Gmail is one of the most popular free email providers worldwide, with more than 15% of the worldwide email market share, according to Litmus Email Analytics. And Gmail isn’t the only powerhouse in the Google Apps suite, which includes Drive, Hangouts, Calendar, Docs, Forms, Sheets, Google+, and more.
If your law firm hasn’t yet made the switch to Gmail and begun using Google Apps to your marketing advantage, particularly in conjunction with a capable client relationship management (CRM) system, it’s time to rethink that decision. Explore six attorney marketing benefits of the Google suite below and find out why you shouldn’t wait to convert your law firm to Gmail.
Hefty Storage Space and Unlimited Group Email Addresses
With a personal Gmail account, you receive 15GB of storage—one of the largest offerings of all the free email providers. Upgrade that to a business account for your law firm and you’ll receive:
- 30GB of inbox storage
- A custom email address like info@yourlawfirm.com
- Unlimited group email addresses such as marketing@yourlawfirm.com or sales@yourlawfirm.com
- Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook and other email providers
- 24/7 support
- No advertisements
- A simple mobile email platform for smartphones and tablets (included in free personal accounts as well)
In addition to the 30GB of storage inherent in every business account, you can also create Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides without eating into your email storage. All in all, a Gmail business account means your attorney marketing team can do everything from store images for social media campaigns to catalog all incoming emails, without worrying about having enough storage space.
Simple Document Management and File Sharing
An effective attorney marketing team is one that consistently communicates. With Google Docs, your firm’s marketing projects are stored online and remain accessible anywhere, anytime with the click of a button. More than accessibility, you also get real-time collaboration on all documents, which eliminates miscommunications and the hassle of emailing back and forth.
For instance, a criminal defense firm may require that all content management plans be passed by a specified partner in the firm before moving forward. When crafting the September content management plan, the content writer and marketing manager hop onto Google Drive to create a shared folder for themselves and the partner. The two marketers then draft a Google Doc of the content plan, edit the document together in real time and from separate computers, automatically record a revision history, and finalize the document. Finally, they share the document with the partner, who accesses the document from home and creates final edits labeled with his username.
This kind of straightforward collaboration is possible on Docs, Forms, Sheets, and more, through Google’s straightforward and collaborative system. There is even a built-in Gmail chat function for quick and easy communication among your attorney marketing staff, with less email clutter.
Synced Calendars
Share Google calendars and sync up everyone’s appointments, tasks, and reminders. Together, your team will never miss another client follow-up, consultation, or email campaign again.
Greater Security and Peace of Mind
When you’re discussing confidential legal matters and gathering clients’ personal information, security is of the utmost importance. To protect your law firm’s computers and email accounts, Gmail’s antivirus scanner proactively pores through all email attachments to ensure that only secure files come into your inbox, and offers two-factor authentication (a password and verification code when logging into your Google account) for additional login security.
Google also tracks your used devices and sends email notifications whenever a new computer or mobile device logs into your account so you can keep tabs on users and identify potential threats quickly. Finally, your law firm can easily manage all account permissions—the apps, websites, and devices connected to your Google account, as well as what information they have access to—from one simple security page.
One Username and Password for All Linked Accounts
Use one Google Account to access your law firm’s other marketing accounts, such as:
- YouTube
- Google+
- Google Analytics
Rather than creating new usernames and passwords for every platform, you can save time by logging into all platforms with just one. Should an employee leave your firm, for example, you simply need to change your master username and password to lock them out.
Ability to Test Marketing Emails
Because Gmail is one of the most popular email providers, you can bet that a large portion of your client base is probably using it. Having a Gmail account enables you to test your emails before they hit clients’ inboxes, so you can experience exactly what clients will see. Determine whether your emails are going into their Promotions folder or being marked as spam, and how images look on Gmail desktop and mobile.
Gmail Simplifies Your Law Firm’s Everyday Tasks
The most valuable resource you have is time. By switching over to Gmail, you and your attorney team can spend less time on things like inefficient emails and ineffective collaboration, and more time on building business for your practice. Pair that with a legal CRM that can cut costs, streamline operations, and automate your tedious tasks, and your firm can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month.
Make the switch to Gmail and then try the James Legal CRM.
Our clients typically save $500 to $1,200 a month while accruing more leads!