Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers client relationship management (CRM) software that connects to external data sources to help you identify opportunities and gain a competitive edge (see article below). In addition, you'll find links to the previous 11 TL NewsWire features, including our coverage of practice management software that automates trust requests, a virtual desktop service with enhanced security, a Word add-in for analyzing contracts and finding errors, case analysis software for litigation matters, legal project management software, and much more. Don't miss the next issue.
A recent study by research firm Gartner found an alarming "data gap" in customer relationship management (CRM) software. For example, a law firm of 500 lawyers has 35,840 contacts with out-of-date information in its CRM software, and fails to capture 76,800 contacts entirely. Even worse, the data in CRM software lacks access to external data sources such as court dockets to provide insights. This data gap results in missed opportunities in an era of slowing law firm growth.
Thomson Reuters Legal Business Development Solutions … in One Sentence
Thomson Reuters Legal Business Development Solutions integrates Business Development Premier and Monitor Suite to automate CRM data capture and provide insights from external data sources such as Westlaw.
The Killer Feature
Business Development Premier's optional integration with Monitor Suite's Intelligence Center demonstrates the benefits of blending internal and external data. For example, you can analyze your firm's litigation matters by jurisdiction. This enables you to see where you've done work for a given client. More importantly, you can identify jurisdictions where you have significant experience and where a client has litigated but not hired you. Similarly, jurisdictions where you've never done work may reveal merger and lateral hiring opportunities.
Another widget shows trends over time — both your matters and those of your competitors. You can view the percentage of a client's litigation matters you handle versus the share your competition gets. Another tool lists all the news coverage of your litigation matters, which may identify friendly journalists to engage with.
Other Notable Features
Business Development Premier uses Microsoft Dynamics CRM for its traditional CRM functions. It collects data automatically from Microsoft Exchange, Elite Time & Billing, Thomson Reuters information services, and other such sources to eliminate the data gap noted above.
For example, it automatically harvests from email, calendars, and address books in Exchange accounts to identify new contacts and update existing contacts. It even parses email signatures. The patented Relationship Classification and Relationship Strength algorithms identify colleagues who have a relationship with a given contact and the strength of each relationship respectively.
The Corporate and Executive Insights accessible from Business Development Premier arm you with information that can persuade prospects and clients. Someone you know may receive a promotion to senior management or become a director of a public company. Or perhaps you want to connect with Prospect A and find through Business Development Premier that Person B who knows Colleague C at your firm serves on the same board as Prospect A. Now you have a path to meet Prospect A.
These connections sometimes occur in your head, but Business Development Premier can significantly amplify them because software is better at crunching so-called "big data" than human memory. In addition to identifying sales and merger opportunities, Business Development Premier can also help fine-tune attorney bios across your firm, unearth cross-selling opportunities, and find colleagues with relevant experience when building a client team.
What Else Should You Know?
Your web browser offers the best way to experience the many charts and tables Business Development Premier provides. However, the free mobile app offers a subset of data designed for what you're likely to need on your tablet or mobile phone when out of the office. With the mobile app, you can record activities, manage contact lists, obtain insights like those described in this article, and access data from Elite applications such as 3E and MatterSphere. Learn more about Thomson Reuters Legal Business Development Solutions.
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