The legal industry saw 46 completed law firm mergers last year, and more are expected in the coming years as smaller and mid-market firms seek new partners. With these mergers, the issue of how firms consolidate and invest in their systems, particularly the marketing technology stack, is becoming increasingly important.
It is crucial to address marketing systems, such as the customer relationship management system, deal and litigation trackers, and other marketing databases, before the end of merger discussions. How a merger is communicated, at what stage, and by whom are vital to its success. To ensure successful communication, firms should consider all constituents, such as employees, lawyers, clients, recruiters, vendors, alumni, and referral sources, and plan to communicate with each of them promptly.
Marketing technology is imperative to a successful communications strategy and streamlines client information and contact mining while linking with finance. It is essential to roll out the right technology that facilitates each party’s strategy before planning communications and marketing tactics. To achieve this, introducing technology should be a collaborative team effort, but a single person or department should lead marketing operations or project integration. Critical influencers in the firm also have an essential role in the operational success and should be engaged early in the process to facilitate collaboration and bridge gaps between departments.
It is important to define the universe of tech solutions that will be used and establish parameters for implementation. In addition to firm influencers, senior leaders should champion the cause and understand the importance of technology purchases, rollout, and adoption. Communications and an eye toward change management are critical to the marketing technology process. Implementers, such as assistants or marketing teams, need the proper support to be effective and should be consistently trained and rewarded from both a morale and compensation standpoint.
It is vital to demonstrate why the marketing stack should be in place and why it makes a difference by showing more minor incremental results, such as the ease of pulling a list of alumni in specific states. Systems should also be integrated to talk to one another, with finance and marketing applications coming from the same company five steps ahead of the game. This will produce results faster and increase the likelihood of winning business by providing a complete view of the company and its relationships with the firm.
Addressing marketing systems, such as the customer relationship management system, deal and litigation trackers, and other marketing databases, before the end of merger discussions and having a successful communication strategy is crucial to the success of a law firm merger. Introducing technology should be a collaborative team effort, with a single person or department leading the effort, and critical influencers and senior leaders should be engaged early in the process. To ensure effective implementation, implementers should be given the right support, trained, and rewarded, and the importance of the marketing stack should be demonstrated through smaller incremental results.
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Law Firm M&A Deals Should Consolidate Their Tech Solutions Early