The days of looking up contact information in a Rolodex are gone. Even PDAs are barely used these days. Contact information in the modern office is generally stored in databases accessed through local network computers and mobile devices. This leads us to ask the following question: is your law firm’s contact information up to date?

When the Rolodex was the preferred way to store customer contact information, there was a tendency to keep it updated because it was the only tool. In many law offices, there was only one Rolodex to work with. That made it even more critical to ensure that contact info was accurate. Things are different in the electronic age.

Running a law firm with multiple, overlapping applications opens the door to conflicting contact information between those applications. Information might be up to date in one system, but completely outdated in another. This only makes contacting clients more difficult.

Communicating in the Technology Era

It is interesting to step back and look at how people communicate today as opposed to just 20 or 30 years ago. According to Salesforce, 78% of all consumers use text messaging to communicate with companies. Does your office take advantage of text messaging?

Next, 82% of all consumers are likely to use mobile apps to communicate. Some 84% are amenable to using online customer portals. The one thing all of these communication methods have in common is the need to know who your contacts are and how to find them.

Integrated, Intelligent Contact Information

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. It is supposed to make practicing law easier, which is the very reason we developed our Salesforce case management software. When technology hinders rather than helping, the root causes can usually be traced back to poor design and lack of integration.

A good way to understand this is to honestly assess whether or not your law firm makes use of overlapping software. For example, how many different software packages does your firm utilize on a regular basis? Among those many packages, how many of them contain client contact information?

The more applications in play, the more likely that your data doesn’t match. The other side of that coin is integrated, intelligent contact information populated across an application like NuLaw. Because our software brings all of your other applications together in a single environment, contact information remains consistent throughout.

Tips for Managing Contact Information

We believe a cloud-based case management application is far superior to multiple, overlapping systems. It’s better for managing contact information; it’s better for matter management; it’s better for marketing and research. But there are things a law office can do to better manage contact information above and beyond just installing new software. Here are a few tips:

• Collect Info on Contact – The best way to ensure that contact information is correct at the start of the attorney-client relationship is to get that information on first contact. Even if a client does not commit to representation, his or her contact information could prove invaluable later on.

• Centralized Storage – All client contact information should be stored in a centralized location and backed up regularly. Inputting client information should be as effortless as possible.

• Update Along the Way – Contact information is kept current when it is updated along the way. If you haven’t spoken with a client in a while, verify contact information. If a client initiates a new case, update the information again.

No law firm can operate without an adequate source of client contact information. The key is keeping that information up to date.

Sources:

• Salesforce – https://www.sales force.com/blog/2013/08/customer-service-stats.html