How the disconnect between Website & CRM is costing your firm money

By Grant Aldrich
ga@leadtank.com

April 11, 2007

Based on numerous client observations, we have found that the integration between the firm’s website and internal CRM database is a necessary component to marketing professional services online. By automating the transfer of prospect inquiries and information directly to the professional’s desktop, firms are able to provide the best level of service, reduce costs, and maximize the benefits from their marketing efforts.

Despite the considerable improvements that today’s firms have made in marketing themselves online, the handling of prospect information generated by the website has not been so progressive.

Allow me to share a hypothetical scenario that illustrates some of the current integration trends we have seen from leading professional services firms. Let’s assume the following:

• A large law firm, "Aldrich & Aldrich", spends roughly 19% of their marketing budget online. Half is allocated towards campaigns that drive prospects to the website, while the remainder is used to build and maintain the content on the website.
• The website has been completely built with today’s in-house counsel in mind, who is a savvy purchaser of professional services. Accordingly, information regarding the firm’s knowledge, solutions, previous success, and professionals are all accessible, and well-presented on the site.
• Prospects who are interested in the firm’s solutions are converted into a lead once they download a case study, fill out a website form, or submit their contact information online.
• Curiously, the firm experiences only adequate returns from leads generated through their website.

It would appear that our firm is performing remarkably well. The website serves as a knowledge repository, information is tailored to the correct buying center, and effective lead traps are in place to capture prospect information. From the information provided, one would assume that this results in a successful business development initiative.

However, when the contact information is captured on the site, the following steps take place at Aldrich & Aldrich:

• A text email containing the prospect’s contact information and details is sent to someone in the marketing department and comes directly into their inbox.
• The marketing department is understaffed and overworked. The email sits in the inbox on average from 4 hours to 4 days.
• The email is then forwarded to an account executive or partner within the firm.
• The email sits unopened in the partner’s email box on average 1 day.
• The partner is billing an incredible amount of hours per week, and does not have the time to input the prospect information from the text email into the firm’s CRM. Consequently, the partner does not see previously inputted details from colleagues that were entered into the CRM database regarding the prospect’s company. Valuable information that could be used to address the prospect’s needs is not accessed.
• The partner is able to contact the prospect 2 days after reading through the email.
• During the discussion, the partner writes conversation notes on a piece of paper. Following the call, due to the partner’s limited time, she cannot enter the information from the call into the firm’s CRM database to document the details and knowledge gained. The rest of the firm is not able to share the information that the partner learned.
• Managing partners request quarterly, and yearly reports regarding the outcome of the leads generated by the website, which leads were sent to which partner/professional, and the quality of the programs.
• Marketing department is rushing to produce reports, and is ‘chasing’ leads to create the requested reports. Most of the information requested is unobtainable or inaccurate.

The poor results from the website marketing leads are suddenly realized. This scenario illustrates two primary problems. First, once the prospect submits his/her information, it takes roughly 3-6 days to receive a response from a professional at the firm. This is far too long in the digital age. As we all know, this is a critical juncture in selling professional services. To the prospect, the courting phase experience is an indication of what it will be like working with the firm. When the potential client receives such a delayed response, it conveys the message that Aldrich & Aldrich doesn’t value the prospect company’s business.

Secondly, because the firm’s response protocol lacked a conducive environment to reference the CRM knowledge base, the partner was not sufficiently familiar with the needs of the prospect. Valuable insights on how Aldrich & Aldrich could add value to the prospect’s company were lost in the process of managing the lead.

Such lackluster first impressions may potentially cost the firm lucrative contracts. These types of experiences will ultimately drive prospects to competitors, no matter how good the website content is, or how positive the firm’s skill sets are perceived to be.

So, what steps have firms taken to avoid these pitfalls and ensure that prospects receive the highest level of service, professionals are amply prepared to meet prospect needs, and costly internal restructuring is avoided?

This is where the direct integration between the website and the internal CRM becomes critical, and the benefits to the organization are realized.

To explain how this changes the scenario, let’s revisit our lead generation example above. After the prospect submits the information online, the data is instantly transmitted to the internal systems that the professional uses on a daily basis. All of the prospect’s information is directly inputted into the CRM fields, and is immediately routed to the necessary professionals. Notifications alert them regarding actions that need to take place, and information regarding the stages of the prospect funnel is neatly organized within the system. Finally, the CRM software’s built-in reporting can track which new leads were brought in from the website, which professional was responsible for following up, how long it took to respond to the inquiry, and any revenue that was generated from the prospect when they eventually became a client.

With this type of direct integration, the firm makes significant improvements to their opportunity management, resulting in the following benefits:

• Faster response – Now, the information can be immediately routed to the professionals it needs to go to. All of the prospect information is directly accessible on the professional’s desktop the instant that the inquiry is received. The human elements that can inadvertently waste precious time are minimized, and no time is wasted in data entry.
• Better insight into the prospect’s needs (more effective response) – By removing the headaches of passing the baton and typing in contact information, the professional is in a much better environment to utilize the firm’s CRM knowledge base. The firm has provided easy access to the lead in the location where all previous prospect and client information is stored. If there are previous details that will aid the professional in meeting the needs of the prospect, they will be found in the CRM system. Consequently, the professional is more effective when dealing with firm prospects and clients.
• More reliable – By removing the human elements of managing the lead, we have found that the process is far more reliable. When the process is automated, inquiries are not as likely to fall through the cracks from being passed from one email box to the next. In most cases of integration, safeguards can even be put in place to raise red flags when prospect information is not properly transmitted from the website.
• Better reporting – At the end of the day, the managing partners or executive management have more information at their disposal regarding the success of their marketing campaigns and the demand for their individual services. By keeping the information digital and routing it through the CRM, a myriad of reports can be run to quickly figure out how these efforts affect the bottom line.
• Higher accountability with our professionals – With the ability to track the follow-up actions of individual professionals, firms are in a greater position to hold them accountable. Professionals can be rewarded in front of their peers for prompt responses, utilizing the CRM properly, and keeping detailed accounts of the prospect courting phase.
• Lower Costs – All of these benefits translate into lower costs. Less administrative time is dedicated to data entry and lead management, and the marketing department is able to use their resources more effectively to run reports and to establish the value of marketing efforts.

This kind of lead management can help remove barriers that keep professionals from using the firm’s CRM, and cut out costly administrative headaches. Coupled with the reporting capabilities of digital integration, I’m sure you will find that you are providing a better service and maximizing the return of your online marketing.

Grant Aldrich is Director of Client Services for Leadtank, Inc., a firm that specializes in website marketing for professional services firms. He is also an author for the Professional Services Marketing blog.