’ Text Message Server (TMS). However, the firm has recently taken the decision to migrate from the on premise TMS solution to ProcessFlows’ cloud SMS platform, 123-txt.

In addition to the normal benefits that come with transitioning to a cloud-based solution, 123-txt is presenting Spencers Solicitors with a number of advantages that will allow them to further develop their deployment of SMS.

One example afforded by 123-txt is the instant access to the platform from any internet enabled device. This allows Spencers Solicitor’s users to utilise the full range of SMS services wherever they are – something that is especially important in the context of business continuity and disaster recovery.

Another is the recently improved 123-Survey module on 123-txt which allows users to create responsive surveys to gather vital information recipients in an engaging and insightful manner. This is something Spencers Solicitors are already very much engaged with, using it to send out customer satisfaction surveys to their clients.

The expansion of use cases beyond a client’s initial scope is typical of SMS deployments due to the versatility of the platform. We therefore very much look forward to completing Spencers Solicitors migration and exploring more ways to utilise this powerful communications tool.