With the slowing economy, many firms are having a harder time recruiting new clients. No matter how the economy performs, greater efficiency in client development is always a good idea. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software package system helps make that possible. Efficiency is especially important now, because it may help you increase the number of clients currently and help you ramp back up faster as the economy recovers.
A CRM Is an Important Tool to Help Your Law Firm
Systems can be simple, complex, expensive, reasonably priced (even free), specifically designed for law firms, or used by a wide range of users. CRM can help you get the most from current relationships and develop new ones. Which one is right for your firm depends on many factors.
CRM software goes far beyond contact management and has become very sophisticated. It can help your firm capture and organize essential data. Data can be leveraged to maintain existing relationships with clients and referral sources and grow your firm by creating new ones.
After contacts are added to the system, they can be sorted and filtered by different properties, like first and last names, email addresses, and company names. This makes it easier to reach out to them promptly and efficiently.
You can see your client pipelines, stages of development, and dates when clients agreed to representation. You can create reports to keep track of client development, create revenue forecasts, and see how they measure up to your revenue goals.
CRM systems can help your firm move prospective clients through the development pipeline to paying clients and keep them on board. It enhances client relationships by managing interactions, tracking leads, streamlining processes, and identifying opportunities.
How a CRM Helps Your Law Firm
A CRM system can help address:
- Disorganized client data
- Wasted time spent manually updating Excel sheets
- Determining the return on your marketing investments
- Misaligned client development and marketing efforts
- Difficulty in predicting revenues
- Missed follow-ups with prospective clients
- Finding and retaining clients,
You can implement your client development strategies with the help of your CRM. If you have accessible data in an organized and manageable system, your communications with clients, potential clients, and referral sources can be more productive and meaningful while taking less time and energy.
To fuel your CRM, you need to understand what data is most important, collect it, and understand your client development cycle, especially how to move prospects through your pipeline. No matter how terrific the CRM is, if data isn’t in the system or it’s of low quality, the system is of little use. The more you properly use a CRM, the more value it adds.
Law firms widely use CRM, but many firms don’t use them to their fullest. Data isn’t put into the system, lawyers may not read the information it offers, and the system may not be fully integrated with other software. Exploiting a good CRM system would be a competitive advantage for your firm. You’ll be getting more clients, improving your revenue, while other lawyers use more time and energy on outdated systems.
How Do You Pick a CRM for Your Law Firm?
Try out a few systems to find out which feels more comfortable and will integrate into your daily routine and the other software your firm uses. No matter which one you choose, there will be a learning curve. Look past the bells and whistles. Focus on the features your firm will use now and may use as your firm grows.
The most critical aspects of CRMs to consider include:
- Goals: What are your top goals for using a CRM? Which systems will most effectively help you reach those goals?
- User interface: Can those at your firm easily use the system? How long will it take to learn how to use it fully?
- Customization: Can you do what you want to do, how you want to do it?
- Third-party integration: Will it work with software you currently use or expect to use in the future?
Pricing varies, but given the potential return on a CRM system if used properly, it’s a good investment.
GreenRope vs. Infusionsoft, GreenRope vs. Hubspot, Mailchimp vs. ActiveCampaign
There are legal industry CRM systems, but that doesn’t necessarily mean one is best for your firm. It may be limited in its technology, capabilities, and the ability to expand to meet your firm’s needs.
Most lawyers familiar with CRMs have heard of Infusionsoft. They’re outside of the legal industry, but their CRM has been around a long time. In my opinion, they aren’t the best of the best anymore. GreenRope is a serious competitor and the one that more law firms (especially those who ask for my opinion or are my clients) are electing to implement it.
Here are some detailed comparisons between GreenRope, Infusionsoft, and Hubspot on the Marketing Automation Insider website. This is a comparison of MailChimp, Zoho, and ActiveCampaign. A law-firm-specific CRM is Clio Grow, which is part of Clio’s attorney software suite. Another is Lawmatics.
We Can Help You Grow Your Law Firm with Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies
Your legal expertise helps your clients. Our marketing and development expertise helps you promote your firm, inform others about it, and aid your law firm in attracting new clients. An important tool in the process is an effective CRM used to its fullest.
Take action today to put your firm on track to greater success. Call Lawyers Marketing Associates to discuss the individual needs of your firm and let’s start growing your law firm now. Call us at (919) 637-9144 to start creating your custom strategic marketing plan now. There’s no time like the present to grow your firm.