On this page
Overview
Contact information stores the preferences and details of physical persons or companies, including customers, leads, users and partners, with which a business interacts. The information is used for identifying contacts and communicating with them.
Module features
- Contacts are considered to be customers when their contact information is associated with an accounts receivable. This is reflected by a contact information in a 'Financial' life cycle state.
- Several addresses and phone numbers can be registered for each contact and used by processes in other modules. For example, it is possible to assign an address for billing and another for deliveries.
- Contact information registers preferences regarding participation in direct and affiliate marketing campaigns, conforming with the Data Protection Act, and enables customers to opt in and out of mailing lists from their email.
- Contact information enables the automatic assignment of contact name day, which can be used for marketing and rewards purposes.
- It is also used to assign the preferred language for outbound communications.
- Request and receive customer consent for saving and processing personal information in compliance to GDPR
- Anonymize contact and associated information either after request or due to contact's inactivity
Setting Up Contact Information
Categories
Categories can be used to classify contacts according to their business role (e.g., customers or partners).
Industries and Industry Sectors
Any economy is made up of sectors which can be broken down into industries.
An industry consists of a specific group of companies with common business activity (for example, energy, law, marketing, telecommunications). A sector is made up of several industries and refers to a large segment of the economy (for example, industrial, service, financial).
Once industries and industry sectors are configured in the system, they can be added to contact information and used for grouping and reference.
Business definitions
Contact information definitions are business rules which are used to control the behavior of contact information throughout its life cycle. There can only be one active definition at a time.
Definition fields
The table describes the sections of the Contact Information Definition Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory Configurable
Rules | |
---|---|
Name Rules | Define the order in which the first, last, and middle name of the contact should be displayed or entered in the Summary and Data Entry page, as well as in searches, reports and dashboards. |
Persons Uniqueness Rules | Define the field or combination of fields which will be used to guarantee the uniqueness of a person's contact information. Uniqueness is validated when creating or updating contact information. E.g., (Last name and ID number) OR Social Security Number. |
Companies Uniqueness Rules | Define the field or combination of fields which will be used to guarantee the uniqueness of a company's contact information. Uniqueness is validated when creating or updating contact information. E.g., (Name and VAT number) OR VAT Number only. |
Name Day Rules | Rules are used to assign a name day to contact information. Provide the date of the name day and all names which celebrate on that day, including name variations, separated by a comma. Once the rules are in place, execute the name day application process to assign the name day to the contact information of contacts that have a name day. |
Consent Settings Settings associated to requesting consent from customer to use and process their personal data, required to comply with GDPR. For more information on GDPR processes refer to Complying with GDPR | |
Enable Contact Consent | Define whether the Contact Consent functionality should be enabled. If the functionality is enabled then you can control the actions allowed on a contact depending on the state of the consent which can be one of the following
The allowed actions which can be chosen depending on the state of the consent are the following:
|
Import Consent Form Automatically | Available only if Enable Contact Consent is selected Enable option to automatically attach the consent form to all contacts once they are created. If enabled select the form at Consent Form Attachment which should be already available in the Attachments Library |
Require re-consent (Action on View Mode) | Action available only if 'Import Consent Form Automatically' is enabled. Use this action in cases where the consent form has been updated and contacts that already accepted the previous consent form, will have to re-consent. |
Anonymization Settings Settings associated to anonymizing data to comply with GDPR. For more information on GDPR processes refer to Complying with GDPR | |
Enable Contact Anonymization | Define whether the Contact Anonymization functionality should be enabled. Contact Anonymization process If the functionality is enabled then the following settings provide extra checks before the anonymization takes place to safeguard against erroneous deletion/anonymization
|
Scheduling Settings | Enable the scheduling settings if you would like the anonymization process to also be executed in batch. (i.e. on top of the anonymization due to Consent Rejection or Withdrawal and anonymization action through Contact information page) The Logs of the executed runs will be displayed through the Batch Processes Admin Board |
Authorisation Settings | |
Define a default setting regarding whether direct or affiliate marketing material should be sent to new contacts. The default can be changed from the contact information Data Entry page. For a description on setting up and using authorization settings, refer to Contact notification preferences. | |
Supported Preferences | |
Addresses - Emails - Phones - Relations | Define the types which are supported by the system. |
Related configuration areas
The following modules are related to contact information and may be configured for the contact information module to operate at its full capacity.
Manual Link | Area | Description |
---|---|---|
Privacy level assignment rules | Provide automation on setting the privacy level for the contact. | |
Platform | Formatting settings | Provide formatting settings regarding contact information fields. |
Communications | Communication templates | Create communication templates, including dynamic links that enable customers to opt in and out of mailing lists. |
Using Contact Information
CRM > Contact Information > Manage Contact Information
Contact information is used to organize the details of customers, prospect customers, users and partners. A separate set of information is kept depending on whether the contact is a physical person or company.
Contact information fields
The table describes the sections of the Contact Information Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory Configurable
Main Information | |
---|---|
Type: 'Person' or 'Company', selected from the Top menu when creating a new contact by clicking NEW. For persons: First Name Last Name Gender and Title are optional. For companies: Company Name
Photo: Supply an image file for use as a profile photo by third-party systems, such as a mobile apps or portals. | |
Phones | A contact can have several phone numbers. One phone of each type can be active at a time. Supported types are created in the contact information definition. The area code is set automatically based on the selection in the countries module, available under Platform. |
Emails | A contact can have several email addresses. Supported types are created in the contact information definition. The email address must include an '@' character and a '.' at a position following '@' to be valid. |
Addresses | A contact can have several postal addresses. One address of each type can be active at a time. Supported types are defined in the contact information definition. In order to define a new address for an existing type, the current address must be deactivated. Addresses can be supplied and edited from modules other than contact information. For example, an address can be entered from the subscriptions module, as an installation address, and one can be entered from the accounts receivable module, as a billing address. Both are added to the contact information addresses. It is possible to view and reactivate inactive addresses by using the View Inactive link. |
Demographics (for 'Person' contacts only) | Personal information associated to the contact including ID Number, Registration Country, Passport Number, Passport Registration Country, Social Security Number, Country of Residence, Industry, Industry Sector and Date of Birth. Name Day: Can be automatically applied through the name day application definition, based on the name day rules configured in the contact information definition. Depending on the fields defined in the uniqueness rule of the contact information definition, some of the fields in this section may be mandatory. For example, if Social Security Number is included in the uniqueness rule, then it is mandatory to provide the number for each contact. |
Company Profile (for 'Company' contacts only) | Company information associated to the contact including Industry, Industry Sector, Profile Year, Annual Turnover, Established on, Number of Employees, Tax Reference Number, Registration Details and VAT Registration. Depending on the fields defined in the uniqueness rule of the contact information definition, some of the fields in this section may be mandatory. For example, if the VAT Registration Number is included in the uniqueness rule, then it is mandatory to provide the number for each company contact. |
Authorisation Settings | Determine whether the contact should be sent direct and affiliate marketing material. The settings default to those in the contact information definition. Send Direct / Affiliate Marketing Material: Enable if the contact should be a recipient (of in-house or partner marketing campaigns, respectively, and of customer care notifications). Customers can opt in and out of mailing lists (i.e., update their authorisation settings) directly from their email. For a description on setting up and using authorisation settings, refer to Contact notification preferences . Preferred Language: Used for communication purposes. If none is specified, the system will use the default language. |
Consent Information | The consent information of the contact information which includes the following:
For more information on consent information refer to Complying to GDPR |
Relations (Contacts associated with the one currently selected) | |
Outward Relations: A number of contacts with which the currently selected contact is associated. Type: A label describing the relation with the related contact, e.g., 'Friend', 'Client', 'Family Member'. The supported relation types are defined in the active contact information definition. Inward Relations: The contacts who have the currently selected contact as an outward relation. Inwards relations cannot be edited. They can change if an outward relation modifies their relationship entry from the Data Entry page. |
Creating and processing contact information
Validations take place before an action is initiated (prerequisite) or after it is submitted (postcondition).
Selecting and creating contact information
Specify the criteria that match the contact information you are interested in or use NEW > Person or Company from the Actions menu to register the detail of a new contact. Provide the information defined as mandatory in the contact information fields table and SAVE the contact.
Contacts associated with an accounts receivable are already customers and have a 'Financial' life cycle state. Contacts without an accounts receivable are not customers yet and have a 'Marketing' life cycle state.
Working with contact information addresses
One active address of each type (Business, Home, PO Box, Billing or any other configured type) can be registered for a contact at a time.
Previous address data can be inactivated and kept in the system, for future access and reactivation (in case the contact returns to a former address).
Deactivating addresses
- In Edit mode, select the Addresses tab where 'active' addresses of each type are displayed, and choose the address to deactivate by using the respective radio button.
Click DEACTIVATE.
Addresses used by other entities (e.g., accounts receivables or subscriptions) cannot be deactivated.
Activating or removing inactive addresses
- Select the Addresses Tab and click on VIEW INACTIVE for a list of inactive addresses registered in the system.
Click on ACTIVATE to reactivate an address or REMOVE to delete an address.
Click on VIEW ACTIVE to return to active addresses.
Applying business flows on contact information
Communicating contact information
Contact information details are used when communicating with customers from every module in the system. You can use tags (text that is automatically replaced by values specific to selected records) for all communications. Tags are available for selection by typing '#'.
Refer to the Communications manual for a complete list of contact information tags.
Complying with GDPR
In order to comply to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as of May 2015 certain measures must be taken by organizations to protect every individual's rights to control how their personal information is collected and processed. The following tools are available in CRM.COM to ensure that the collection of personal data of your customers is done in a way that is accepted by GDPR.
- Contact Consent for keeping and processing data
- Anonymization of data
- Expanded audit trail logging for access retrieving and modification of data
Contact Consent State
Each contact information has a state/status associated to their consent which is one of the following:
- Pending: Contact has not yet provided their consent
- Accepted: Contact has provided their consent
- Rejected: Contact has rejected the consent
- Withdrawn: A contact who previously provided their consent, withdraws it
Through the Consent Settings available in the Contact Information Definition, you can set up how data of contacts can be manipulated according to the state the consent is at, except the case where the contact has provided their consent (Accepted) in which case there are no restrictions or options to restrict it. In any other case the following options are available:
- Complete functionality: Indicates that the contacts and the actions applicable on them are fully functional.
- No functionality allowed: Indicates that no further actions can be applied on these contacts but they will exist as contacts in the system. (Only available for 'Rejected' and 'Withdrawn' states)
- Anonymize Contact: Indicates that contacts will be fully anonymized and no longer functional in any way (Only available for 'Rejected' and 'Withdrawn' states)
A contact's consent state (apart from Pending' which is the default state) can be captured in the system in 3 ways
- By using the dedicated action in the Contact information page Actions > Add Consent Form in which case the consent state can be selected and the consent form can also be uploaded
- By using links available in emails or SMS sent to the contacts through which the contact can either accept or reject the consent. For more
- Through a third part system such as a portal or mobile app which can make use of the associated WEB APIs
Contact Consent Form
A contact consent form can be attached on every contact through which their consent can be verified. The consent form can be individualized, for example, a scanned copy of a signed accepted consent form or a global consent form which is the same for all contacts and can be selected through the attachments library.
If the form is individualized then it can be added by using the dedicated action in the Contact information page Actions > Add Consent Form in which case a consent form can be uploaded or selected through the attachment's library (global). If however the consent form does not need to be individualized, then set the consent form in the Contact information Definition Consent Settings and the selected form will be automatically attached to all contacts
Requiring re-consent
Consent forms may be updated through the time thus it may be mandatory to require re-consent from the contacts. This is possible by using the action available in the Contact Information Definitions data entry page 'Require Re-Consent'. This is applicable only for contacts that have either accepted, rejected or pending consent state. Once the action is selected then the following information are updated
- Consent State: Pending
- Consent Updated Date: empty
- Consent Form: update it with the new attachment
The affected Contacts are then considered as "Pending Consent" and the respective functionality applied on the Contact Information Definitions is applied.
Anonymizing Data
Anonymization process is vital to GDPR compliance. Once a contact is anonymized then any CRM.COM functionality is not possible. In greater detail the following actions are no longer functional
- Updating or executing any action on the Contact Information
- Creating, updating or executing any action on the Contact's related Accounts
- Creating, updating or executing any action the entities (Service Requests, Activities, Jobs etc.) which are related either to the Contact Information or the related Accounts
- Executing any processes which are related either to the Contact Information or the related Accounts such as Provisioning Runs, Payment Gateway Runs etc.
- If any financial transaction is imported to the system and is related to an anonymized accounts receivable then it should be posted on the System's Suspense Account instead (available through Accounts Receivable Definitions)
A contact information can be anonymized in the following three ways:
- Through the dedicated action in the Contact Information data entry page (if the anonymization process is enabled in the Contact Information definition)
- Through the batch process that can be executed through the Contact Information Definitions
- Once the Contact rejects or withdraws consent and the Consent Settings of the Contact Information definition were configured so as to anonymize the contact
In order for the contact information to be anonymized a set of conditions must be met:
- The contact must not be a User, related to a group (internal or partner) or related to a unit (internal or partner)
- The contact does not own a non terminated subscription, relates to a pending job, activity, service request or lead
- The contact does not relate to a pending un-processed RBIs, or an un-posted Financial Transaction
- The conditions set in the Contact Information Definition Anonymization settings
Check Appendix A for a full list of the data in CRM.COM that is anonymized once the process takes place.
Exporting customer data
Information associated to each and every contact can be made available to them through a printout which optionally it can be sent to them through an email.
Communicating contact information
Communications can be created and sent to the contact information either manually or triggered by an event taking place in the system, such as the creation or the update of the contact information. You can use tags related to contact information (text that is automatically replaced by values specific to selected records) when creating communications. Tags are available for selection by typing '#'. Additionally dynamic links can be added to these communications (dynamic link communication tags) which enable the customer to either accept or deny consent to the usage of their personal data.
Refer to the Communications manual for a full description of how to use communications, a complete list of contact information communication tags as well as specific information on how to use dynamic links.
Keeping an Audit Trail
Audit trail of any action associated to the accessing of any record is now kept in the system along with the option to view a complete list of the audit log. Additionally reports are now available which display a list of the audit trail logs of a specific Contact Information and its related Entities (Accounts Receivable and Rewards Participant and another one to display the changes performed on a contact information by a specific user.
For more information on Audit Trail refer to Security Management
Contact notification preferences
Contacts can opt-in and out of communications regarding direct (in-house) and affiliate (partner) marketing campaigns. Contacts do not have the option to opt out of communications regarding financial matters, such as bills.
It is possible to override contact preferences, when it is imperative to communicate important information.
Applying or ignoring contact notification preferences
Notification runs apply contact communication preferences when the 'Apply Contact Information Data Protection for Direct / Affiliate Marketing' setting is selected, in the notification type. If it is not selected, the system will communicate with the customer regardless of the contact information preference.
Opting-in and out of mailing lists
Customers can opt-in and out of direct and affiliate mailing lists directly from their email by using dynamic links.
Assigning a name day to contacts
Contact information enables the automatic assignment of a contact name day, so that customers can be contacted with wishes and rewards on their name day.
Configure name day rules in the Contact Information Definition to assign a name day to contacts as well as how often you would like to run the rules or alternatively set up and execute instantly.
The run will identify the contacts that satisfy (at least one of) the 'name day rules' configured in the definition. The name day of each contact that qualifies will be set in the respective contact information field.
Through the name day rules you can also determine whether the rules will be applied to All (person) contacts (regardless of whether a different name day is already specified) or only to those Without Name Day already specified.
Classifying contacts
A customer in CRM.COM is defined as a contact with an accounts receivable in a 'Financial' life cycle state. Customers are not represented by any other entity within the system. Contacts who are not customers have a 'Marketing' life cycle state.
Segmenting contact information
Contact information with common business characteristics can be grouped together. The resulting lists can be used in system processes to identify customers or for simple statistical calculations.
For more information on segmentation and how you can create contact information lists refer to Segmentation.
Contact Information Analytics
Printouts
Printouts are available through the Data Entry page in the following formats: HTML, XLS, CSV, RTF or PDF. Refer to Printouts for information on how they can be created, printed and sent.
Contact Information Printout
A printout that displays all the information of a Contact Information and its related Accounts Receivable. The printout is available through the Contact Information data entry page and can also be sent by email.
Contact Information Business Examples
Company uniqueness rule
Scenario 1
Company ZX would like to ensure that there are no companies in its contact information that share the same VAT Registration Number.
Solution
Configuration
In the contact information definition, VAT Registration Number should be checked under Company Uniqueness Rules.
If one or more fields are specified in the rule (e.g., VAT Registration Number OR (Name AND VAT Registration Number), then it is not possible for two contacts to share the same VAT Registration Number or combination of the two values, respectively.
Person uniqueness rule
Scenario 1
Company ZX would like to ensure that the information on ID Number is unique for all contacts.
Solution
Configuration
In the contact information definition, ID Number should be checked under Person Uniqueness Rules.
Scenario 2
Company ZX would like to ensure that the information on ID AND Social Security Number is unique for all contacts.
Solution
Configuration
In the contact information definition, ID Number AND Social Security Number should be checked under Person Uniqueness Rules.
If one or more fields are specified in the rule (E.g., ID Number OR (Social Security Number AND ID Number), then it is not possible for two contacts to share the same ID Number or combination of the two values, respectively.
Financial and marketing life cycle state
Scenario 1
Company ZX registers two new contacts in the system, one as a new subscriber and the other as a lead.
Solution
User Process
Financial
The new contact is registered in the system as a subscriber. A subscription and an accounts receivable are created, for billing purposes and to track the financial progress of the customer. The life cycle state of the contact is automatically updated to 'Financial'.
Marketing
A new contact is registered in the system as a lead. An accounts receivable is not necessary and the life cycle state of the contact remains as 'Marketing'. If the lead is converted (becomes a subscriber) and an accounts receivable is created, the life cycle state of the contact will automatically be updated to 'Financial'.
Exclude customers from partner marketing campaigns
Scenario 1
Company ZX contacts its customers on a monthly basis to inform them regarding offers and new channels. Other than its own marketing campaigns, Company ZX also engages in affiliate marketing for partners. Some customers want to be removed from the affiliate marketing mailing list, but remain on the direct marketing mailing lists.
Solution
Contact Information
Opt-out of Affiliate Marketing Campaigns & Opti-in Direct Marketing Campaigns.
Authorisation settings related to affiliate marketing should be set as follows:
Send Direct Marketing material: YES
Send Direct Affiliate material: NO
Notification Type
Affiliate marketing campaign
For the system to take into consideration the affiliate marketing contact information authorisation settings, the notification type used for the monthly affiliate marketing campaign should be as follows:
Apply Contact Information Data Protection for Affiliate Marketing: YES
Direct marketing campaign
For the system to take into consideration the direct marketing contact information authorisation settings, the notification type used for the monthly direct marketing campaign should be as follows:
Apply Contact Information Data Protection for Direct Marketing: YES
System Process
Notifications created using the 'affiliate marketing' notification type are not sent to customers.
Notifications created using the 'direct marketing' notification type are sent to customers.
Notes
If you are using a previous release, view CRM.COM Release Changes.
Use the contact information WEB API to create and manage contact information from an external system, such as a customer portal. View the Contact information WEB API for a complete list of actions available through the WEB API.
Glossary
CRM.COM Term | Definition |
---|---|
Accounts Receivable | A ledger of the financial transactions carried out between a company and its customers, such as invoices and payments. |
Subscription | A collection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis. |
Opt-in / Opt-out | To choose to be involved (opt-in) or not to participate (opt-out) in something, for example, to receive direct or affiliate marketing emails. |
Notification | Auto-generated text, used to communicate financial or customer care information to existing or prospective customers. Notifications are sent through CRM.COM by email or SMS or by using a third party external system, such as a mobile app or portal. |
Appendix A - Anonymized Data
The following data will be set to 'Anonymized' once the anonymization process is executed as part of the GDPR compliance.
Entity | Field |
---|---|
Contact Information | First Name and First Name UC |
Contact Information | Middle Name and Middle Name UC |
Contact Information | Last Name and Last Name UC |
Contact Information | ID Number |
Contact Information | ID Registration Country |
Contact Information | Passport Number |
Contact Information | Passport Registration Country |
Contact Information | Social Security Number |
Contact Information | Date of Birth - Day, Month, Year |
Contact Information | Company Name and Company Name UC |
Contact Information | Tax Reference Number |
Contact Information | Registration Number |
Contact Information | Registration Country |
Contact Information | VAT Number |
Contact Information | All Address Information
|
Contact Information | All Phones Information
|
Contact Information | All Emails Information
|
Contact Information | Attachments
|
Contact Information | All "From Values" and "To Values" from Contact's Audit Log |
Accounts Receivable | Name and Name UC |
Accounts Receivable | Number |
Accounts Receivable Payment Preferences |
|
Payment Gateway Cards |
|
Accounts Receivable | All Presentment Preferences Information (method, value, is active) |
Accounts Receivable | All "From Values" and "To Values" from Account's Audit Log |
Communications | Subject |
Communications | Description |
Communications | Shared Notes |
Communications | To Recipient |
Communications | From Recipient |
Communications | Content |
Financial Transactions
| Shared Notes |
Subscriptions | Notes |
Subscription Actions | Cancellation Notes |
Activities | Description |
Activities | Shared Notes |
Activities | Contact Information email |
Activities | Contact phone |
Jobs | Description |
Jobs | Shared Notes |
Jobs | Contact Info Phone |
Jobs | Contact Info Email |
Customer Events
| Description |
Service Requests | Description |
Service Requests | Shared Notes |
Service Requests | Caller Email |
Service Requests | Caller Phone |
Leads | Description |
Leads | Shared Notes |
Leads | Contact Info Phone |
Leads | Contact Info Email |
Rated Billing Items
| Cancellation Notes |
Access Tokens | Authentication code |
Access Tokens | Identifier |
Access Tokens | Pass code |