What are the best tools for nurturing everlasting relationships? [UPDATED 2024]

Update from the author: we’ve updated the product information, software details and the list of best tools to be current for 2024.

You’re probably already using tools from your daily life, such as a day planner and address book, to stay on top of your relationships.

Even with those tools in hand, it can be challenging to keep track of everything. You might not find all information readily available from your planner.  It’s also hard to keep track of every interaction you’ve had in the past week, let alone in the last few months.

When you meet with a new contact, you might ask yourself a few key questions. When was the last time you spoke to them? Where did you leave their contact information? Did they send an email out to you, and if so, which email address was it under?

Fortunately, there is a way to resolve this issue beyond scratching your head. The answer? Using a personal Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM). Most companies use CRMs like Salesforce to keep track of a customer's contact information. But instead of customers, personal CRMs manage relationships with those closest to you.

Getting yourself a personal relationship management tool can help you remain organized with all of the contacts you’ve acquired. By connecting with contacts, upcoming calendar events, and more, you can always be ready for any upcoming meetings.

If you want to keep up with your friends and family, consider getting a personal CRM. Let's explore personal CRMs more to understand how important these tools can be for managing your contacts and fostering lasting relationships with your loved ones.

What is a CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It’s software that you use for customer nurturing, contact management, sales and marketing, and keeping a unified record of previous communication. The contacts you enter into your CRM are leads, prospective customers, and other professional contacts.

You probably don’t need a business CRM like Salesforce for your personal network, but recently, a growing interest has arisen in CRM for personal usage.

A personal CRM comes packed with the usual elements you’ll see for a regular CRM but is intended to be used by a single person instead of a whole team of marketers or sales reps. The tool can be used either for professional purposes, like keeping track of business school classmates, or just personal family matters.

Reasons to use a Personal CRM

Here are a few reasons why you should use a personal CRM:

• You meet a lot of people, and can’t remember important details like the last time you met someone and what you talked about.
• You have many friends, but not enough time to see them like you’d like to.
• You have a sizable family from all over the world that you struggle to remain in touch with.
• You have too many planned events on your calendar, which can lead to you missing out on connecting with some people due to scheduling conflicts.
• You are starting a new job and want to make sure you stay in touch with your new colleagues.
• You’re starting at business school, law school, or another professional program and want to build a strong network you can rely on in the future.

Family and friends

As a single person with a limited amount of time, you’ll have to make choices on who you see. Everyone needs to deal with this choice in their daily lives. Between your personal and professional obligations, it can be challenging to see friends and family. You attempt to prioritize time for them a few times a month or year, but even then, that doesn’t always work as planned.

If you want your relationships to last, it’s crucial to maintain communication. A personal CRM can keep you connected by sending you reminders to reach out, so you can nurture that cherished relationship you have with them. More importantly, you can see who you’re falling out of touch with so you’ll always know who to reach out to next.

Missing birthdays & important dates

With your busy schedule, you’ll likely forget your friend's or family member's birthdays. It’s unfortunate, but it happens to the best of us.

While a missed birthday is easily forgiven, missing out on each passing year means your relationships weaken. Birthdays aren’t the only important dates; anniversaries, children’s birthdays, new job start dates are all important times to show your support. It can be embarrassing to miss out on important events like these. With a personal CRM, missing out on important dates is entirely avoidable.

There are several other benefits you can expect from getting your hands on personal CRM:

• Time savings: see where you left off without searching through different sources.
• All communication in one place.
• A more organized contact list.
• No one falls through the cracks.

Personal CRM tools

By now, you should have a clear picture of why personal CRM can be beneficial for your daily life. Let’s go over several tools that can help you nurture your relationships.

Dex

The first on this list is our tool, Dex. We’ve created Dex to help users build stronger relationships. By using Dex, you can keep in touch with your friends, business contacts, and all other folks in your network in one place.

The digital age has made it easy for people to lose contact with one another. We’ve made Dex easy to use for you to remain in touch with everyone that matters to you, ensuring you can continue maintaining your most important relationships.  

Dex enables you to go even further by letting you set reminders, leave notes, and remember where you left off. Each person on your Dex has an individual interaction history, which you search as well.

With Dex, you create a timeline of interactions with all the people on your contact lists. Dex allows you to store and retrieve essential information you don’t want to forget, from how you met, important dates, gift ideas, and past events. The number of things you can remember is endless.

Dex is unique in that it is available on the web, as a Desktop App, and as a mobile app on Android or iOS.  Push notifications after calendar meetings make it super easy to leave a quick note from your meetings and build a habit around using Dex.

Best of all, you can import contacts from other websites such as Facebook, Gmail, Linkedin, Outlook, iCloud, and more. You’ll be able to establish a master Rolodex and concentrate on details that matter. Dex is supported by subscriptions and  built to ensure the privacy of its users.

Give us a try and get started at getdex.com.

Clay

Clay is another personal CRM that has built a beautiful and private solution for all of your relationship needs. The tool becomes populated by using your calendar and social history. Clay provides you with a way to take down notes before, during, and after a conversation. It allows you to remember the names of family members, vacation itineraries, and the last article you read that you wanted to share with your friends, all by writing down a note on the person's card.

The tool can even take notes directly from its push notification, so you’ll never be distracted from a conversation. Clay also has a feature that allows you to input names and locations through a voice transcription, using machine learning to spell and capitalize them appropriately.

Clay can help you remember the last time you spoke to someone or the first time you met. You can even set reminders for specific days, such as birthdays or anniversaries.

UpHabit

UpHabit is another tool attempting to help people nurture their relationships. To serve its users, Uphabit connects to  a users’ contacts and automatically adds new contacts frequently, so you won’t have to worry about anyone falling through the cracks.

One unique feature is the UpHabit Introductions. This nifty feature allows you to make professional introductions quickly. It provides an easy-to-use template and scheduling follow-ups. Instead ofadding all of your contacts, Uphabit allows you to automate the process and maintain an updated contact list.

UpHabit also relies on a subscription-based model, so you won’t have to worry about being bombarded with advertisements. This tool is free to use for those interested in a personal CRM, but it does provide a pricing plan for other aspects of your life, such as business-related contacts.

Contacts+

Contacts+ connects various accounts or sources to build a unified address book for its users. This tool allows you to receive up-to-date contact information that syncs across varying accounts and devices automatically.  It also informs you which of your contact information is potentially out-of-date. Automated scans performed by the tool ensure you always have the most precise information on hand.

The tool can also detect duplicates and update it for you to ensure your contact is organized seamlessly. It has the option to merge duplicates to create a unified address book through multiple accounts and devices. Contacts+ can take a single bit of information, such as email address, phone number, and social handle, to provide you with a complete profile.

It can also transcribe business cards and verify them before inducing them as new contacts in your address book. Scan and save business cards while on the go through their mobile app or upload them in bulk with their web app. Contacts+ is was recently acquired by Benchmark Email, a sales and marketing company, and was previously owned by FullContact, a identity resolution company.

Covve

Covve is another personal CRM that has appeared on the scene to ensure you don’t lose touch with your contacts through smart reminders. It guarantees you know when it’s the best time to reach out and notifies you when you are losing touch with someone on your list. With Covve, you’ll be able to manage relationships and establish  new business opportunities.

After you have finished a call with someone,  you can keep notes on your discussion to remember it for future reference. The tool can also curate news impacting your contacts, helping you remain infrared before making a call to them. You can also scan your business cards through an accurate scanner and send a well-crafted business card.

Covve also prides itself on protecting the data provided by its users. Your data will be secured thanks to the significant measures the developers have taken to ensure it remains safe and secure. You’ll always have the option to delete your data from Covve's system. They have also promised to never resell, share, or expose personal information about you or your contacts without consent from you.

Cloze

Cloze is a personal CRM that comes built with an AI Assistant that can manage everything about your contacts in a single place. The tool automatically keeps track of everything about the people you know in a single spot. All of your emails, phone calls, text messages, meetings, documents, social media accounts, and a dozen other services are tracked. It organizes the whole system by  categorizing by contact, company, meetings, and so forth.

The AI can learn who is considered most important to you and remembers things you may have forgotten over time. It also prompts you to remain in contact with these people and provides the correct context you need to do so.

While Cloze can be used as a personal CRM, it has become a more business-oriented one as of late with its pricing tiers.

Conclusion

Personal CRM is a new solution for a timeless problem: how can you stay in touch with everyone that matters to you?These tools can make your busy life less stressful and ensure you stay on top of your relationships.  With a system of reminders, notes and more, you can always be thoughtful about the lives of those you work with and care for.

If you’re worried about your meaningful relationships you’ve nurtured over the years fading, it might be time to think about finding the right personal CRM for you.  And if you are looking for a personal CRM, check ours out!