Doing CRM - your choices in 2024, Final Part

This is my third and final reflection on CRM options for 2024, and this last topic is a bit different from the previous two. This article focuses on a third option, which is a bit more controversial! It's the idea that some firms choose neither option 1, a platform, nor option 2, a best-of-breed solution. Instead, they go for an ERM solution only.

For those unfamiliar, ERM stands for Enterprise Relationship Management. ERM tools differ, but most offer automated ways to create and score relationships, along with email signature capture to attempt to keep data current. Some tools also enhance and augment data by pulling from various third-party and external sources.  Let’s not also forget that some CRM vendors in the legal space have their own ERM solutions embedded into their own solutions.

I’m going to share my perspective and walk through the pros and cons of this approach as I see them.

The Positives

• Keeps costs down – whilst I’m generally more interested in ‘value’ than costs, I can see this argument for smaller firms who simply don’t have a realistic expectation of a CRM project budget or the available resources to take on a full scale CRM project.  (That is obviously dependent on the scope of the project)
• Easing in to business development – Since ERM solutions automatically reveal ‘Who Knows Whom’ and the strength of those relationships, implementing ERM can be seen as a supportive, low-pressure way to encourage a business development mindset within a firm. The ability for professionals to easily ‘see’ who else knows their contact is very valuable in itself, especially for firms with multiple offices and regions, looking for collaboration opportunities across teams and practices.
• Less Effort – In my view, ERM is mostly a ‘softer approach’ to implementation. It usually begins with a data-mining process to uncover the firm’s hidden relationship capital, which is then shared with users. Minimal training is needed for lawyers if the use cases are kept relatively limited.

There are many other positives, of course and I’ll leave that to the vendors to promulgate themselves, but I also want to bring the balance to the conversation of things to watch out for with this approach:

• Your Clients – When you consider this carefully, what are your clients really seeking? Well-documented research consistently shows that achieving 'trusted advisor' status remains the ultimate goal.  Marketing and BD technology should be aimed at improving the client’s experience of the firm at as many touch points as possible.  ERM enables these conversations between the professionals of course (but relies on pro-activity) but does it give them the full data picture that they need?
• Events and Campaign integration – Marketing and Business Development Campaigns are here to stay and without the data flow from these activities into ERM, the ‘client journey’ is incomplete.  Lawyers are unlikely to switch to a different product or report just to see which events their contacts are attending or what subscriptions they have – so embedding relationship data alongside this data is paramount.
• What work have we done with this client? Without exception in all the RFPs, demos, interviews and CRM meetings that I’ve been involved in, the number one question from lawyers tends to be this, so this is a fundamental ‘need’ that needs to be addressed.  ERM solutions I’ve seen, so far, don’t address this issue whereas wider CRM solutions do.

With so much content and integration hidden in other systems, does ERM really give the firm the best chance to present the full picture of a client to the people who need it most? (To be clear, I’m not suggesting the vendors are making that claim.)

Anyway, I hope I’ve shed more light on the options available to firms looking to make decisions about CRM solutions this year and beyond in this series - ultimately, every firm is different and there are many factors that influence purchasing decisions of course, way beyond what I have outlined here : resource availability, budget, firm appetite, timing, existing IT project schedules, change of personnel and firm size can all play their part.

But, when it comes to Marketing and Business Development technology decisions, in 2024, there are now far more options available in the legal sector than than ever. I hope these articles have helped outline some of the pros and cons of the different approaches.

If your law firm or professional services firm is navigating marketing and business development technology decisions and needs expert and realistic guidance, iQlink offers tailored assistance to help you find the best solution to meet your unique needs and goals.

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