A contact manager is a
software
Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications.
The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
program that enables users to easily store and find contact information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers. They are databases that provide an integrated approach to tracking information and communication activities linked to contacts. Simple ones for personal use are included in most
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s.
Sophisticated contact managers provide
calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
sharing features and allow colleagues to access the same database.
History
Contact lists have been available for a long time. An early contact management system was Exsell for DOS by Excalibur Sources, released in 1984.
Benefits
A contact management system 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]
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*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 interaction model, in which many sales representatives are targeting a single job role, a customer relationship management
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategic process that organizations use to manage, analyze, and improve their interactions with customers. By leveraging data-driven insights, CRM helps businesses optimize communication, enhance cus ...
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
* Automated online assistant
* Business intelligence
Business intelligence (BI) consists of strategies, methodologies, and technologies used by enterprises for data analysis and management of business information. Common functions of BI technologies include Financial reporting, reporting, online an ...
* Business relationship management
* Comparison of CRM systems
* Consumer relationship system
* Contact list
* Customer experience transformation
* Customer experience
Customer experience, sometimes abbreviated to CX, is the totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral responses of a customer during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase st ...
* Customer intelligence
Customer intelligence (CI) as part of business intelligence is the process of gathering information regarding customers, and their details and activities, to build deeper and more effective customer relationship management, customer relationships ...
* Customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those who buy or use its products or services, either in person or remotely. Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm, and ...
– contains ISO
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries.
Me ...
standards
* Data management
Data management comprises all disciplines related to handling data as a valuable resource, it is the practice of managing an organization's data so it can be analyzed for decision making.
Concept
The concept of data management emerged alongsi ...
* Data mining
Data mining is the process of extracting and finding patterns in massive data sets involving methods at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and database systems. Data mining is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and ...
* Database marketing
* E-crm
* Enterprise feedback management (EFM)
* Event-driven marketing (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 des ...
* Mystery shopping
* Partner relationship management (PRM)
* Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of Statistics, statistical techniques from data mining, Predictive modelling, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or other ...
* Professional services automation software
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
(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. Pu ...
* Real-time marketing
* Sales force management system
* Sales intelligence
* Sales process engineering
Sales process engineering is the systematic design of sales processes done in order to make sales more effective and efficient..
It can be applied in functions including sales, marketing, and customer service
Customer service is the assista ...
* Supplier relationship management
* Support automation
* The International Customer Service Institute – contains customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those who buy or use its products or services, either in person or remotely. Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm, and ...
standards
* Vendor relationship management or VRM
* vCalendar (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, N ...
(main "contact interchange" standard)
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References
Data management software