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In light of the forthcoming presentation ‘Evaluating Emerging Professional Services Technology Trends’ taking place at the LMA 2011 conference in Orlando, I wanted to discuss some mistakes law firms continue to make when purchasing new technologies.

My colleague Matthew Parfitt, alongside Kelly Geisinger of Bingham McCutchen and Paul Dunnay of Networked Insights, will be discussing the following on Wednesday, April 6 at 10:45am at LMA 2011:

• How do you match technology with the firm’s overall strategic objectives?
• What is your research process for identifying solution providers, consultants and agencies that can best assist you?
• How do I ensure I’m making the most of the technology available to me and delivering the right content to the right person at the right time?

Kelly and Paul will be providing practical insights to help marketers understand the latest technology and how to select the right solution for the firm’s strategic goals. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a great subject and no doubt will prove to be a real hit with the audience!

For now I’d like to discuss some of the humorous mistakes some law firm marketers have made when it comes to spending their firm’s money on technology.

My advice is to look at these and structure your new vendor meetings and procurement processes around the opposite.

• Don’t just purchase an email marketing technology just because one of your marketing executives has used it at a previous firm. This may save on minimal training costs but how about assessing more than one technology or provider? Make sure you compare the features, functionality and strengths vs the weaknesses. Believe it or not this was a real excuse I received last year. I can’t imagine any other industry where this would be acceptable, but it appears to be acceptable to law firms.

• Don’t just purchase a technology because it’s what other law firms use. Conduct your own due diligence by comparing technologies being used successfully in other verticals. Believe it or not, there is a whole world outside of legal, where BtoC firms are “killing it” with social media and more traditional digital channels.

• Don’t put all your faith in a sole consultant who claims to be an expert. Take their advice with a pinch of salt and still conduct your own research, product demos and prospect meetings. I know one such consultant who claims to objectively evaluate and advise law firms on CRM implementations yet repeatedly recommends the same platform regardless.

• When you’ve taken the time to prepare a website RFP, actually meet with more than 2 providers. Agencies rarely receive adequate web RFPs from law firms; any response your law firm receives will only be as good as the RFP, so ensure that objectives are clearly defined.

• We know Executive Committees usually make the ultimate decision but what do attorneys and partners really know about digital marketing and websites? As a CMO or Marketing Director, do as much as you possibly can to influence their decision: that includes sitting down with multiple vendors. Meet the people, get to know them and discuss what they could really do for your firm. Real business (like the work your attorneys do) is done face to face!

I’ll try and put together a summary of the recommendations that come out of the ‘Evaluating Emerging Professional Services Technology Trends’ after the conference.

I look forward to seeing you all in Orlando and have a safe trip! Don’t forget your sunscreen.