10 Best Contact Management Software for Small Business in 2023
This article is part of a larger series on CRM.
Contact management is an essential feature in customer relationship management (CRM) systems. It lets teams store, organize, and search for customer or lead data, such as identifiable information like names, phone numbers, or addresses. It records behavioral information like lead activity and descriptive data like a contact’s industry. We evaluated dozens of CRM systems to identify the best contact management software for small business sales teams.
- Best overall with a 360-degree view of contacts: Freshsales
- Best solution with unlimited contacts: HubSpot CRM
- Best for intelligent contact data enrichment: Pipedrive
- Best free contact management and cross-channel communication platform: EngageBay
- Best for contact management workflow automation: Zoho CRM
- Best no-frills contact management software: Really Simple Systems
- Best for Google and LinkedIn integration: Copper CRM
- Best for referral lead generation: Apptivo
- Best for project management: Insightly CRM
- Best for auto-writing sales emails: Capsule CRM
Best Contact Management Software Compared
Free Plan? | Starting Price for Paid Plans (per User)* | Our Rating Out of 5 | |
---|---|---|---|
Yes, unlimited users | $15 | 4.80 | |
Yes, unlimited users | $18 per month for 2 users | 4.74 | |
No free plan | $14.90 | 4.64 | |
Yes, up to 15 users | $11.95 | 4.56 | |
Yes, up to 3 users | $14 | 4.41 | |
Yes, up to 2 users | $17 | 4.39 | |
No free plan | $23 | 4.35 | |
No free plan | $8 | 4.35 | |
Yes, up to 2 users | $29 | 4.31 | |
Yes, up to 2 users | $18 | 4.21 | |
*Based on monthly price per user, billed annually; monthly billing is available for slightly higher rates.
Freshsales: Best Overall for 360-degree View of Contacts
Pros
- Provides a detailed view of customer activities
- Offers lifecycle stages identification for contacts
- Has a robust in-app caller to easily engage with contacts
Cons
- Two-way email sync not included on free plan
- Data enrichment is locked in the Enterprise plan
- You want a detailed activity history of your contact engagement: Freshsales’ contact management has an activity timeline feature that provides a chronological view of a customer’s engagement with your business. Users can view audience interactions like their website and email activities and gain complete visibility into their engagement with your brand.
- You want to assess the lifecycle stages of your contacts: Users can set lifecycle stages based on where customers are in their purchasing journey, including prospects, marketing or sales qualified leads, and existing customers. They can customize substages based on their business process to map sales and marketing activities.
- You need a CRM with robust in-app caller to engage with contacts: Freshsales’ calling features enable users to communicate easily with their contacts. With various functionalities like call transfers, recording, logging, and after-call work, sales teams can easily connect with contacts directly from the CRM system.
- You want automated affordable data enrichment features: Freshsales offers auto-profile enrichment in the Enterprise plan for $69 per seat. However, it’s not available in its low-tiered plans.
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- Alternative: Pipedrive offers data enrichment through its Smart Contact Data in its Advanced plan for $24.90 per user.
- You need project management tools built into your CRM: Freshsales is excellent for lead and deal management and engaging with customers through various channels, but there’s no built-in project management tool.
- Alternative: Insightly CRM offers project management tools across all plans, allowing sales teams to collaborate on tasks and opportunities. Zoho CRM also lets sales teams view the number of projects associated with a contact and monitor their progress throughout the sales pipeline stages.
Freshsales Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user, per month breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Freshsales contact management page (Source: Freshsales)
Our Expert Opinion
Freshsales is a scalable sales CRM and contact management software. Its in-app cloud phone lets you easily communicate with your contacts through its desktop or mobile app. It also offers essential CRM functionalities like account, sales pipeline, and deal management. If your team needs a reliable small business contact management tool, the Standard plan is enough. However, upgrade to higher-priced plans if you want access to advanced tools like lead scoring.
Interested in Freshsales? Check out our Freshsales review for detailed features, pricing, and more information.
HubSpot CRM: Best for Unlimited Contacts
Pros
- Free plan for unlimited users
- Includes data and lead management features plus chat, phone, and email communication tools
- Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
Cons
- Free plan limited to up to five contact lists and does not include lead rotation
- Data management customization options like required fields and record layouts require Professional plan
- Lead scoring features get expensive
- You need a massive volume of allocation for contacts: HubSpot CRM has an allowance for 1 million contacts and company records in its database—virtually unlimited. Users can add new contacts using a prospect’s corporate email address or pull them straight from their inbox or form submissions. HubSpot will then automatically create an associated company record and populate both records with revenue, industry, and contact details.
- You need robust marketing automation tools to engage with your contacts: HubSpot CRM is an easy-to-use CRM system, well-acclaimed for its marketing capabilities and direct sales features. It offers a vast library of email templates for users to engage with their contacts. You can easily segregate their contacts based on their industry, job titles, and past activities.
- You need an affordable lead scoring tool: The lead scoring features are helpful in online contact management for qualifying opportunities. Unfortunately, this function is unavailable until the Professional plan, which gets expensive regardless of bundling or paying for the individual module.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM offers lead scoring rules under its lowest-priced plan, Standard. Those who want more sophisticated scoring rules can sign up for its Enterprise plan, which is still significantly more affordable than HubSpot CRM’s Professional plan.
HubSpot CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
**Annual billing only.
HubSpot CRM’s contact management page (Source: HubSpot)
Our Expert Opinion
HubSpot CRM is simple contact management software for small business teams that offers a range of tools to manage contacts effectively, including activity tracking, notes, and communication features. The free version suits startups and small businesses that need a simple tool to record their contact engagement. Additionally, the paid versions have more advanced features like sales forecasting and analytics tools.
Read our HubSpot review to learn more about its features and get insights into subscription plan comparisons.
Pipedrive: Best for Intelligent Contact Data Enrichment
Pros
- Smart Contact Data feature effectively pulls contact information on the web
- Features an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered sales assistant
- 24/7 chat and email support across all plans
Cons
- Does not offer a free plan
- Lead generation tools cost extra
- Calling features are only available in higher-cost tiers
- You need tools for intelligent contact data gathering: Pipedrive’s Smart Contact Data feature lets you quickly gain valuable insights about your contacts by retrieving web data from various sources using email and public data. These include LinkedIn, social media activities, and website activities. Through the Smart Contact Data, agents save hours of research time since they don’t have to manually identify their most highly qualified prospects.
- You need an AI-powered sales assistant to engage your contacts effectively: Pipedrive’s AI-powered sales assistant, called Smart AI, lets you engage contacts better because it provides you with insights and advice on the best course of action to take with contacts, leads, and deals. The tool tracks email opens, keeps tabs on community discussions, receives activity reminders, and provides personalized productivity tips.
- You need a free plan: Pipedrive has no free-forever plan for businesses on a shoestring budget or those wishing to try it without risk.
- Alternatives: HubSpot CRM has a free plan for unlimited users, including mobile functions. You can also try Freshsales.
- You want an affordable in-app phone to stay in touch with contacts: Pipedrive’s calling feature is only available in higher-tier plans.
- Alternative: Freshsales provides a built-in telephone system on its free plan.
Pipedrive Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Pipedrive Add-ons:
- LeadBooster (lead generation tool set): Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly
- Web Visitors (web tracking and lead ranking): Starts at $41 per company, monthly
- Campaigns (customizable email campaigns): Starts at $13.33 per company, monthly
- Smart Docs (trackable documents): Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly (free with Professional, Power, and Enterprise plans)
- Projects (project management): Starts at $6.70 per user, monthly
With just one click, Pipedrive users can see all publicly available data about their contact. (Source: Pipedrive)
Our Expert Opinion
Pipedrive is a robust CRM and customer contact software with tools for managing leads, deals, contacts, and activities. It also provides a visual sales pipeline. Plus, users who need primary contact management for small business data can subscribe to its entry-level plan. However, subscribe to their Advanced plan or higher if you want access to its Smart Data Contact feature.
Curious about Pipedrive? Our in-depth Pipedrive review provides information to help you decide how its features may suit your business.
EngageBay: Best Free Contact Management System
Pros
- Offers free and affordable pricing plans
- Has cross-channel communication platforms to engage with contacts
Cons
- Has no SMS (short message service) function
- Offers few customization options for email templates
- You are a startup or small business looking for free or low-cost contact management software: EngageBay offers free plans for sales, marketing, and customer service teams. It also has an all-in-one option with a combination of features for all three functions, making it ideal for teams with a limited budget for a CRM subscription.
- You need a cross-channel communication platform to engage with contacts: EngageBay offers multiple ways to interact with contacts, allowing you to have contextual, meaningful engagement and communication with your customers and prospects. It enables you to automate and send bulk emails, call contacts, use live chat, and integrate social media messengers from within the system.
- You need a user-friendly CRM: While EngageBay is packed with features, recurring reviews about the platform say it’s not intuitive to navigate, especially for beginners.
- Alternatives: Users who want a CRM that can be used out of the box and is easy to navigate can consider Really Simple Systems or Copper CRM.
- You need a CRM with built-in project management tools: EngageBay does not offer tools for managing projects.
- Alternatives: Insightly CRM allows you to collaborate on tasks and projects across all plans. You can also convert won opportunities into projects to track product and service delivery.
EngageBay Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
EngageBay’s contact communication history (Source: EngageBay)
Our Expert Opinion
EngageBay is a free CRM with multi-channel communication features to engage contacts. Its free plan includes live chat, email marketing and auto-responders, and a landing page builder, making it ideal for small teams needing basic contact management and engagement tools. If you plan to subscribe to a paid plan, we recommend considering other providers that are easier to navigate and have more advanced features.
Zoho CRM: Best for Workflow Automation
Pros
- Affordable, scalable pricing options
- Robust system customization capabilities
- Lots of automation options, especially with contact management workflows
Cons
- Free plan limited to three users
- Custom data fields not available for free
- Requires some level of CRM experience to navigate the platform
- You need automation features to manage your contacts: Between the Zia artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow features, Zoho CRM has plenty of automation capabilities. Teams can auto-add contact records to the database through social media and web-to-contact online forms. Plus, they can keep the information fresh through data enrichment and prioritize opportunities based on lead-scoring criteria. The Zia insights also tell users the best time to contact someone and which tasks to focus on.
- You need a free or affordably priced all-around CRM: With free and low-priced plans available for evolving teams, Zoho CRM is one of the most scalable CRM solutions on this list. It supports sales and marketing as well as customer case management in one highly customizable system. Users can track leads and accounts on its app, log notes, calls, and events, and communicate with contacts via email, text, and telephone.
- Users looking for an intuitive CRM tool: Zoho CRM has advanced AI features, but its interface requires a learning curve, so it does not score well in the usability column.
- Alternative: Freshsales offers a user-friendly interface that is sleek and simple, even for beginners.
- Those needing a free plan for unlimited users: Zoho CRM is indeed feature-rich, but its free plan is limited to three users.
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM’s free plan has unlimited seats, which fits organizations that don’t want to commit to a CRM subscription yet.
Zoho CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Zoho CRM contact management page (Source: Zoho CRM)
Our Expert Opinion
Zoho CRM’s strengths are its lead and contact management features, reporting, email marketing, and conversational artificial intelligence (AI). It offers lots of automation features, including auto-adding contacts to the database, data enrichment, lead prioritization, and smart recommendations on the best time to call contacts. Those needing only one pipeline to monitor their sales can use the free plan. Consider the paid plans if you require multiple pipelines and advanced features like lead scoring and sales forecasting.
Want to learn more about Zoho? Read our in-depth Zoho CRM review for everything you need to know and whether it’s best for your business.
Really Simple Systems: Best No-frills Contact Software
Pros
- User-friendly contact management software with simple layout
- Offers free sales forecasting tools
Cons
- Mostly offers basic functionalities
- Doesn’t have free marketing tools
- You need a low-cost, simple contact management database: Really Simple Systems has an excellent, easy-to-navigate contact management system. Using the database tools requires minimal effort and tech experience. It also includes data storage, pipeline stage tracking, and task and event management.
- You want free forecasting tools: Revenue forecasting is an advanced CRM feature and isn’t typically free. Really Simple Systems’ free-forever plan has a forecasting tool for up to two users. It lets users set weighted deal values and closing probabilities to help generate sales estimates.
- You want free marketing tools: Really Simple System’s marketing tools are a required paid add-on or included in the highest-priced plan.
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM is the best alternative for marketing capabilities. It has most of the email and ad tools on the free plan, and it’s easy to navigate.
- You want to access AI features: Really Simple Systems keeps its features and interface simple and doesn’t offer advanced tools such as AI for analytics or automation.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM has a sales assistant called Zia AI tool that provides suggestions for the next best actions to engage contacts.
Really Simple Systems Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Really Simple Systems Add-ons:
- Simple Marketing: $25 per month (free for Enterprise plan with five or more users)
- Advanced Marketing: $50 per month
- Service Desk: $50 per month (free for Enterprise plan with five or more users)
- Customization Service: Contact sales for a customized quote
Really Simple Systems contact management page (Source: Software Advice)
Our Expert Opinion
Really Simple Systems, as its name implies, is a simple and easy CRM solution. It primarily offers basic features and doesn’t require a substantial learning curve. It’s an excellent option for users wanting a straightforward and systematic way to record and keep track of their contact engagement activities. However, it’s not ideal if you’re looking for advanced CRM features, like AI sales tools.
Learn more about this product in our Really Simple Systems review to see if it’s right for your business.
Copper CRM: Best for Google & LinkedIn Integration
Pros
- Integrates with LinkedIn for contact enrichment and conversation tracking
- Same look and feel with Google Workspace
- Simple-to-use sidebar takes only a few seconds to search for what you need
Cons
- Does not offer a free plan
- Except for Google Workspace products, all integrations require higher-priced plans
- No advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools
- You need a CRM that integrates with Google Workspace: Copper CRM is designed to integrate with Google Workspace apps and has the same look and feel. Its integration with Google makes it easy for agents to update information on leads, prospects, and customers based on their interaction and communication in Gmail.
- You generate leads from LinkedIn: Copper’s integration with LinkedIn (via Surfe) allows users to enrich their contacts and search for emails from potential leads. They can find qualified emails and phone numbers through the integration and sync their LinkedIn conversations. They can also integrate and edit their Copper data fields to LinkedIn and sync and track all their LinkedIn interactions.
- You’re a small sales team looking for a free CRM: While Copper CRM offers a lightweight plan with basic contact and pipeline management tools, it does not have a free option.
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM and EngageBay offer free plans to help small sales teams organize their leads and contacts.
- You’re a startup needing a free or low-cost CRM solution with marketing automation features: While it offers useful contact management tools, Copper CRM’s lower-tiered plans lack tools for sales and marketing automation, reporting, and integrations.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is one of our top recommended CRM for startups and small businesses. It offers robust customization options available in free and affordable plans.
Copper CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Copper’s integration with LinkedIn (Source: Surfe)
Our Expert Opinion
Copper is an easy-to-use contacts manager software for businesses that use Google Workspace and those generating leads from LinkedIn. It’s not the best contact database for businesses on a tight budget and for those looking for advanced marketing automation at an affordable price. This is because Copper CRM lacks a free plan and requires a subscription to higher-priced plans to access advanced marketing tools.
Check out our Copper CRM review to explore the other benefits your company can gain from using this software.
Apptivo: Best for Referral Lead Generation
Pros
- Low-cost, scalable pricing options
- Most contact management tools are available for free
- Solid usability ratings
Cons
- No free plan
- Deal and opportunity management not included in Free plan
- Quotes management not available until Ultimate plan
- You generate leads through referrals: One of Apptivo’s standout features is the low-cost, easy-to-use referral tracking capabilities. Teams can organize identifiable and behavioral data on their leads and monitor the lead source and who referred them to their business. Users can also create customizable reports that present exactly who the top referral sources are—letting them prioritize and enhance partner relationships.
- You want an all-around comprehensive CRM: Apptivo is an excellent CRM solution for managing contacts, deals, leads, and inventory. Additionally, teams can use this platform to create quotes, estimates, and purchase orders, sent easily to contacts within the system. Marketing modules also allow users to create mass emails, create and store email templates, and automate campaign deployment.
- You need a free plan: Apptivo does not offer a free-forever plan for businesses on a tight budget or those that want to try it out risk-free.
- Alternatives: HubSpot CRM offers a free plan for unlimited users, which includes mobile capabilities. Freshsales also offers a free plan.
Apptivo Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Apptivo contact management page (Source: Apptivo)
Our Expert Opinion
Apptivo offers industry-specific features and lets you manage your customers and streamline your sales processes. Its Lite plan is sufficient for those needing a reliable contact management tool, as this feature is available across all plans. However, we recommend considering the higher-tier plans if you’re scaling your business and need advanced CRM tools, such as sales and marketing automation.
To learn more, read our Apptivo review to learn how this platform’s capabilities can help you grow your business.
Insightly CRM: Best for Project Management
Pros
- Offers a free plan for up to two users
- Real-time data synchronization with mobile app
- Built-in project management tools across all plans
Cons
- Workflow automation is only available in the more expensive plans
- Limited report customizations
- Marketing and customer service modules require a separate software product for an additional cost
- You need a CRM with built-in project management and delivery tools: Starting with its Free plan, you can collaborate with your teams on projects to track its milestones and manage processes. You can also convert won opportunities into projects without losing any data.
- You are a real estate professional needing a free CRM: Insightly CRM is a great choice for a real estate CRM because of its configurable profiles for various access levels. Team managers can set different access permissions for their teams based on record types, records, links, and actions.
- You are seeking a CRM with ecommerce tools: While Insightly CRM has robust project management features, it does not have the necessary tools needed to run an online store. These include inventory management and order processing.
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- Alternative: Capsule CRM offers a wide range of integrations with accounting software like QuickBooks and inventory management tools like DEAR Systems. These integrations allow you to manage back-end ecommerce operations.
- You are looking for an all-in-one CRM with free marketing and service tools: Insightly CRM does not have free integrated marketing and service tools. You’ll need to purchase a separate Insightly product for these tools.
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM’s free plan includes tools for managing your sales, marketing, and customer service processes. It also supports an unlimited number of users.
Insightly CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Insightly CRM’s project management settings and team alerts (Source: Insightly)
Our Expert Opinion
Insightly CRM has robust project management tools that are perfect for sales management for freelancers and startups. It allows teams to assign and collaborate on projects, create workflows, and track key milestones. Best of all, its project management features are available for free and can be accessed with its mobile app.
Head to our Insightly CRM review page to learn more about this provider’s full feature set and capabilities.
Capsule CRM: Best for Auto-writing Sales Emails
Pros
- Free plan includes social contact enrichment and email marketing
- Built-in project and task management
- Offers artificial intelligence (AI) content assistant that helps craft and optimize sales emails across all plans
Cons
- Bare-bones free plan only allows 250 contacts
- Relatively expensive paid plans
- Workflow automation requires the Teams plan
- You want to use artificial intelligence (AI) for writing sales emails: Capsule CRM has an AI content assistant tool that helps you create quality email messages from contact records. It provides you with suggestions on the content, length, and tone of your message, then creates a draft that you can insert into your email message.
- You need built-in project management tools with your CRM: Capsule CRM has built-in tools for managing tasks and projects, as well as overseeing client deliverables.
- You need a free CRM with more contact capacity: While Capsule CRM offers a free plan, you can only store up to 250 contact records with it.
- Alternative: Really Simple Systems has a free plan that allows you to store an unlimited number of contact records in its database.
- You want a CRM with affordable automation tools: Capsule CRM may offer a free plan, but its paid options with automation tools are relatively expensive, starting at $36 per user, monthly.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is our top-recommended solution for affordable workflow automation. Its automation capabilities include lead scoring and auto-profile enrichment through social media and web-to-contact online forms.
Capsule CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing is reflected at the time of this publication. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Capsule CRM contact profile with communication history and associated tasks (Source: G2)
Our Expert Opinion
Capsule CRM stands out for its excellent tools for managing sales opportunities and deals, as well as its free AI content assistant. This is helpful for reps, as it auto-generates email messages based on contact information. Plus, it has high usability ratings for its AI tools and system navigation. Moreover, you can integrate it with accounting and inventory management tools to manage back-end ecommerce business tasks from your CRM.
How We Evaluated the Best Contact Manager Software
To determine the best contact management software for small business, we considered product features specific to managing lead or customer information. These include contact data storage and enrichment, lead scoring, customer segmentation, and automated record entry. We also looked into each product in terms of typical attributes such as price, general CRM features, ease of use, and customer support.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process of the best software to manage contacts:
20% of Overall Score
The pricing considers free plan availability, various scalable pricing options users can purchase affordably, and the availability for a subscriber to either pay monthly or save by paying annually. Additionally, we looked at the costs specifically for contact management capabilities, modules, and tools.
25% of Overall Score
In addition to contact management-specific features, we look at the overall functionality necessary for a CRM. This includes various CRM integration options, reporting and analytics tools, customizable sales pipelines, and a mobile app. We also evaluate other standard capabilities in most CRM systems, such as task management and automated workflow options.
20% of Overall Score
One of the critical evaluation criteria involved the features relating directly to managing contact, lead, and customer information. For instance, data storage and organization features are a must for contact management. Filtering tools, list segmentation, lead scoring, and automated data collection are essential features.
20% of Overall Score
Help and support were evaluated in terms of customer service hours and the availability of support via phone, live chat, and email. We also look at online resources for users to review, like tutorials, forums, or training modules.
15% of Overall Score
Besides firsthand experience, we looked at what users had to say about each provider to determine the best contact management software. The criterion considers how customers feel about the platform, its ease of use, and overall value for money based on their reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
A contact management system stores contact information, including communication history and associated tasks and deals. It also helps improve your workflow by giving sales teams quick access to their sales contact database.
Contact management tools are not necessarily CRM systems. However, CRMs include features for managing contacts, communication, and their associated tasks.
Bottom Line
Contact database software is one of the most basic features of a CRM system. Usage of this feature varies from basic functionalities, such as recording and saving contact details, to more complex ones, such as omnichannel communication and contact behavior analytics. While Freshsales was our top pick for the best overall contact manager solution, other products may suit particular business needs better.