Email marketing has stood the test of time as one of the most effective digital marketing strategies and remains such even in today's rapidly evolving MarTech landscape. According to Marigold, 52% of consumers making purchases was directly attributed to email campaigns in 2023 — which is nearly two times higher than both SMS and banner ads.
However, there's a way to make email marketing even more efficient by employing CRM email marketing, a combination of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and email marketing strategies.
In this article, we'll explore the distinctive advantages of CRM email marketing compared to traditional email marketing, uncover its transformative benefits, and provide recommendations for 10 top-notch CRM email marketing software solutions to elevate your marketing efforts.
What is Email Marketing CRM?
CRM email marketing refers to a category of email marketing that utilizes CRM data to create personalized and engaging email campaigns. The data collected and organized by CRM software is used to segment your audiences and design compelling, targeted emails that drive acquisition and retention.
In addition to that, CRM email marketing software keeps track of your campaigns and aligns them with your sales funnel, making it easy to follow and manage customers’ journeys. For instance, you can track customer actions like ad clicks or website visits and design emails taking into account the marketing assets the customer has already interacted with.
The combination of CRM and email marketing makes a lot of sense: switching between a separate CRM system and an email marketing tool to check relevant information is cumbersome. By integrating the two, you streamline operations, save valuable time, and enhance team productivity.
5 Benefits of CRM With Email Marketing
CRM email marketing offers multiple benefits that far surpass those of standalone email marketing tools.
Improved customer relationships through segmentation and personalization
The Next in Personalization 2021 Report by McKinsey reveals that nowadays 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from brands and a decisive 76% of consumers express frustration when their brand interactions lack personalization.
CRM email marketing is key to email personalization. It leveraged comprehensive customer data stored within the CRM system to segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, purchase history, and more. This detailed segmentation allows you to create tailored messaging that resonates deeply with each recipient, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
Increased number of sales
CRM email marketing software allows marketers to track a lead’s position in the sales pipeline and tailor email campaigns accordingly. For instance, leads at the awareness stage may receive educational content or informative newsletters to nurture their interest and build brand awareness. Leads in the consideration stage may receive targeted offers or case studies to encourage conversion.
Delivering timely, relevant, and personalized content to potential customers at every stage of the sales funnel helps nurture prospects more effectively, increases engagement, and ultimately drives more leads toward conversion and sales.
Streamlined collaboration between sales and marketing teams
A CRM system helps centralize and store customer data and operations. This centralized database of customer information and campaign insights helps teams align their efforts more effectively, ensuring a cohesive approach to customer engagement. For example, sales can get valuable insights into prospects’ behavior and preferences from email marketing campaigns' performance. Thus, an email marketing tool impacts both sales and marketing processes.
CRM email marketing software also offers automated notifications and workflows to facilitate communication between marketing and sales teams. For example, when a lead takes a specific action, such as opening an email or clicking on a link, the CRM system can automatically alert the relevant sales representative, enabling timely follow-up and nurturing of the lead.
Increased productivity
With CRM software, marketers can send automated email campaigns based on predefined triggers, such as subscriber actions or specific dates. Such automation helps delegate repetitive email marketing tasks like welcome emails, follow-ups, and drip marketing campaigns to the software, freeing up time for marketers to focus on more creative activities such as planning your marketing strategy.
In addition to that, many CRM email marketing platforms offer integrations with other productivity tools and project management software. These integrations allow marketers to eliminate the need to switch between multiple applications to track marketing tasks and optimize their workflow.
Enhanced transparency with data-driven insights
A CRM with email marketing features captures valuable data on email performance, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics for targeted campaigns. By analyzing this data, marketers can gain insights into what resonates with their audience and optimize their email marketing campaigns accordingly. Moreover, these insights can contribute to your broader marketing strategy and improve activities for other channels.
Must-have Features for CRM Email Marketing Software
Contact management
Contact management feature allows marketers to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of the contact details, ensuring that they have a comprehensive understanding of their audience.
Audience segmentation tools
CRM with email marketing helps you segment audiences by demographic and behavioral data, purchase history, interests, and lifecycle stage. By categorizing leads into different segments, marketers can tailor their email content and messaging to resonate with specific audience segments. Notably, CRM Creatio allows you to create custom segments and segmentation rules for your marketing campaigns, enabling more precise segmentation. .
Workflow automation
Automation ensures that emails are sent consistently and on time, regardless of the marketer's availability or workload. It frees up marketers to tackle more complicated tasks and ensures that no leads fall through the cracks due to oversight.
Some CRM systems enable you to set up your own automated workflows. For example, Marketing Creatio allows you to build custom automated email marketing campaigns that can be triggered by the specific actions of a prospective customer.
Integrations with other software
Integrations with other programs facilitate connections with various business tools, enabling the exchange of information and commands across your entire toolset. This feature helps you set a smooth email marketing workflow, unburdened by inconsistent data and cumbersome processes.
For example, an integration with survey tools can help you collect the necessary feedback and set automated follow-ups for those who completed the survey. Other tools that often need to connect to email marketing CRM include analytics tools, e-commercial platforms, social media platforms, and event management tools.
Email designer and templates
Email builders in CRM software offer a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface and a multitude of email templates that allows marketers to design attractive emails without coding. Pre-designed templates save time by eliminating the need to create automated emails from scratch for every campaign.
Moreover, templates help ensure that all your emails adhere to the company's branding guidelines, maintaining a consistent look and feel across all communications. This supports brand recognition and trust among recipients.
Generative AI
While not as common as some other CRM tools on this list, Generative AI features are often incorporated in CRM with email marketing to help generate email drafts. This CRM tool greatly accelerates the process of designing emails.
Creatio goes beyond using AI for simple draft generation and introduces a virtual assistant that can help you set up automated campaigns or quickly find relevant data insights. Creatio AI can help you design emails for your latest campaign as well as propose a delivery plan that will lead to conversion.
Analytics and reporting
Analytics features provide insights into your email campaigns’ performance, helping marketers understand what works and what doesn't. By tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, marketers can optimize their strategies, improve engagement, and drive better results.
Reports help you share crucial insights with colleagues and stakeholders. Ensure you select a platform that offers customizable reports, allowing you to decide what data to present and how to present it. This flexibility helps you convey all necessary information more effectively.
Mobile access
Mobile access allows marketers to manage and edit personalized email campaigns on the go. For example, during a live event, a marketer can use their mobile device to quickly update an email campaign with changes in the event schedule or new announcements.
Moreover, mobile access allows you to effortlessly add new leads on the go, for instance, during industry conferences, which fosters timely follow-ups with potential clients.
Top 10 CRM Software For Email Marketing
We've curated a list of CRM email marketing tools as well as CRM with email marketing features based on customer reviews and industry publications.
1. Creatio
Creatio offers an end-to-end CRM platform empowered by no-code CRM tools that allow users to build new workflows and business apps without any coding. The CRM platform consists of three distinct products. The email marketing capabilities are included in Marketing Creatio, which enables marketing automation and campaign management.
Robust audience segmentation with customizable rules and filters
Bulk email creation, set up, and tracking of the delivery
Visual content designer with a set of ready-to-use content blocks to enable the design of your templates and testing of how the template is displayed in different browsers
Template library with the ability to save your customized templates
Email split testing so you can test multiple versions of your email and identify the best-performing one
Trigger emails that are sent to the client on a specific occasion, such as email confirmation or e-book download
Response processing that helps automatically removes all hard bounces or unsubscribes from further campaigns.
Comprehensive analytics complete with open rates, UTM codes tracking, click heatmap, hard and soft bounces, and more.
ChatGPT integration for email generation
With Marketing Creatio, you can plan and automate targeted campaigns, ensuring your email campaigns align with other channels to create a coherent experience for your customers. For example, you can easily set up a campaign where a social media ad directs users to a landing page with a contact form, automatically placing them into a nurturing campaign. All the necessary content and automation for this campaign can be managed within Creatio's campaign automation dashboard.
One of Creatio's key advantages is its amazing customizability powered by no-code tools and composable architecture. Creatio platform provides ready-made blocks and components that you can use to build your own workflows, for example, a workflow for onboarding new customers.
Creatio's Marketplace offers more than 700 apps and connectors to integrate your CRM with other software such as Power Business Intelligence or Google Sheets connectors.
All in all, powerful email marketing tools and extensive customization capabilities make Marketing Creatio the best CRM for email marketing.
Stand-out features:
Sophisticated and flexible audience segmentation.
A comprehensive CRM platform with a marketing solution available for purchase separately.
User-friendly interface with customizable dashboards and workflows.
Advanced marketing automation capabilities, including lead scoring, campaign management, and more.
Customizable email marketing automation
No-code capabilities and composable architecture that enables extensive customization even by non-technical users.
Robust analytics and reporting tools for tracking campaign performance and ROI.
Extensive marketplace with over 700 third-party applications, add-ons, and connectors.
Creatio Copilot, a GenAI-based virtual assistant to help you design email campaigns
Pricing:
Creatio offers flexible pricing, letting users select only the functionalities they need without overpaying for extras. Marketing Creatio starts at $49 per user per month and can be customized to fit individual business needs.
Boost Your Marketing Efficiency with Creatio Marketing CRM
Hubspot is renowned for its marketing automation capabilities, uniting all your marketing activities in one system. In terms of email automation, HubSpot provides automated sequences, a template editor, and detailed analytics.
Users can select a template, build an email sequence, and automate it, freeing up time for other tasks and ensuring no important leads are missed. The platform allows tracking of email opens, click-throughs, and downloads. Additionally, users can score leads and predict their likelihood of becoming customers based on historical data.
Overall, HubSpot is an excellent choice for companies seeking an all-in-one solution. It handles website analytics, manages blogs, organizes contacts, and sends emails. However, the cost might be a drawback for growing companies.
The Professional Plan costs $800 per month and offers three seats. Additional seats/users are available for $45 per seat.
3. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign stands out on this list for a unique reason: it started as a marketing automation platform and later added true CRM functionality. This doesn't mean it can't effectively manage customer relationships; it simply prioritizes marketing automation above all other features.
As a result, ActiveCampaign resembles traditional email marketing software more than typical CRMs. Within the platform, users can build email newsletters, create fully automated sequences, schedule messages, and view detailed reports. It boasts an extensive template library, robust personalization, and advanced list segmentation capabilities. Empowered by analytics CRM tools, you can create custom reports to evaluate your marketing efforts.
It also offers A/B testing and integrates with over 250 apps, including PayPal, Shopify, and Facebook.
In summary, ActiveCampaign is ideal for those seeking a marketing automation platform with CRM functionality, rather than a CRM service with added marketing automation features.
Stand-out features:
A robust email builder
Detailed email marketing reporting features
An easy-to-navigate interface
Pricing:
The prices for ActiveCampaign start at 15$ per month for one user.
4. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is a comprehensive software suite offering everything from accounting tools to helpdesk solutions. Among its many products is Zoho CRM solution that includes robust email functionality.
Like the other solutions reviewed, Zoho CRM features an email template tool that liberates sales teams from repeatedly drafting the same messages. The template creator includes drag-and-drop capabilities, making it easy to add text, images, tables, and more.
Zoho CRM features extensive reporting tools that inform users when messages are sent, opened, and read. Sales managers can access detailed analytics for each salesperson, helping identify areas for improvement.
While Zoho CRM supports bulk email campaigns, it requires integration with Zoho Campaigns for this functionality, which is an additional step users should be aware of.
Overall, Zoho CRM provides a powerful, user-friendly solution for managing customer relationships and email marketing.
Stand-out features:
User-friendly UI
A free edition of the tool
Robust customization options empowered by Canvas Builder, a no-code tool
Powerful AI features available through higher-priced plans
Pricing:
Zoho CRM's standard plan costs $20 per month/user. The free edition of Zoho CRM includes basic email marketing features.
5. Nutshell CRM
Nutshell is an all-in-one CRM and email marketing platform whose main advantage is ease of use. It offers robust email automation features, including email sequencing, shareable templates, and easy contact filtering for targeted bulk emails. Its native email marketing functionality simplifies the process, taking the grunt work out of email communication.
The personal email sequence tool allows sales reps to conduct one-on-one outreach at scale. These sequences automatically deactivate once the recipient replies and can be triggered when a lead reaches a specific pipeline stage. This automation means you can nurture new prospects effortlessly.
Nutshell also tracks the reply rates of your email sequences, helping you identify which emails are most effective and which need improvement. Additionally, Nutshell's two-way sync with Gmail and Office 365 keeps you organized and productive, whether you're working within or outside the CRM.
If you're seeking a powerful yet intuitive CRM solution with advanced email functionality, Nutshell is an excellent choice.
Stand-out features:
Integrations with popular business automation tools and email services
Personal email sequences
A user-friendly interface
A wide selection of email templates
Pricing:
The most affordable plan cost $19 per user/month.
6. Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email is a straightforward CRM with email marketing features. It offers a drag-and-drop email editor, customizable templates, forms, landing pages, and automation tools. One of its standout qualities is its user-friendliness, complemented by excellent customer support.
Benchmark Email integrates with over 1,500 business tools, including LiveChat, Stripo, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Their WordPress plugin simplifies adding forms to your site without the need for code.
The platform uses triggers to send an automated email campaign. For instance, when a customer subscribes to your email list, it can automatically send a welcome email. Several templates are available to help convert subscribers into customers.
Benchmark Email also includes limited CRM features with contact details profiles that track email engagement data. Other notable features include A/B testing, contact list management, real-time reporting, polls, surveys, and social media integration.
Stand-out features:
Robust testing features
User-friendly interface that is easy to adopt
Detailed tracking and analytics
Free version available
Pricing:
Pricing starts at $15 for 500 email contacts.
7. Freshworks CRM
Freshworks offers a few CRM solutions including Freshmarketer, a marketing automation platform with robust CRM and email marketing services.
It offers an intuitive drag-and-drop email editor, making it easy to create visually appealing marketing emails without any coding knowledge. Users can customize templates, add images, buttons, and other elements to craft targeted email campaigns.
Freshmarketer supports the creation of drip campaigns that can be triggered by specific actions taken by the recipient, such as signing up for a newsletter or abandoning a cart, ensuring timely and relevant content.
The platform integrates with other tools in the Freshworks suite, as well as third-party applications like CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, and social media tools. This integration facilitates a unified approach to marketing and customer relationship management.
All in all, Freshworks is a great choice for companies looking to combine powerful CRM with email marketing tools.
Stand-out features:
Extensive list of integrations
A free version of the tool
Easy to set up and use
Robust marketing analytics
Pricing:
Freshmarketer costs $15 a month.
8. Agile CRM
Agile CRM offers a comprehensive solution for creating, sending, and tracking email campaigns, alongside its traditional customer relationship management features.
Users can start by selecting a visually appealing template from Agile’s collection and then craft their messages with ease. The platform’s personalization features make connecting with prospects straightforward, as it can automatically pull contact attributes like recipient name, location, and industry to give each email a personalized touch.
Tracking the success of these emails is crucial, and Agile CRM excels in this area with a robust reporting dashboard. Users can monitor key metrics such as email open and click-through rates. The lead scoring feature further enhances this by helping users accurately qualify leads based on the data from the reporting dashboard.
Agile CRM also includes email A/B testing, a convenient drag-and-drop email builder, social sharing options, and the ability to send autoresponders.
Stand-out features:
Easy to deploy
Detailed email reporting
A rich email template collection
Pricing:
A free version of the tool is available. The most affordable version costs $8.99 per user/month.
9. Keap
Keap is an all-in-one CRM platform renowned for its robust automation functionality. It excels at capturing and converting potential customers by designing funnels, creating segments, and automating marketing campaigns. It's particularly effective for bottom-of-the-funnel activities, offering customizable email templates for personalized emails.
Keap’s sales and marketing suite includes a powerful set of CRM features designed to save time and automate routine tasks. Users can send reminders, create drip email series, and follow up after purchases through automated processes. The platform allows for personalized messaging using segmentation and automation conditions.
Additionally, Keap offers a robust reporting and analytics dashboard that enables you to generate custom reports. Users can access various ready-made reports for sales, marketing, lead generation, and revenue. These visualized data sets provide valuable insights, helping businesses stay on top of their operations and make informed decisions.
Stand-out features:
Powerful marketing analytics features
An integration with e-commerce platforms
Connectors with more than 5000 third-party tools
Custom reports
Pricing:
Keaps pricing starts at $299 per month for 2 users.
10. Insightly
Insightly is a well-known CRM tool dedicated to fostering strong and enduring customer relationships, with a particular emphasis on email automation.
Within the platform, users can effortlessly create and send personalized emails, accessing real-time analytics for all campaigns. Insightly also provides a convenient email template feature, enabling salespeople to save valuable time.
Whether it's a one-off message or a bulk send, this CRM offers a range of native email options. Additionally, it integrates with Outlook, Gmail, MailChimp, and Zapier, providing users with expanded functionality and versatility.
Stand-out features:
Lots of options for customization
Robust reporting and analysis tools
Integrations with popular marketing automation solutions
Pricing:
Insightly's Plus plan starts at $29 per user/month.
Boost Email Marketing with Creatio
An ordinary email marketing service that lets you create and automate bulk email campaigns is already a powerful marketing tool. However, when combined with CRM software, it becomes even more potent, enabling you to create personalized and seamless experiences for your audience.
When selecting a CRM with email marketing capabilities, consider your unique needs and find a platform that accommodates both your email marketing and broader marketing automation requirements. Marketing Creatio is a robust marketing automation solution that offers extensive email marketing tools as just one part of its capabilities. Sign up for a free trial and build your first marketing campaign with Creatio.
