Insight into the State of Law Firm CRM - LexisNexis InterAction Survey

Global News

05
Dec
2013

Editor

Law Firms Report Biggest Benefits of CRM Are Better Client Relationships and Improved Ability to Cross-Sell

LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading provider of content and technology solutions, announced today its LexisNexis InterAction® business has published a new survey that provides insight into the state of law firm CRM as 2013 draws to a close.

The survey finds that a majority of law firms give good grades to CRM projects and list improved client relationships and ability to cross-sell as the primary benefits.  A majority of respondents (63%) are planning additional CRM investments in 2014 and more than half are planning to upgrade their existing system in the next three years. 

“Considering that firms find a measureable return on investment from their CRM projects, the state of law firm CRM can still be lumped into three primary categories:  clear success, those that are still being invested in, and those that need of reinvigoration,” said Ted Seward senior marketing manager with the InterAction business at LexisNexis.  “When we look at what challenges a firm’s implementation of CRM projects, the responses overwhelmingly point to human factors such as a lack of employee buy-in and data quality; these factors and success are related.” 

Other key findings in the survey include:

• Law Firm CRM Initiatives are Mature.  48% of respondents stated their firm’s CRM initiative was more than five years old.  Another 23% put the age between 3 and 5 years.  About one-third say their CRM projects are less than a year old. 
• Law Firm CRM Spending to Rise.  63% of survey takers said their firm will fund additional CRM investments in the next 12 months.  53% either “strongly agree” or “agree” they will upgrade their firm’s existing CRM in the next three years.
• Law Firm CRM Seeing ROI; Success.  50% of respondents “strongly agree” or “agree” their law firm is seeing measurable ROI from their CRM initiatives.  Absent ROI, when asked whether or not the CRM project was successful, a plurality of 41% said their CRM project was a success. 
• #1 Barrier to Success is a Lack of Employee Buy-In.  33% of respondents reported “lack of employee buy-in” as the top barrier to CRM success. 
• The Difference between Success and Failure. Analysis suggests firms with successful CRM projects are more likely to implement CRM as a firm-wide, strategic process, which accounts for the human aspects of change management, rather than merely a technology implementation. 
• Successful CRM Projects Yield Better Client Relations and Cross-Selling. More than 50% of respondents cited “better client relationships” as the primary benefit as the result of a law firm CRM project.  Another 48% cite “improved ability to cross-sell.”

“Conventional business wisdom tells us it’s far easier to sell new or additional services to existing and satisfied clients,” added Seward.  “While it’s not a leap of faith to suggest that law firms with effective CRM projects report better client relationships and an ability to cross-sell, it’s revealing to see this concept supported by survey data.”

The survey is freely available in a slide presentation on the InterAction blog Make More Rain.