Answer: If your firm does not have a client relationship management "system" in place now — one that has nothing to do with computers, software, technology, buttons, disks, etc. — then no software "solution" is going to provide any kind of value to your marketing program. Period. End of story. What installing, testing, rolling-out and training a client relationship management system will provide for your firm, however, is a giant hole down which to throw great-green-gobs of cash, time and effort.
If your firm already does a good job (or even a mediocre job) of systematically managing client relationships through a set of processes and procedures, then a computerized software system will, more than likely, be of great benefit. The suggestions made by other serv members are good ones. When I was at an AmLaw 200 firm, we used InterAction and had very good results; it will do all that neat stuff you’re looking for.
But if your firm does not currently have any processes in place to manage client relationships; if you do not keep track of sales calls, sales "forward" events, client touches, client communications, etc.; if you do not manage client lifecycles; if you don’t track incoming referral info; if you don’t track outgoing referrals; if you don’t mark matters based on anything other than data related to case info (ie, you don’t tag them by industry, profitability, practice group, etc.). If you, in short, aren’t doing any of those things that you hope the software will help you do… it won’t. You can’t get blood from a stone, and you can’t get "management" from a computer. Management comes from (surprise!) management.
So… in the event that your firm is among the majority that isn’t doing any real client relationship management, my suggestion is to get all your "natural" processes in place before deciding what software to buy to enhance them. Foundation before paint and paper.
Stumble it!