A contact manager is a
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
program that enables users to easily store and find contact information, such as
names, addresses, and telephone numbers. They are contact-centric databases that provide a fully integrated approach to tracking all information and communication activities linked to contacts. Simple ones for personal use are included in most
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s. The main reference standard for contact data and metadata, semantic and interchange, is the
vCard
vCard, also known as VCF (Virtual Contact File), is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards can be attached to e-mail messages, sent via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), on the World Wide Web, instant messaging, NFC o ...
.
Sophisticated contact managers provide
calendar sharing features and allow colleagues to access the same database. The main reference standard is the
vCalendar
The Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) is a media type which allows users to store and exchange calendaring and scheduling information such as events, to-dos, journal entries, and free/busy information, an ...
.
In management terminology, advanced contact managers can be called individual resource management (IRM) or contact management (CM) tools – systems for managing an individual's interactions with current and future contacts, to organize, collaborate, and synchronize health, lifestyle, and financial needs.
History
Contact lists have been available for a long time. The original contact management system (CMS) was Exsell for DOS by Excalibur Sources, released in 1984.
Benefits
A contact management system (CMS) may be chosen because it is thought to provide the following advantages:
[Aberdeen Group (January 2009) Automating Success: The Choice Between Contact Management and Customer Relationship Managemen]
/ref>
*Centralized repository of contact information
*Ready-to-use database with searching
*Sales tracking
*Email integration
*Scheduling of appointments and meetings
* Document management system, Document management
*Notes and conversation management
*Customizable fields
*Import/export utility
*Contact sharing
Differences from customer relationship management
Traditionally, a contact manager is usually used for instances where the sales interaction model of the organization is a one-to-many interaction model, in which a single sales representative is responsible for multiple roles within a company. Alternatively, a company with a many-to-many
Many-to-many communication occurs when information is shared between groups. Members of a group receive information from multiple senders.
Wikis are a type of many-to-many communication, where multiple editors collaborate to create content that is ...
interaction model, in which many sales representatives are targeting a single job role, a customer relationship management
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.
CRM systems compile data from a r ...
(CRM) system is preferred.:[.
However, most recent contact management solutions are fully adapted to many-to-many interactions models, and the difference between a CRM and a Contact Manager starts to lay more on the fact that CRMs are commonly used to automate sales and marketing processes (quotes, invoices, reminder emails, etc.) where contacts management solutions focus on a people-centric approach which goal is to centralize all contact information within an organization and have better control on who can access this data and how it is accessed.]
See also
* Address Book
An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address
An addres ...
* Automated online assistant
An intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) or intelligent personal assistant (IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. The term "chatbot" is sometimes used to refer to virtual ...
* Business intelligence
Business intelligence (BI) comprises the strategies and technologies used by enterprises for the data analysis and management of business information. Common functions of business intelligence technologies include reporting, online analytical pr ...
* Business relationship management
* Comparison of CRM systems
This article is a comparison of notable CRM systems.
ERP systems are considered a superset of CRM systems.
General
Only stable releases are mentioned.
Features
See also
* Comparison of mobile CRM systems
* List of ERP software ...
* Consumer relationship system
* Contact list
* Customer experience transformation
* Customer experience
Customer experience (CX) is a totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral consumer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages. Pine and Gilmore described the ...
* Customer intelligence
Customer intelligence (CI) as part of business intelligence is the process of gathering and analyzing information regarding customers, and their details and activities, to build deeper and more effective customer relationships and improve decis ...
* Customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...
– contains ISO standards
* Data management
Data management comprises all disciplines related to handling data as a valuable resource.
Concept
The concept of data management arose in the 1980s as technology moved from sequential processing (first punched cards, then magnetic tape) to ...
* Data mining
* Database marketing
* E-crm
* Employee experience management (EEM)
* Enterprise feedback management (EFM)
* Event-driven marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
(EDM)
* Farley File
* Help desk
A help desk is a department or person that provides assistance and information usually for electronic or computer problems. In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University studied the value of an organization's help desk ...
* Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping (related terms: mystery shopper, mystery consumer, mystery research, secret shopper and secret shopping and auditor) is a method used by marketing research companies and organizations that wish to measure quality of sales and s ...
* Partner relationship management (PRM)
Partner relationship management (PRM), used especially in IT industries,, accessed 17 January 2021 is a system of methodologies, strategies, software, and web-based capabilities which help a vendor to manage partner relationships. The general pu ...
* Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from data mining, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or otherwise unknown events.
In busin ...
* Professional services automation software
Professional services automation (PSA) is software designed to assist professionals, such as lawyers, auditors, and IT consultants, with project management and resource management for client projects and utilization rate management for billable sta ...
(PSA)
* Public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
* Real-time marketing
* Sales force management system
Salesforce management systems (also ''sales force automation systems'' (SFA)) are information systems used in customer relationship management (CRM) marketing and management that help automate some sales and sales force management functions. Th ...
* Sales intelligence
* Sales process engineering
Sales process engineering is intended to design better ways of selling and make salespeople's efforts more productive. It has been described as "the systematic application of scientific and mathematical principles to achieve the practical goal ...
* Supplier relationship management
* Support automation
Customer support is a range of services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. Reg ...
* The International Customer Service Institute – contains customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...
standards
* Vendor relationship management or VRM
* vCalendar
The Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) is a media type which allows users to store and exchange calendaring and scheduling information such as events, to-dos, journal entries, and free/busy information, an ...
(main "calendar interchange" standard)
* vCard
vCard, also known as VCF (Virtual Contact File), is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards can be attached to e-mail messages, sent via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), on the World Wide Web, instant messaging, NFC o ...
(main "contact interchange" standard)
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References
Data management software