Customer relationship management (CRM) in law firms has been the subject of much debate in recent years. Some 18 months ago I thought I was reasonably well versed in the subject. But my eyes have been opened thanks to a development project that has proved to be challenging and, in parts, frustrating.

The ultimate reward, however, has come with the launch of Engage. Put simply, Engage is enabling asb law to translate client data into a powerful corporate asset, one that sits at the heart of the firm's business development strategy.

Business growth in professional services firms depends on the provision of high-quality services and a thorough understanding of client needs. The latter is obviously encouraged through regular contact but, with an ambitious three-year growth plan in place, we recognised the need for a technology platform that is more sophisticated than a standard contact management system – one that would enable us to leverage long-term value from our client base.

So often we hear that CRM will help law firms achieve a client-centric approach, but CRM in isolation will never deliver return on investment and really put clients at the heart of the business. Why? Because unfamiliar systems that are perceived as difficult to use and that do not link to the practice management systems used daily by fee earners and support staff are unlikely to be willingly embraced.

Asb law needed a system that would provide the focus for all client engagement and ensure the capture of appropriate client data. But to be truly effective and to take us to the point where that data could genuinely work for us and drive business development, the system also had to encompass our case management system. After all, how can you target existing clients effectively if your CRM system is not linked to fee, matter and profitability information and metrics?

The retail sector has led the way in developing systems for capturing and exploiting client information. By contrast, professional service providers are still feeling their way.

While there are several off-the-peg CRM systems available to lawyers, none met our needs. They did not integrate well with our existing systems, nor did they offer the analysis, reporting and sales tools that are fundamental to structuring the marketing and business development processes we want. A good repository of information is one thing; it is quite another to have work-flows in place for developing sales plans, evaluating prospects and valuing and managing the sales pipeline.

The convergence of commercial and private client services is at the heart of our approach to business development, as we bring multi-disciplinary teams together to deliver practical solutions to our clients.

We have clearly defined the types and size of client we want and have been very specific about offering collaborative services across the business.

The ability to profile our client and prospect bases through traditional segmentation techniques is a critical part of our strategy – enhancing client records with information such as turnover, number of employees and standard industrial classification codes for commercial clients and socio-demographic information for our private clients is essential.

We felt strongly from the outset that effective user adoption would succeed only if we embedded the client engagement process into CRM, creating a single interface from which all aspects of client management and client development could be understood.

We also knew that we wanted – and needed – to consult across the firm in the design, construction and testing of the system to ensure it was tailored precisely to our operational requirements.

Aside from facilitating and enhancing information gathering, the system had to provide everyone within the firm – from support staff to department heads – with a comprehensive, single-client view that could underpin all client contact. It also had to be able to deliver sales pipeline management tools and the means to identify cross-selling opportunities within the existing client base via service gap analysis.

Our exhaustive review of the market confirmed our belief that we had to look beyond the 'traditional' CRM systems for law firms, and we appointed Aspective, a Vodafone company and leading provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM technology, which, while new to the legal industry, delivered the kind of tools asb law wanted.

The resulting bespoke system – Engage – is already playing a vital part in supporting change within the firm. Our growth strategy has redefined the role of partner, with a much greater emphasis on business development, client-partner responsibilities, accountability and transparency.

Rigorous targets have been set to measure each individual's contribution and the management of clients and conversion of prospects will form an intrinsic part of partners' performance assessment. Engage is the tool enabling us to manage the entire process.

But Engage is far more than just a data management project; it is having a direct influence on asb law's working culture. As the name implies, the system has been devised to encourage greater engagement between asb's staff and its clients but, just as importantly, it is fostering employee engagement with the firm and its objectives.

Every member of staff, whatever their role within the company, will play their part in asb's development programme. That is why interaction with Engage is deliberately non-hierarchical; people at all levels will be using the system in future client contact.

Of course, any CRM-based system is only as good as the data within it and by embedding client engagement into Engage we are ensuring that we lock into our clients from the outset, asking the questions and gathering the information that will help us to deliver valued services. We are improving the quality of the data captured and asb staff are taking ownership of and responsibility for the data collected.

We have also streamlined our client engagement process, introducing significant improvements such as electronic credit and identity-checking and an improved conflict search facility.

Within the system we have a direct link to Experian, a provider of information services to businesses. At the click of a button, we can verify client identities without having to ask the client to produce a raft of documentation, which can often take weeks to provide. Reducing risk and avoiding any unnecessary delays is a real benefit to the business and is a key attribute of early user adoption.

A high-profile launch within the firm was followed by a five-week training programme for all staff. In addition to providing branded user manuals and other materials, the implementation and acceptance of Engage has been assisted by the development of a team of 'super users' who provide support throughout our office network, as well as ongoing internal communications.

We now talk of accessing information and records through Engage rather than our practice management system.

Looking ahead, having an instant picture of who has been invited to which business event, who is attending and what marketing collateral they have received will play a vital role in driving business growth.

The ability to measure return on investment for each direct marketing campaign is invaluable. To be able to deliver tightly-focused campaigns, accurately profile and target clients and prospects and communicate relevant offerings is on every marketer's wish-list.

This is now a reality for us; but
the real benefit will come as staff, fee earners and partners alike use client records to drive improvements in service delivery.

Each record incorporates the client's website, key account information, service gap analysis, profitability reports, opportunity tracking and pitch management tools, combined with the ability to issue, action and track tasks and activities.

Not so long ago, the firm did not know who its top clients were, who those involved in servicing those clients were or the gaps in service take-up. Now we have a tool that is transforming the way we manage client relationships, with partner targets firmly aligned to business development.

We have started a process in which behaviour and culture is beginning to shift but, of course, the true test will be seen in improved performance of the business and in what our clients say in 12 months' time when we conduct our review meetings. n

Susan Arnold is marketing director at asb law.