This is an article that contains information from our Ask An Expert Webinar on "Set Yourself Up For Success With CRM and Marketing".
Watch the Ask An Expert Sessions here:
Click here for a copy of the presentation slides: Ask an Expert February 2022 - CRM & Marketing[55].pdf
Helpful User Guide Articles:
For more information on how to-
Set up Marketing Campaigns and Activities
How to set up Marketing Campaigns and Activities - Video
Creating a Custom Matter List View (Admin)
Setting up Custom List Views (Contact Level)
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions during the sessions)
Q.Can you send a bulk email to a set list of clients?
A.No, Actionstep is not set up to bulk email clients but this does not mean you should stop here. There are several different ways to do this – one way is to export contacts every week/month from your system to excel and then input them into MailChimp/active campaign and so mail-outs from there. Another option is to use Zapier to automate this so every time you enter a contact or a client to a certain matter type this information is automatically fed into MailChimp/active campaign without you having to do anything.
You can either set this up yourself or engage one of our partners to assist: https://www.actionstep.com/partners/
Q. What is the best way to track referral sources and how much money they are generating for the firm?
A.The best way to track this is by creating a custom list view (a custom list view is very similar to an excel sheet with up to data – you just have to choose which columns you want and away you go) instructions are here: Creating a Custom Matter List View (Admin).
Q. I'd like to send automated emails at certain milestones.
A. There are two ways to do this you can either send automatic emails on step changes (remember that these cannot be reviewed before sending) OR you can send out automatic emails based on different milestones with tasks for example, on a task due date, on completion, on creation, etc.
For emails see here: Adding an Automatic Email to a Step Change
For task notifications see here: Default Task Notifications
Q.Is there a way to have the email generated automatically but reviewed by a staff member before sending it?
A. No not at this stage, but we know that this would be a great feature and it is on our radar.
Q. Can automated emails be triggered by something other than a step change? For example after a certain amount of time or after a task is marked done?
A. Yes as above on task notifications.
Q.Is it better to build CRM/intake steps into each matter type or to create a CRM/intake matter and then link it to related matters?
A. My personal preference is to create one CRM/intake matter type and then relate it to other matters. The reason behind this is that if they are at the start of all your matter types and you change your terms and conditions or a document template/email template then this has to be changed on every matter type – rather than just one so it is a lot more to administer. Also by relating the matters you can related matter reports showing all kinds of information showing when matters are related and how long it takes – I would also incorporate custom data on the closing of CRM/intake matters when the customer doesn’t engage so you can keep track of the reasons and then develop your workflows based on this feedback.
Q. Can you email the slides to us?
A. Yes they are attached at the top of this article.
Q. Tips/tricks for utilizing CRM for managing referral partners/touch points and interactions with them (not specifically matter/client related) looking at a Referrer (the person) we can see notes of discussions in one place and set reminder notifications to reach out again on a future date? --- nurturing our referral sources regularly
A. To be honest there is nothing stopping you from using Actionstep matters for all things (outside of matter related) why not create a matter type for Referrer Communications and create a matter for each referrer – you can then save any communications to them, any payments made to them, set reminder dates, etc for communications and manage it just like you do for your actual files!
Q.How to set it up so we can track where clients come from - How did you create the custom list report?
A.You can create a custom list view through the Admin menu (spanner on the right-hand side of your screen). Just look at these instructions and videos for more assistance: Matter List View or Custom Matter Report
Q.How can we track campaigns independently of client input?
A.You can track campaigns on step changes within workflows or from within the billing settings without any client input. However, you can also add this as a question in your web forms so customers can outline where they found you as well.
Q. Can we generate a template email from a discreet task window or only from a task list?
A.You can only generate a template email from an automatic task within a workflow unfortunately you cannot generate a template email from within a manual task (i.e. one you have created ad-hoc). We are aware that this would be a great feature and it is on our radar.
Q.Please show how you linked marketing activities to the new matter pull-down list under #2
A.Please click here on how to create marketing campaigns and marketing activities: Marketing Campaigns and Activities
Q. After we create the matters where do we find the report?
A. You have to create the report - See here for some instructions on Matter List View or Custom Matter Report
Q. How do you add Facebook, Word of mouth, etc as a referral source?
A. Please see here how to create marketing campaigns and marketing activities: Marketing Campaigns and Activities
Q. What is the best way to set up an automated email marketing campaign that would continue to email a potential customer until they respond to the email or fill out an Actionstep web form?
A.If a task was set up for this response and a due date was given and the task hasn’t been completed by the date – an automatic email could be sent to the customer but this would only be one email not continual. Using Mailchimp or Active Campaign would work however as you could build a marketing workflow that begins and is followed until the customer (for example) clicks on the web form link. Once again this can be automated from Actionstep to either of these products with Zapier.
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