Client relationship management: Some software options

It’s been almost 18 months since I wrote a review of mediation client and case management software and even longer since I created my list of 10 must-have tech tools for the wired mediator. That’s too long when we’re talking tech.

So I was happy to find Jolt Magazine’s recent CRM Heaven or CRM Hell? Seven Options Reviewed from the Trenches. CRM, or client relationship management, requires really effective software to do it right, and Jolt’s article gives a nice run-down of the options.

Me? I still use Highrise, and happily so. Someone asked me at the ACR conference why I use that one instead of one of the super-powerful options like Act! or SalesForce. What I want may not be what you want, so the question’s a good one. Here’s what I look for:

• Few bells and whistles. A long list of features may look inviting on a software product’s sales page or box, but really, how many of them do you actually use? I want software that does the most important things really well and doesn’t swamp me with the rest.
• Scalable. I want software that I and my client base won’t outgrow.
• Easy to learn. I don’t want to spend my time mastering complex software in order to squeeze out of it what I need. I want something that’s intuitively simple and straightforward.
• Portable. I never want to worry that I’ve left my office without a critical client note or file. So I want software that lives “in the cloud” (on the web) and which I also lets me download database files for safekeeping
• Likely to be here next year. While I’m always intrigued by new CRM options, like a kid drawn to the newest shiny object, I’m left wondering whose will make it and whose will die a quiet death. It’s a pain to port client records and data into a new system, so I want one from a credible company that looks like it’ll be around for a while.
• Built for small business. And I mean small business of an ADR firm’s scale. Many of the options are built for companies of 50, 100 or 1000. Those companies don’t need exactly what I need.

So that’s why I use Highrise. But it may not be for you, if your list is different. Jolt Magazine’s article should help you consider some alternatives.

I hope to be teaching a client relationship management workshop in New England in the next few months, so if this is a topic that interests you, watch here for an announcement.