publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/192213
SLAYING THE CRM DRAGON XXXX We know that buying expensive software alone will not solve the twin monsters of inefficiency and waste. It is the execution that matters. It is limits of what the software can and cannot do also tempers expectations. is to translate the business development needs of the attorneys into reality and test the technical feasibility of their requests. Resistance is always a major issue when introducing new software. It is a common reaction due to work style preference. In our implementation, we placed an emphasis on fixing what was broken first and then on features that would bring immediate results. We also fixed privacy settings and ensured we were protecting sensitive data. Finally, we addressed data quality issues and explained to users that data cleanup is an ongoing process due to the frequent movement of clients. not surprising that many law firms struggle with implementing CRM. This is often due to a failure to see the big picture. Throw in challenges like resistance to a new process, technical glitches, lack of resources, trust issues and costs, and you have a big CRM dragon to slay. In a law firm setting, CRM sits in the middle of marketing, legal, business and IT. It operates on the strength of sharing information between attorneys and staff. After system configuration, the implementation shifts to understanding workload and roles and how to capture tacit and explicit information effectively. Knowing the In implementing our CRM project with LexisNexis InterAction software, Richards, Kibbe and Orbe LLP focused on three key factors: technology, people and process.. TECHNOLOGY At the top of our priority list for a successful CRM system were synchronization, access rights and making the software user-friendly. We also explored: •The option of migrating data onto different servers in order to save on storage costs InterAction consists of three different components: the front, the middle and the backend. A successful implementation requires a thorough understanding of these three components, which include the technical and data components of the software. •Data backups Marketing serves as an intermediary between the user and the IT department. One role of marketing •Browser-based pop-ups that could delay work •Subfolders that work with Outlook •Proxy rights