While in a business, it is essential to organize data efficiently. For example, while following up with a customer, you should have all information in one place instead of searching it in different sheets.
What is Contact Manager software?
A Contact Manager software stores all your contact information in one centralized place, easily accessible for all the team members.
It will give an overview of all the communication, notes, events, issues, sales history, or follow-ups related to a contact. In addition, this software will also help you to keep track of your leads and prospects.
Why Contact Manager?
Imagine if you want to send a newsletter to selected customers from a long list of databases.
How will you filter those chosen customers?
Secondly, how will you set up an appointment with few leads at different points in time?
Inefficient management of data will result in:
- Bad experience for customers
- Lack of coordination amongst team members
- Decreasing work efficiency and productivity affecting business
Choosing the right contact management software will help resolve all the issues, streamline your workflow, and improve team collaboration.
What features should you look for in an ideal Contact Manager?
Free Contact Manager
So why do companies offer free contact manager if it costs to create them? There are few reasons:
- As a marketing aid: Most people are comfortable when they select a software without any time or sales pressure. Moreover, the resistance to convert from free edition is lower than paying upfront.
- As a branding aid: It is possible that the company creates another similar paid software and they provide other software or tools free to promote their company and products.
- Open Source: Many great open source tools are free and they come with the source code.
Issues with Free Software
You may face the following issues when you use any free SAAS software in your team:
- Limited support and training
- Restrictions in features and functions
- Limited users
- Limited storage
- Import and export limitations
- Activity tracking for a limited period
List of Free Contact Managers:
On the web, there are many free contact manager software. We have looked into a few of them that we consider as important ones and provided a quick overview below.
| Product | Features | Cheapest paid version |
|---|---|---|
OfficeClip Hosted
|
|
$3/user/month |
|
OfficeClip Installed
|
|
$24/user (one-time) |
|
|
$14.99/user/month |
|
|
$15/user/month |
|
|
$7/user/month |
|
|
$8/user/month |
|
|
$2.5/user/month |
|
|
$8/user/month |
|
|
$14/user/month |
|
|
$24/user/month |
|
|
|
$10/user/month |
|
|
$18/user/month |
|
|
$8.99/user/month |
|
|
$19/user/month |
|
|
$89 for 2 users/month |
|
|
$15/user/month |
FreeCRM
|
|
$25/user/month |
|
|
$12/user/month |
|
|
$30/user/month |
Please note, that these were looked at before publishing the blog. If you want to use any of them you are asked to look into their website or contact the developer of these software companies.
Decision Template for Contact Manager:
At this instant, you have shortlisted your products, now, what is the scientific way to evaluate them quickly? We have created a decision matrix template where you can plug in some numbers and get an idea of their cumulative worth:
Click here: Contact Manager Decision Matrix Template
Also, see:
How to select a Contact Manager for a small business
Deepa Kapoor is an online writer for small businesses. She loves to write on the advancements of new technologies and how it affects our lives. She always explores ways to make small businesses more profitable. When not writing, she enjoys reading books and cooking exotic traditional food.