The quest for client treasure

Law firms are notoriously difficult environments in which to roll out new software applications. So, when US firm Cooley Godward committed to a firm-wide contact-management system, it challenged existing perceptions with an adventure-themed approach to staff training. By Ellen Taverner.

Like many other firms, Cooley Godward LLP installed a software package (InterAction) to manage its primary contact-management system several years ago.

Unfortunately, the firm found that its lawyers and staff did not embrace the system and were often reluctant to use it. One particular shortcoming was that the existing version of the technology did not allow secretaries access to contacts on lawyers’ behalf. This resulted in an inefficient and incomplete contacts database, which did the firm little good. In everyday practice, attorneys and their support staff were keeping track of their key contacts in the Microsoft Outlook messaging and collaboration client and, sometimes, even in their heads. So, it was left to marketing to round up these contacts manually and enter them on to the system.

This less than optimal process created ongoing headaches for the firm. Cooley was unable to easily reach out, on a regular and efficient basis, to its closest business contacts. This led to difficulties with event invitations, updates on legal developments and even simple client correspondence – for example, thank-you messages for their continued business. When the firm did send an electronic mailshot, around 50 per cent of the e-mails came back undeliverable. With such an out-of-date mailing list, click-through rates were stuck at a dismal 10 per cent.

The problem for marketing was that although the group had the tools and resources to do the job, we didn’t have the ‘treasure’ itself: the 86 year-old firm’s vast network of valuable contacts.

Because attorneys and staff were reluctant to use the IT application, much of the firm’s valuable relationship capital was not being utilised. So, the marketing team set out on a quest to capture all of its client information and use it to improve its relationship marketing.

Technical specification
The first step in the process was to settle on a contact-management tool that the firm’s attorneys and staff would actually use.

After a comprehensive review of available options, the marketing team chose to work with a later version of InterAction technology, which resolved many of the issues that had stifled broad-based adoption of the previous system. We also removed a major roadblock by integrating the application with Outlook.

Next, we deleted all the information held in the old system, to avoid simply migrating bad data. The marketing team informed the entire firm that only contact information correctly entered into the new system would make the grade. The system was named ‘Cooley Relationship Management’ (CRM).

Challenging perceptions
All this careful planning put the team on the right track. The question that loomed, however, was how would marketing change perceptions of the quality and utility of the system and get everyone – staff and attorneys alike – to embrace it?

In conjunction with the information-systems department, finance, administrative support staff, lawyer training and human resources, marketing developed an exploration and adventure-themed training programme for the entire firm. Known as ‘Find the Potential: Cooley CRM’, the programme objectives were clear:

Capture Cooley’s business-relationship capital and manage this information as a firm-wide asset;
Leverage relationship capital to increase revenue from new and existing clients;
Measure and report on business-development efforts for active clients, key clients and new-client prospects;
Professionalise the firm’s touch points with clients and prospects to ensure a professional and positive experience with the firm;
Engage the entire firm in the process.

Support for the programme came straight from top-level management. Our chief-operating officer issued a memo to the firm’s lawyers (associates and partners) stressing the importance of the initiative and mandating that associates attend the training sessions. partners were not required to attend, but were strongly encouraged to do so. The partners in charge of each office followed up the memo with playful, but serious, e-mail invitations to kick off the events.

From the outset, the entire roll-out training programme was designed to break through the clutter of daily e-mails, re-emphasising the firm’s total commitment to achieving excellence in relationship marketing. A bespoke e-mail header was developed and used on all CRM-related communications, even those sent well after the formal training sessions and programme launch. Training session attendees received themed gifts and representatives of the firm’s administrative departments used other props, including fedora hats and bullwhips, to emphasise the theme.

The CRM adventure
A project champion, dressed in full ‘intrepid explorer’ attire, made his appearance in the 90-minute training sessions to help introduce the new system and familiarise staff and attorneys with its features. We structured the training around a treasure map that required trainees to search for and find information about a fictitious client.

This was a privately held company in the business of discovering artefacts, ensuring their placement in native museums, and selling rights to film-makers to document their adventures. The treasure map guided trainees through the CRM system, seeking answers to such questions as, ‘What is the client’s e-mail address?’ and ‘How many business-development opportunities are we currently tracking for the company?’ The system also included links to web-based maps, so we encouraged staff to seek out driving directions to the fictional client’s offices. Everyone who submitted a completed treasure map was entered into a prize draw to win either a digital camera or GPS tool.

The adventure theme worked and the programme generated an unprecedented level of enthusiasm for the rollout. To our pleasant surprise, the training sessions received 100 per cent attendance rates and 90 per cent of the firm’s partners took part voluntarily (typically, the marketing team would expect about 40 per cent participation in this type of programme). Around half the attendees completed the treasure map and were entered into the prize draw.

Reaching the potential
It has only been a few months since Cooley completed the migration, so it is too early to attribute successful cross-selling or new clients to the revised system. However, the early metrics are extremely encouraging: 90 per cent of our e-mails are now reaching their intended recipients, with a click-through rate of 35 per cent; we have added several thousand contacts to the system since we started the migration; and, we now have a total of 80,000 contacts worldwide.

Cooley’s efforts have not ended with the rollout, either. The marketing team issues periodic tip sheets to track CRM usage by staff and attorneys. We also follow this up with non-users and find out why they are not using the system, with a view to removing barriers to adoption. The firm has two full-time data stewards culling, cleaning and improving the data.

The fun roll-out programme also captured the imagination of the Legal Marketing Association, which awarded Cooley Godward LLP a first-place ‘Your Honor’ Award at its 2006 Annual Conference. n

Ellen Taverner is chief marketing officer at Cooley Godward LLP. She can be contacted at etaverner@cooley.com.