October 7, 2005
CRM for Law Firms
CRM, customer relationship management, is a concept and a discipline; don’t confuse the need for CRM with the need for software.
CRM software can increase the efficiency of a law firm’s customer relationship management program—but it can’t create one. CRM and CRM software are not one in the same.
It is clear that the most important and largest potential source of future revenue for a law firm is its existing clients. Capitalizing on that potential requires the law firm to actively engage in revenue-increasing relationship building with the existing clients of the law firm. It is that activity that constitutes a firm's CRM or customer relationship management program. CRM software arrived on the scene to increase a firm’s efficiency in carrying out that vital function. It promised to help us track our activity with the client. It promised data mining capabilities that would facilitate cross selling. It was a big step up from 3 by 5 cards and Rolodex systems. Some law firms are good at customer relationships, some are “so-so” at it, and others are just plain bad at it.
Unfortunately, the “so-so” and bad firms outnumber the good ones. CRM software has gotten a bad rap because most of the buyers have been law firms who were not good at customer relations to start with. The problem with most CRM system implementations is that they have violated Einstein’s law of simplicity. Einstein said, “Everything should be as simple as possible but no simpler”—or something close to that.
Consider the comments of Ellis Mirsky with The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc. of
CRM systems are wonderful tools in the hands of people who are good at client relationship management. CRM systems are blank sheets of paper. They are what you make them. If your reach is too far beyond your grasp, you will destroy its value.
So the lesson is become good at customer relationship building. When you are, you will also be a candidate for a CRM system.
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Filed under Marketing by Tom Collins