4 ways to use contact management automation

As a kid, I used my mother's old physical address book, wrote fake contact information, and pretended I was an important person. (I was a weird kid.) Back when phone numbers and addresses were stored in physical address books and Rolodexes, all you had to do was not lose them and write clearly. 

With digital address books, it's more complicated. The ease of digital communication means there's more contact information to store than ever and more options on where you can keep it. You can save info in a phone app, spreadsheets, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions, or just hope it comes up in an email search. Contact management automation would make things much more manageable.

If your contact management is a mess, you can use Zapier to help make sense of it. Our automatic app connections, which we call Zaps, can send contact information where you want it. 

Click on a Zap below to begin automating your contact management and we'll guide you through the set-up process. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Automatically save contacts

When I need to email someone, I often search through my inbox hoping their contact information is there. If you're frequently interacting with someone at work or plan to establish a long-term business relationship, you'll want to make sure their information is at your fingertips. 

These Zaps will save information from your email as a new contact. 

Tend to take more calls? These workflows will create contacts from new appointments made in a booking app. 

Go paperless with your business cards

I have a tin of business cards I've received from people I've met at conferences in the before-times. I am fairly sure their information isn't saved anywhere.

You can digitize your business cards with a card scanner app. If you need that contact information in more than one place, these workflows will automatically copy new scanned business cards into your app of choice.

Want to convert those business cards into leads in your CRM instead? These Zaps will do it for you.

If you have contacts who aren't ready to have a full sales conversation but could use a little nudge, add them to a mailing list with these workflows: 

Add your contacts to a spreadsheet

With so many options to store your contacts, sometimes the simplicity of a spreadsheet is all you need. You can cut down on the manual data entry by using Zapier to add new scanned business cards to your spreadsheet automatically. 

Need to verify information in your spreadsheet of leads? Use a Zap with a contact verification tool to double-check your list of email addresses when new rows are added.

Most contact management apps can bulk import contacts from CSV files. If you'd prefer to upload contacts as they come in, these workflows will automatically add new spreadsheet row information to your contact app. 

Send follow-ups automatically

We're not done with those business cards. It can feel awkward to make the first overture after you've exchanged contact information. You can get past it using a Zap that will automatically draft an email once you upload a card to a business card scanner or contacts app. 

Let automation keep you organized

Whether you're trying to capitalize on leads or organize your digital address book, automation can save you time on manual data entry so you can focus on making connections. 

The best part about using workflows like these is that you'll never have to wonder again where to find a contact's information. It'll be exactly where you need it, so you can easily find it and keep your work on track.

Related reading:

• How to consolidate all your contacts into one list

• The 8 best business card scanner apps of 2021 

• 3 ways to automatically keep track of your leads