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Client Relationship Management (CRM)

Relationships are one of the most valuable assets of a professional organisation. Once those relationships need to be managed by more than one person within an organisation, co-ordination and management become a larger challenge.

To maximise the value of a CRM system, publicly available information about clients and contacts can be integrated with internal information about the firm’s relationships. Making both internal and external information available at a glance and at the point of need can make lawyers’ efforts far more effective. Ideally a CRM system should enable professionals to be adequately briefed about a client, and the business relationship with them, at a few minutes’ notice.

There are many CRM products available, but much depends on a realistic approach to implementation, balancing the benefits of the information provided against the internal perception that it adds unproductive tasks to the busy professional’s life. Investment in such a product will only provide business benefits if the organisation gains real “buy-in” at all levels and a commitment to utilising the product – even if such a commitment has to be gained initially as much by the use of sanctions as by positive incentives.