Briggs: empowering the consumer
Legal comparison website Wigster.com has unveiled plans to increase its 100-strong law firm panel five-fold as it seeks to step up its presence in the market.
Founder Nick Miller has brought in Matthew Briggs, former CEO of Minster Law and Capita Insurance Services, as a director to drive the expansion of Wigster, which claims to be the only “real-time, like-for-like, legal price comparison website”, akin to those seen in the insurance market.
Mr Miller, a solicitor, said the concept had been proven over the last 18 months and “it is now time to take it to the next level… I am keen to create a viable source of regular work for law firms”. The plan is to reach 500 firms on the panel in the next two years and in time start a new round of TV advertising.
He explained that the way the site operates generates good leads; around 15% of site visitors make it through the qualifying questions that enable them to see the comparison, and of those who then make contact with a solicitor, there is an 85% conversion rate to a paying client.
Panel firms pay £65 a year to be listed in a sub-category – there are 52 sub-categories in all and they can be listed in as many as they want. There is then a lead fee, payable whether or not it is converted – the lowest is £4.50 for a will.
Mr Briggs said the plan is to become the ‘go to’ website for anyone needing legal services. “Being a ‘.com’ means we can appeal to a new online community in a way never before seen in the legal sector.”
He added: “Wigster is all about empowering the consumer, giving them a simple way to find and compare solicitors, together with the reassurance of fixed pricing and quality ratings. We have all seen how comparison sites have empowered the insurance consumer. We aim to do exactly the same in the legal sector, helping save time and money whilst simultaneously providing lawyers with a credible source of work.”
But isn’t a key question: how many leads are the firms getting each (on average)?