Client Relationship Management Software Allows Firm to Manage Relationships More Proactively

March 23, 2007 — New York, NY, March 23 2007 - LexisNexis announced today that Marks Paneth & Shron LLP (MP&S) selected InterAction as its Customer Relationship Management software to manage critical relationship information. InterAction was selected for its ability to manage, track and leverage the numerous relationships that are integrated into the firm’s business and its employees’ daily interactions. Marks, Paneth & Shron has grown to be one of the largest independent accounting firms in the New York region and is one of the 50 largest firms in the nation.

To address the increasingly sophisticated business needs of professionals at firms like MP&S, InterAction software extends the ability to leverage institutional knowledge in large, growing firms, expands the scope of data firms can centrally capture and manage, and provides robust new reporting capabilities to give professionals customized access to critical data and relationship information in virtually any layout or format.

Marks Paneth & Shron selected InterAction after a two-month search. Among the key factors that contributed to choosing InterAction was the system’s ability to extend the firm’s industry reach by empowering professionals to discover and capitalize on their colleagues’ relationships to help land the next new client engagement.  InterAction offered a solution that allowed the firm’s staff to draw upon the collective power of that network to better manage the engagement cycle and win clients faster using a system that met the firm’s need to easily transfer data to hand-held devices like BlackBerry® and third-party applications like Microsoft® Outlook®.

Prior to selecting InterAction, MP&S used a single, firm-created database that was controlled by the marketing department. As the company grew exponentially year-over-year, the simplicity of the database and the limited access to the system for some staff members, coupled with the lack of adequate bandwidth required to manage an increase in access, became problematic. The firm was no longer as equipped to engage in the kind of client service and responsiveness that had made it so successful. MP&S management agreed it was critical to find a tool that would enable the formation and maintenance of strong relationships firm wide.

“We realized that while our original system had productive beginnings, it was not scaling for our growth,” explained Sara Walsh, managing director of marketing for Marks Paneth & Shron LLP. “Another concern was that the most critical data was largely held in people’s heads, which did not support our goal of company-wide information sharing.”

“Firms often select InterAction for its streamlined ability to collect, maintain and track critical data on people and companies connected to the business and to improve the integrity of that data,” said John McDonnell, vice president,  InterAction. “We are pleased that Marks Paneth & Shron is using the system to grow its business for a competitive advantage and improve employees’ abilities to communicate inside and outside of the firm.”

Marks Paneth & Shron also appreciated InterAction software’s ability to allow the firm to be more proactive in managing relationships. This has manifested itself in a number of arenas since implementation, including: clients, referrals, business development and marketing.

InterAction helps maintain ongoing and relevant communication with clients and prospects. In addition, as the firm grows largely on referrals, it relies on InterAction to determine what sources deliver consistent recommendations for new clients. This feature reveals sources of potential revenue, as well as firms and individuals to which it would want to provide reciprocal referrals.

Business development and marketing efforts at MP&S have improved since beginning to work with InterAction. The system allows MP&S to be smarter about market segmentation and market share. For example, partners and business development professionals can select all of its clients in a specific industry as compared to entire industry size to determine its market share. As a result, MP&S can target new clients easily and identify new areas to grow revenue with existing clients. InterAction also tracks mailings,