8 Reasons Why Law Firms Need A CRM

Lawyers are a law firm’s most vital asset. Still, even for the most talented lawyer, it can be challenging to prioritize legal casework and daily operations and still find the time and resources to maintain an active sales pipeline.

CRM software is a solution that helps lawyers attract new business while improving client relationships and supporting a law firm’s management of client intake, case management, billing, marketing automation, and more. By tapping into this technology, firms can now automate their business processes, run their firms more efficiently, win more deals, and ultimately increase profitability.

Here’s a list of the top eight reasons every lawyer should consider using a CRM tool to streamline their business.

What is a CRM system?

The term “CRM” stands for “Customer Relationship Management System” – or, within the legal industry, “Client Relationship Management System.” A CRM system is an application designed specifically to help law firms improve sales performance and client satisfaction through effective client relationship management and marketing automation.

The goal of any effective CRM system is to help your business grow by providing the right information at the right time to the right people, whether it’s a current or potential client or referral partner. CRM tools provide law firms with insights and automated workflows to ensure that each prospect has a consistent, personalized interaction throughout the customer lifecycle.

CRMs can be used as standalone software applications, but they’re often part of larger systems such as marketing and email automation platforms as well as case and document management solutions.

Reasons Why Your Law Firm Needs Legal CRM Software

1. Build a strong sales pipelines and lead tracking system.

The first step in growing your firm’s profitability is attracting high-quality leads, which requires you to understand and target the right client demographic and persona to convert those leads successfully. This type of lead capture functionality is a core feature of most legal CRM software products on the market but requires that its users are consistent with data entry and a systematic, strategic follow-up plan.

By tapping into your CRM’s capabilities for lead tracking, attorneys can see where each lead came from, what stage it’s currently in the pipeline, and who has interacted with that person most recently. This targeted approach allows you to market to prospects most likely to retain your services and build the strong relationships needed to keep your sales funnel active.

2. Enhance the client intake process.

One of the biggest keys to unlocking your firm’s growth potential is understanding the client lifecycle and personalizing and systematizing each step along that path. Whether a prospective client’s first interaction with your firm is via phone, web inquiry, or an office visit, a CRM system allows firms to streamline the intake processes of correspondence and communications, legal document exchanges, as well as billing and payment processing. By tapping into technology to streamline the client experience, you’ll be able to eliminate duplicative intake tasks, save time and money, and enhance client satisfaction rates.

3. Elevate the client experience.

A robust legal CRM software system allows you to manage all aspects of client interactions with your firm, whether it’s a phone call with a paralegal or an email notice regarding their billing. When integrated with a case or document management system, you’ll be able to easily keep up with your client’s requests, respond quickly, and provide them with accurate information on their case.

As an added benefit, firm owners and leadership can tap into this powerful tool to monitor how attorneys and staff interact with each client and provide you with a better understanding of your firm’s client service quality. With this information, you can leverage it to improve redundant processes and train employees to ensure that every legal client has an excellent experience when working with your law practice.

4. Optimize firm systems and improve efficiencies.

An effective CRM provides your legal practice with a central repository to store important client and matter files so that they are easily accessible from anywhere, and by anyone, within the system. Working through a single interface makes the information-gathering process streamlined and allows attorneys and staff to have information at their fingertips instead of searching through multiple systems, databases, or folders. In addition, many CRM tools have automation features to expedite your workflows and, by using an application such as Zapier, you will be able to cut down on administrative tasks and work more efficiently across your firm’s tech stack.

5. Capitalize on existing data assets.

The most important advantage of any CRM platform is its ability to provide real-time visibility into key metrics across sales, marketing, operations, finance, and other functions. By integrating data from these cross-functional systems, your firm can then analyze the rich analytics to predict trends such as case and client profitability or marketing and advertising campaign effectiveness. Additionally, most CRM systems also provide dashboard reporting on how each metric performs against others, allowing you to identify gaps, take steps to close those gaps, and drive profitability.

6. Create a personalized marketing strategy.

A CRM can do more than just manage contacts; it can also personalize your law firm’s outreach. A good CRM system helps its users to create compelling, personalized marketing and email campaigns based on specific criteria such as location, industry, or type of targeted legal service. This refined data strategy allows your firm to market to potential clients that may have otherwise been excluded from the original scope.

7. Automate the sales and marketing process.

Legal CRM software can support your legal practice in automating your sales and marketing process, including email marketing campaigns, client alerts, newsletters, social media management, and advertising. The ability to create, schedule, and execute these processes is one of the most significant benefits of CRMs. In addition, automating your marketing efforts and sales workflows frees up time to focus on strategy and measure your campaign performance metrics.

8. Gain a competitive edge.

The legal sector is experiencing a rapid shift, and the competitive landscape only continues to grow exponentially year over year. To remain competitive, modern law firms increasingly realize that it is imperative to view sales, marketing activity, and client services from a holistic perspective and build a strategy that leverages the latest legal technologies. Firms that cannot keep pace with the evolving market and client demands will ultimately fall behind.

CRMs (Client Relationship Management Systems) for Small Law Firms

If you’re considering a CRM solution for your small law firm, below is a list of the popular options in the marketplace. In a follow-up article, we’ll walk through full reviews of each product and outline the pros and cons for small law firms. Until then, feel free to check out their company pages, schedule a demo with their team, or book a discovery call with us to discuss.

It is important to remember that, while all CRMs serve a similar purpose, each product carries a wide range of robust features and functionalities. Therefore, it is vital that you find one with a strong reputation within the legal field and aligns with your firm’s capabilities, needs, and goals.

Set Your Firm Up For Success

When implemented properly, a CRM is a highly efficient and effective legal software tool that can manage your firm’s sales pipeline while also supporting your marketing and business development efforts.

Whether you are evaluating the added benefit of a CRM system as a business solution or looking to gain better utility and adoption from your current software, we’re here to help. Click here to schedule a 15-minute discovery call to discuss your firm’s goals and how legal technology can support your business growth.