Review: ACT! software for Contact Management
ACT! is well known as contact management
software, but how good is it really? And, could you use it to keep
track of their issues? I've checked it out for you!
- ACT! 2007: Easy access to customer data for individuals and small businesses.
- ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2007: This is the special version for users working in teams.
- ACT! Premium for Web 2007: Remote access to customer information, easy roll-out to users.
- ACT! Premium for Real Estate 2007: Special version for Real Estate professionals.
- Accounting integration: Allows integration of ACT! software with widely used accounting packages like Quickbook, Peachtree, Simply accounting and BusinessWorks.
- Mobile Integration: Take your customer data with you on your PalmPilot or PocketPC.
- Add-ons
(3rd party vendors): Many add-ons
that can utilize your ACT! contact data.
My Impressions
I have tested ACT! against the following areas, where I grade them with stars, 1 thru 5 (more is better):- Functionality: I look for useful functions rather than a lot
- Customizability: If you need to align your tool to your business, you'll probably need to customize the tool
- Ease of use: A helpdesk tool must aid, not hinder, the support process
- Speed: Any customer service rep that had to wait on a system while talking to a customer, understands the "need for speed" :-)
- Reliability: You need a tool you can trust, with data integrity, and that works when you need to
The Score
FunctionalityACT! has an extensive function set for managing customer contact information, and activity tracking. It is clear that customer data management is the core of the software. Very impressive. From a customer support point of view, functionality is not as apparent. You can easily track contact activity, but it is clear that the software is focused on tracking contacts initiated by the business. For tracking incoming calls, it feels a bit clumsy. I do like (very much!) how all data is centered around the customer. This is where the focus should be, after all. **** 4 stars.
Customizability
You can easily set up windows for customers, companies and groups as you like it. Adding fields is a breeze. You can even design different layouts for different screen sizes. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to customize activity screens. **** 4 stars.
Ease of Use
Anyone familiar with standard Microsoft/Windows applications will feel right at home. Keys and buttons work as expected, which make it very easy to learn and use. ***** 5 stars.
Speed
The speed is good, data is retrieved and presented very fast. Also, getting to the data you need is fast, because of the easy navigation. ***** 5 stars.
Reliability
This software is working very reliable, and is backed by a software firm over 30 years old. I haven't found any errors during testing. ***** 5 stars.
Overall impression
ACT! is sales force software. Everything is built around the customer data, and all activities can easily be entered and tracked. But the main focus is on activities done by the business. This is clearly not software for the help desk (not that I say it's in any way presented as such by Sage), it's highly likely you'll need an add-on help desk function to completely fill your needs.Having said this, I think ACT! is a robust module for keeping track of your customer's data, and see it as a very viable central module for this in small and mid-sized businesses.
**** I give ACT! contact management software 5 stars out of 5.
