By Ioana Good
All This Data, All Over the Place
If your customer data looks a little like an episode of Hoarders, it’s not doing you much good. Piles of digital junk chew up disk space, frustrate employees trying to find things they need, and waste time. All too often, valuable customer data is tossed into a folder, only to never be seen or used again.
There are several reasons for data sprawl. Time and again, it’s simply because processes and tools haven’t evolved, and the saying “that’s the way we’ve always done it” remains the mantra. It may be considered a time investment that doesn’t provide a good return. Whatever the reason, there are better ways to organize, update, and create meaning amongst data relationships that ultimately prove to be extremely valuable to client service, retention, and revenue expansion. Here are some considerations:
Use of CRM in legal
Customer Relationship Management tools run the gamut. Some are designed for small businesses and tout simplicity. Others are enterprise tools that can be customized to processes and operations, incorporate automation, and become the primary storage location for a company’s data. No matter which type you are using or considering, the old adage of “garbage in, garbage out” ring true with your CRM.
Law firms have embraced CRM for many years. Those that use them successfully recognize that a sound CRM requires planning, upkeep, and evolution over time. If you’re evaluating CRM, it’s essential to identify which problems you need to solve and how a CRM can do so. If you already have a CRM, it’s important to step back and determine how well it is solving problems for you and where there are gaps in adoption, configuration, and upkeep.
“CRM done well can be a game changer for a law firm,” says Chris Fritsch, President and CRM Success Consultant at CLIENTSFirst Consulting. “However, respected research suggests that up to 70% of CRM implementations often fail to meet expectations,” she notes.
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