CRM: The advocate’s devil

Now here’s a neat use of CRM software that captured the imagination of those interesting folks over at TMCnet.com. Very very specialty niche store Billable Hour Company has applied on-demand technology to create what certainly must be the world’s only online greeting card store featuring humorous customizable printed greeting cards for lawyers and other legal professionals.

A prospective customer may chose from more than 150 cover images appropriate for holidays such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Occasions to celebrate can include passing the bar exam, admission to the bar, settling a case, and retirement, among others.

Potential recipients include lawyers, judges, paralegals, clients and even court reporters. Several different legal areas are covered, too: You can gift legal professionals in the areas of bankruptcy, copyright, litigation, criminal, tax, constitutional, corporate and other jurisdictions.

Just as in the bigger free e-card services such as hallmark.com, personalization with prose and / or pictures is possible. Unlike such services, Billable Hour will actually print out and send an honest-to-Agatha Christie card via snail mail to the recipient. Addresses can even be uploaded directly from Microsoft Outlook or CRM programs. All cartoons are drawn by lawyer / illustrator (really a professional in both fields) Stu Rees, whose practice represents more than 300 cartoonists.

If you’re seeking inspiration, the creative minds (okay, the creative mind of the editor) at TMCnet can give you other ideas. According to them, hey, you can send a “Sorry, it was my first criminal defense” card to “a couple of legitimate Italian businessmen named Vinnie and Guido who run a cement business in New Jersey.” The possibilities are endless.

All jokes and kidding aside, The Billable Hour may be onto something here. It is indeed refreshing to see CRM put to work in a real-life (albeit seriously niche) area that people of all walks of life may use. Clever gift firms will no doubt be copying this highly creative and unique idea soon. Cards are available for US $2.99 each, with discounts offered on purchases of 10 cards or more.

Orders can be placed at www.artamata.com/cardstore/thebillablehour. The Billable Hour Company sells watches, clocks, greeting cards and other gifts for those in the legal profession. Their flagship timepieces feature dials marked in six-minute increments, so as to assist those interested in the “billable hour” make out invoices for their time.