Welcome to our annual roundup of CLIENTSFirst Consulting’s top-performing posts of the year! The world of marketing technology is constantly evolving, with new trends, innovations and best practices emerging all the time. We strive to stay on top of the latest developments and provide our readers with valuable insights and actionable advice.
In this post, we’ll look at our most popular blog posts and videos from the past year. In these posts, we noticed a few common themes that resonated most with our audience. More firms than ever before switching CRM systems, focusing on digital-first marketing strategies and are increasing their use of ERM systems along with outsourcing for various marketing technology positions.
Given these trends, it is no surprise (to us) that some of our top-performing blog posts and YouTube videos happen to explain the steps firms can take to implement a new CRM system, how to utilize new pieces of marketing technology including ERM systems and emarketing tools, and different ways firms can utilize these tools to create stronger relationships and develop more business all while easing the workload of the end-users.
Whether you’re a marketer looking to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices, or a lawyer looking to improve your digital marketing efforts, you’ll find plenty of inspiration and practical advice in these posts.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in and take a look at the top-performing marketing technology posts of the past year. Get ready to discover new ways to leverage marketing technology and drive growth for your business!
Top Five Blog Posts
As the past two years have brought dramatic changes to all aspects of our lives, CRM and data quality management are two areas that have seen major shifts as well. Chris Fritsch explores some key trends that are reshaping CRM and data quality management for law firms, including many firms and businesses acquiring new CRM systems, greater use of ERMs among lawyers, and a growing use of outsourcing for various martech positions.
For small to mid-sized law firms, being able to recognize trends early on and preparing or adjusting for these trends can have a big impact on the likelihood of a successful year. Some of the trends Chris addresses are the increased amount of alumni relations programs at smaller to mid-sized firms, a strong shift to a digital-first strategy, and how smaller to mid-sized firms can prepare in case of a recession.
While we may have been eager for the holiday season to come, it is never too early to begin preparing your holiday mailing lists so you can focus on more pressing matters as the year comes to an end. Chris covered numerous ways firms can prepare this year’s holiday list by using various automated services to clean and update last year’s holiday mailing list. She also provided readers with a checklist they can use to ensure the data on the list is healthy, along with other helpful tips.
Since 70% of technology implementations fail to meet expectations and more firms than ever before are switching CRMs or acquiring new ones for the first time, some of these firms may not know the necessary procedures needed to follow to successfully implement and roll out such a project. Chris Fritsch summarizes the six necessary steps of a CRM project firms should take to avoid failure and the best practices for achieving CRM success.
With more than 15 years of combined experience, Chris Fritsch, founder and CRM Success Consultant, and Dave Whiteside, Director of Client Growth and Success, sit down to discuss some of the most pressing business development and marketing trends we can expect in 2023 along with various strategies firms can follow to prepare for these trends. Some of the topics Chris and Dave cover are how firms are struggling to staff many in-house CRM positions, the increased importance of picking the right marketing technology, a guide for how to pick one, and how firms are focusing more of their attention on maintaining clean, correct, and up-to-date data.
Top Five YouTube Videos
1. The Circle of Law: Content Marketing Strategies for Small to Mid-Sized Law Firms
Click here to view video.
As firms are acquiring more sophisticated marketing technology tools and developing complex digital-first marketing strategies, they have to come up with different ways to keep their evergreen content alive and repurpose it in different, creative ways to engage their audience. Watch how Chris Fritsch and Stefanie Marrone discuss different ways small to mid-sized firms can turn one piece of content into nine different things!
2. How to Avoid CRM Implementation Challenges
Click here to view video.
Since so many firms are acquiring new CRM systems or looking to improve their current system in 2022, it is no wonder that respected organizations continue to say that 70% of these implementations fail to meet expectations. Chris Fritsch explains how these firms can avoid common pitfalls that so many firms fall into and provides us with a checklist and best practices to ensure our CRM project is on the right path to CRM success.
3. Basics of CRM Success Part 1: What to Focus on & What System Should We Choose?
Click here to view video.
This year, more than ever, we have seen the proliferation of marketing technology in law firms of all sizes. But many of these tools are new to firms and they may lack the proper experience or resources needed to fully utilize them and gain the competitive advantage these systems offer. In part one of the Basics of CRM Success, Chris explains what you should focus on, and best practices for how to pick the right system for any CRM project.
4. 12 Days of CRM: Day One – How to Measure CRM Success
Click here to view video.
A common misconception among firms is that CRM success can’t be measured. While the metrics for success may be different for every firm, success can and should be measured! These metrics depend on the goals and needs set by the Marketing and BD team and should be measurable and achievable in order to communicate success throughout the firm. Watch as Chris “Kringle” Fritsch offers us some different ways and best practices CRM success can be measured.
5. Alumni Data Management Strategies: The Dangers of Disconnected Data
Click here to view video.
In 2022, many firms realized the importance of having an alumni relations program and the benefits that can come from maintaining contact with past alumni. Chris Fritsch and Stefanie Marrone came together back in November to discuss the importance of having an alumni relations program, different strategies firms can use to manage alumni data and various challenges that can arise if the data is mismanaged.
