Rollout Strategies for Success

The challenges of successful software adoption within the law firm environment are daunting. Lawyers historically have lagged behind users in other industries in technology uptake. They have little non-billable time they can devote to learning the nuances of a new software package or attending extended training classes. And unless the benefits of the system are obvious at the onset, they have little inclination to make the time.

Everyone knows that enterprise technology is of no use unless it's adopted successfully by the organization, yet internal marketing of new and existing systems is shockingly low. According to a fourth quarter 2002 study by research and analyst firm, Meta Group, a mere 17% of survey respondents have established formal marketing programs for coordinating technology launches with users.

Indeed, the need to formulate a proactive internal marketing strategy within the firm is of fundamental importance when rolling out enterprise software. Law firms have not always done this successfully. This article examines the critical elements of a successful internal marketing strategy and how one firm, Brown McCarroll, used many of these techniques to achieve firm-wide acceptance of its CRM solution.

Successful Rollouts and Start with Firm Culture

Firms implementing new enterprise software platforms can experience increased efficiencies and revenue generation from these new systems. Some firms are more successful than others despite having implemented identical technology platforms. What attributes do the most successful firms have in common?

Strong Leadership

The most successful firms understand that a properly executed technology initiative can have powerful long-term impact on the firm's competitive position and future. Accordingly, at these organizations the new system is not simply viewed as an IT or marketing initiative, but a firm-wide effort spearheaded at the highest levels of management. The firm's leadership must take ownership of the initiative, communicate its importance to the rest of the firm and then lead by example. As a result, everyone knows and understands their role in the success of the initiative and its overall importance to the firm.

Alignment

For many strategic technology initiatives, alignment across multiple departments and collaboration is required for the initiative to be a success. For instance, when implementing CRM systems or others that have a strong business development component, the marketing and IT departments play an integral role in the project's success. Marketing generally is most knowledgeable about the data and is responsible for maintaining it consistently with the firm's overall strategy. IT is responsible for ensuring that the proper infrastructure is in place to facilitate the project and integration with other applications, and to provide firm-wide training and support of the system. Whatever system you are implementing, if the interests of impacted departments are not properly aligned, they will be working at cross-purposes, which can ultimately blunt the effectiveness of the technology initiative. Firms that enjoy the greatest return from their technology investment generally have a close partnership and ongoing communication between all affected groups.

Sufficient Resource Allocation

Firms ensure the success of their technology initiatives by carefully studying the total cost of the project beyond technology acquisition and allocating sufficient resources to effectuate their plan. Included in those costs are: staffing, process changes, training, communication as well as installation and deployment costs. Some of these costs are ongoing throughout the life of the initiative and must be considered in resource planning. Treating a technology initiative as solely an IT project and failing to consider the other organizational costs can result in underutilization of the solution and depress the ultimate return the firm realizes from its investment.

Openness to Change

As firms undertake a major new technology initiative they will become more intimately familiar with their current business practices and gain greater understanding of those that need to change and evolve to accommodate the new technology. Opportunities for change will present themselves in virtually every area of the business, from culture to processes. Organizations that are committed the technology strategy and that are willing, and able, to undertake the firm wide changes necessary to execute on their strategy, will reap the greatest rewards from their efforts.

Education/Training

Education and training go hand-in-hand with change. Firms that have successfully implemented major new technologies understand that it is simply not enough to be open and willing to change. They must also provide adequate and ongoing education and training on how to accomplish this change. Many employees, from professionals to administrative staff, are happy and willing to dedicate themselves to the success of the new initiative ' however, on their own they will not likely know how to accomplish this. Providing adequate training and education is therefore essential. This commitment must be ongoing in order to initiate new employees into the strategy supporting your new initiative and reinforcing these issues to existing staff.

Rollout Strategies

Presuming that your firm has in place the necessary attributes for a successful technology rollout, specific internal marketing programs can now be implemented to promote the new application and maximize lawyer acceptance and use. Specific examples include:

• Announcement Letters. Letters from the managing partner or some other senior manager announcing the rollout are instrumental in setting expectations and outlining the importance of cooperation as the deployment gets underway. This letter should explain the firm's goals in rolling out the technology, what the new system is designed to accomplish, key benefits that each user contingent can expect to enjoy, and any specific next steps required of the recipients. If the interests of users are varied (ie, secretaries versus lawyers) separate letters can be issued.
• User Surveys. Prior to the rollout, it can be helpful to survey users to determine their specific needs as they relate to the new system. The survey would poll users on how they accomplish various relevant tasks, what the shortcomings of their existing practices are, and what improvements they would like to see. When these results have been compiled, you'll have specific issues you can address at product demonstrations and training sessions that you know are relevant.
• Product Demonstrations. Live product demonstrations or more detailed PowerPoint presentations should be developed to walk new users through key product features, benefits and uses.
• Marketing Campaigns. Many firms develop internal marketing and advertising campaigns to create awareness and “buzz” around the new software package. Examples include posters communicating key benefits displayed in high visibility areas of the firms, contests and prizes to promote benefits and functionality of the system, and ad specialties that reinforce product visibility.
• Rollout Strategy. In some instances immediately rolling out the system firm-wide would be counter-productive. Firms often deploy to small pilot groups of sophisticated users first so that these groups can enjoy early successes with the system and then serve as champions and resources to other users who are given access to the system later on.
• Education and Support. Education and support is always critical to a successful deployment. Ensuring that all impacted users are given appropriate training at convenient times will lay the foundation for user adoption. Providing these users adequate IT support as they start using the system, and a “go-to” person whom they can call upon at any time, will also help you avoid user discouragement as lawyers run into challenges with the system.

A Case in Point: Brown McCarroll

Brown McCarroll is a multi-disciplinary law firm with five offices across Texas. With around 200 lawyers, its goals in purchasing a new CRM solution included being able to share knowledge about relationships across the entire firm in order to have smarter business-development efforts.

For the implementation to be successful, the firm knew that it had to sell the product internally and create enthusiasm. Otherwise, it would likely encounter difficulty with the process changes that would need to accompany a successful deployment.

Led by Marketing Director Bonnie Martin, the firm developed a creative internal marketing approach that reached deep into the firm's culture and resulted in virtually 100% user adoption. For instance, an internal ad campaign included various signage posted throughout its offices, such as one meant to encourage sharing of data. It read: “Not Everything Should Be Private,” and was cleverly placed inside bathroom stalls. Coinciding with this was a fortune cookie drop with messages that read: “Share What You Know and It Will Come Back to You Tenfold.”

In addition to clever ads, the firm initiated phased training, repeated workshops and one-to-one training. Post-implementation “hall walks” helped answer any lingering questions about the application. Regular e-mails sent out by the marketing team to users announce changes that have been made to their contacts in the system after a position or company change is announced in publications.

Showcasing the practical benefits of the system, like sending out up-to-the-minute RSVP lists for events and printing labels in a snap for holiday cards, can help users better see the benefits of using it as part of their daily routine. Strong management support and communications from Brown McCarroll's managing partner regarding the importance of the software to client development and growth has combined with these other efforts to maximize the firm's CRM investment.

The commitment by the organization has to continue post-implementation as well. Brown McCarroll's CRM Administrator continues to offer ongoing user training to brush up on skills, and schedules a “7-day checkup” with new employees of the firm to specifically introduce the system's capabilities and benefits.

As Brown McCarroll's case illustrates, deploying leading technology in and of itself does not assure user adoption and return on investment. Firms must be committed organizationally to the new system, aligning all departments that will be impacted by the rollout, communicating the strategic advantages and benefits to users, and supporting these activities with ongoing training and support.

The challenges of successful software adoption within the law firm environment are daunting. Lawyers historically have lagged behind users in other industries in technology uptake. They have little non-billable time they can devote to learning the nuances of a new software package or attending extended training classes. And unless the benefits of the system are obvious at the onset, they have little inclination to make the time.

Everyone knows that enterprise technology is of no use unless it's adopted successfully by the organization, yet internal marketing of new and existing systems is shockingly low. According to a fourth quarter 2002 study by research and analyst firm, Meta Group, a mere 17% of survey respondents have established formal marketing programs for coordinating technology launches with users.

Indeed, the need to formulate a proactive internal marketing strategy within the firm is of fundamental importance when rolling out enterprise software. Law firms have not always done this successfully. This article examines the critical elements of a successful internal marketing strategy and how one firm, Brown McCarroll, used many of these techniques to achieve firm-wide acceptance of its CRM solution.

Successful Rollouts and Start with Firm Culture

Firms implementing new enterprise software platforms can experience increased efficiencies and revenue generation from these new systems. Some firms are more successful than others despite having implemented identical technology platforms. What attributes do the most successful firms have in common?

Strong Leadership

The most successful firms understand that a properly executed technology initiative can have powerful long-term impact on the firm's competitive position and future. Accordingly, at these organizations the new system is not simply viewed as an IT or marketing initiative, but a firm-wide effort spearheaded at the highest levels of management. The firm's leadership must take ownership of the initiative, communicate its importance to the rest of the firm and then lead by example. As a result, everyone knows and understands their role in the success of the initiative and its overall importance to the firm.

Alignment

For many strategic technology initiatives, alignment across multiple departments and collaboration is required for the initiative to be a success. For instance, when implementing CRM systems or others that have a strong business development component, the marketing and IT departments play an integral role in the project's success. Marketing generally is most knowledgeable about the data and is responsible for maintaining it consistently with the firm's overall strategy. IT is responsible for ensuring that the proper infrastructure is in place to facilitate the project and integration with other applications, and to provide firm-wide training and support of the system. Whatever system you are implementing, if the interests of impacted departments are not properly aligned, they will be working at cross-purposes, which can ultimately blunt the effectiveness of the technology initiative. Firms that enjoy the greatest return from their technology investment generally have a close partnership and ongoing communication between all affected groups.

Sufficient Resource Allocation

Firms ensure the success of their technology initiatives by carefully studying the total cost of the project beyond technology acquisition and allocating sufficient resources to effectuate their plan. Included in those costs are: staffing, process changes, training, communication as well as installation and deployment costs. Some of these costs are ongoing throughout the life of the initiative and must be considered in resource planning. Treating a technology initiative as solely an IT project and failing to consider the other organizational costs can result in underutilization of the solution and depress the ultimate return the firm realizes from its investment.

Openness to Change

As firms undertake a major new technology initiative they will become more intimately familiar with their current business practices and gain greater understanding of those that need to change and evolve to accommodate the new technology. Opportunities for change will present themselves in virtually every area of the business, from culture to processes. Organizations that are committed the technology strategy and that are willing, and able, to undertake the firm wide changes necessary to execute on their strategy, will reap the greatest rewards from their efforts.

Education/Training

Education and training go hand-in-hand with change. Firms that have successfully implemented major new technologies understand that it is simply not enough to be open and willing to change. They must also provide adequate and ongoing education and training on how to accomplish this change. Many employees, from professionals to administrative staff, are happy and willing to dedicate themselves to the success of the new initiative ' however, on their own they will not likely know how to accomplish this. Providing adequate training and education is therefore essential. This commitment must be ongoing in order to initiate new employees into the strategy supporting your new initiative and reinforcing these issues to existing staff.

Rollout Strategies

Presuming that your firm has in place the necessary attributes for a successful technology rollout, specific internal marketing programs can now be implemented to promote the new application and maximize lawyer acceptance and use. Specific examples include:

• Announcement Letters. Letters from the managing partner or some other senior manager announcing the rollout are instrumental in setting expectations and outlining the importance of cooperation as the deployment gets underway. This letter should explain the firm's goals in rolling out the technology, what the new system is designed to accomplish, key benefits that each user contingent can expect to enjoy, and any specific next steps required of the recipients. If the interests of users are varied (ie, secretaries versus lawyers) separate letters can be issued.
• User Surveys. Prior to the rollout, it can be helpful to survey users to determine their specific needs as they relate to the new system. The survey would poll users on how they accomplish various relevant tasks, what the shortcomings of their existing practices are, and what improvements they would like to see. When these results have been compiled, you'll have specific issues you can address at product demonstrations and training sessions that you know are relevant.
• Product Demonstrations. Live product demonstrations or more detailed PowerPoint presentations should be developed to walk new users through key product features, benefits and uses.
• Marketing Campaigns. Many firms develop internal marketing and advertising campaigns to create awareness and “buzz” around the new software package. Examples include posters communicating key benefits displayed in high visibility areas of the firms, contests and prizes to promote benefits and functionality of the system, and ad specialties that reinforce product visibility.
• Rollout Strategy. In some instances immediately rolling out the system firm-wide would be counter-productive. Firms often deploy to small pilot groups of sophisticated users first so that these groups can enjoy early successes with the system and then serve as champions and resources to other users who are given access to the system later on.
• Education and Support. Education and support is always critical to a successful deployment. Ensuring that all impacted users are given appropriate training at convenient times will lay the foundation for user adoption. Providing these users adequate IT support as they start using the system, and a “go-to” person whom they can call upon at any time, will also help you avoid user discouragement as lawyers run into challenges with the system.

A Case in Point: Brown McCarroll

Brown McCarroll is a multi-disciplinary law firm with five offices across Texas. With around 200 lawyers, its goals in purchasing a new CRM solution included being able to share knowledge about relationships across the entire firm in order to have smarter business-development efforts.

For the implementation to be successful, the firm knew that it had to sell the product internally and create enthusiasm. Otherwise, it would likely encounter difficulty with the process changes that would need to accompany a successful deployment.

Led by Marketing Director Bonnie Martin, the firm developed a creative internal marketing approach that reached deep into the firm's culture and resulted in virtually 100% user adoption. For instance, an internal ad campaign included various signage posted throughout its offices, such as one meant to encourage sharing of data. It read: “Not Everything Should Be Private,” and was cleverly placed inside bathroom stalls. Coinciding with this was a fortune cookie drop with messages that read: “Share What You Know and It Will Come Back to You Tenfold.”

In addition to clever ads, the firm initiated phased training, repeated workshops and one-to-one training. Post-implementation “hall walks” helped answer any lingering questions about the application. Regular e-mails sent out by the marketing team to users announce changes that have been made to their contacts in the system after a position or company change is announced in publications.

Showcasing the practical benefits of the system, like sending out up-to-the-minute RSVP lists for events and printing labels in a snap for holiday cards, can help users better see the benefits of using it as part of their daily routine. Strong management support and communications from Brown McCarroll's managing partner regarding the importance of the software to client development and growth has combined with these other efforts to maximize the firm's CRM investment.

The commitment by the organization has to continue post-implementation as well. Brown McCarroll's CRM Administrator continues to offer ongoing user training to brush up on skills, and schedules a “7-day checkup” with new employees of the firm to specifically introduce the system's capabilities and benefits.

As Brown McCarroll's case illustrates, deploying leading technology in and of itself does not assure user adoption and return on investment. Firms must be committed organizationally to the new system, aligning all departments that will be impacted by the rollout, communicating the strategic advantages and benefits to users, and supporting these activities with ongoing training and support.