That's especially true if your contact management platform already has CRM capabilities built-in, as do many of the top players we list below.Īnd because these systems are essentially slick databases with purpose-built front-ends, you can also apply creative uses to them. It gets your early sales operation off the ground quickly and smoothly, ensuring that any later expansion into CRM is not only easier but also has a good data pool at the outset. Starting with a standalone contact management service gets that job done. These organizations want a tool that will help them find customers and sell. For most tiny businesses and startups, that's too much overhead. It's also an overhaul of your sales and pipelining process and usually requires evaluations of how and why your company gathers data as well as your business intelligence strategy.
So why not simply deploy a CRM if you want contact management features? Because no matter how beautifully it's designed, a fully functioning CRM, even one built as a small business CRM, is more than just a software implementation. They may also include an overview of other touchpoints with that customer, such as verbal communications or help desk calls. These systems generally work to maintain rock-solid addressing data, along with a summary of sales and associated sales rep information (especially any open contracts).
Pure contact management systems are much more focused. CRM systems attempt to track all customer interactions and then tie that data into the sales pipeline, digital marketing campaigns, and even your supply chain.
If you think customer relationship management (CRM) and contact management are the same thing, you're almost right.Ĭontact management is a subset of CRM.