Contact manager
A contact manager is a software 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 of all information and communication activities linked to contacts. Sophisticated contact managers provide calendar sharing features and allow several people in a company to access the same database.
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[edit] Benefits
A Contact Management System (CMS) may be chosen because it is thought to provide the following advantages:[1]
- Centralized repository of contact information
- Ready to use database with searching
- Sales tracking
- Email integration
- Scheduling of appointments and meetings
- Document management
- Notes and conversation management
- Customizable fields
- Drip marketing
- Import/export utility
[edit] Differences from customer relationship management
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 (CRM) system is preferred.:[1]
CRM's usually extend the features of a contact management solution into a more comprehensive record of all interactions as now many people need to collaborate on the same information.[citation needed]
[edit] Current market trends
The current trend is an integrated CMS and CRM solutions that can provide both one-to-one and many-to-many capabilities.[citation needed] It can allow a user to have their own contact list and manage their contacts, while at the same time provide complete collaboration options.[citation needed] These are the optimal solutions as they provide a SMB or SOHO the option to grow without having to upgrade to a CRM later on.[citation needed]
