Customer relationship management (CRM) and software membership solutions aim to improve clients’ satisfaction and retention, but is CRM just email marketing?
Email marketing is vital for customer relations. According to Zipwhip, 83% of consumers reply to email messages from a business within 30 minutes, while 96% of respondents find phone calls disruptive. Email is also critically important for online businesses since having an engaged list of qualified leads is your main sales asset.
With most consumers leaning towards being emailed, are CRMs just jumping on the bandwagon? Is CRM just email marketing?
Is CRM just email marketing?
No. In short, CRM is not just email marketing. CRM SaaS (software as a service) offerings include many functionalities that enable you to take action on multiple tactics and strategic plans – not just email marketing.
While email marketing and CRM are often viewed as the same, they are, in fact, very distinctive.
They have some overlapping functions, but again, they serve very different purposes with broader marketing strategies.
Let’s define them:
CRM is an all-encompassing and comprehensive approach that manages interactions with current and potential customers throughout all consumer touchpoints. This means CRM is involved in implementing various strategies and tools.
These CRM tools gather data on customers to paint a better picture of who they are and, with this insight, optimize relationships to grow the business.
Email marketing is primarily used to send commercial messages to a group of people. These emails can be:
- Promotional offers
- Product updates
- Newsletters
- And event invitations.
The core goal of email marketing is to leverage your client’s data to personalize content and target specific segments.
However, email marketing has a narrow scope and is limited to a single communication channel; on the other hand, CRM extends well beyond email communication.
So, if you’re still thinking, “Is CRM just email marketing?” the functions it oversees include:
Customer Data Management
CRM systems create a centralized point with all customer data from various touchpoints, including:
- Email interactions
- Website visits
- Social media engagements
- And purchasing history
Gathering all this data allows the company to gain insights into client behavior, preferences, and needs, which can also be used to create personalized communication across all channels, including email.
Customer Segmentation and Targeting
CRM platforms can access all consumers’ data and effectively segment customers.
This segmentation can be based on many factors, including:
- Demographics
- Client behaviors
- Purchase history
- And more.
Segmenting your larger demographic into distinctive groups means you can tailor your marketing campaigns to specific audiences and deliver relevant messaging through multiple communication channels, such as email, social media, text, and more.
Sales and Pipeline Management
CRM systems often integrate sales automation features to manage leads, opportunities, and customer interactions throughout the sales pipeline.
This functionality enables sales teams to track prospect engagement, forecast revenue, and prioritize follow-up activities, enhancing overall sales effectiveness.
Customer Service and Support
CRM tools facilitate customer service interactions by providing access to customer data, communication history, and support tickets in a centralized dashboard.
This allows streamless integration and faster issue resolution, enhancing customer satisfaction and creating long-term loyalty.
Analytics and Reporting
Utilizing a CRM platform provides robust analytics that track performance metrics, such as customer acquisition costs, lifetime value, conversion rates, and campaign effectiveness.
Insights like these allow businesses to measure their marketing efforts’ impact, identify improvement areas, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their CRM strategy.
Marketing Automation
When wondering, “Is CRM Just Email Marketing?” CRM’s marketing automation is the functionality that comes to mind.
But again, CRM systems offer broader automation capabilities, including lead nurturing, workflow automation, and personalized content delivery across multiple channels.
This automation functionality streamlines marketing processes, reduces manual effort, and increases operational efficiency.
Overall, CRM systems are way more than just email marketing.
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