This article shares how CRM and email marketing work together to improve business results. Learn how integrating these tools improves customer relationships, enhances personalization, and boosts engagement for more effective email marketing campaigns.
The more technologically advanced marketing becomes, the more critical the tools that allow you to collect customer data conveniently and, what is even more important, build marketing activities based on it. Email marketers have long stopped doing much manually, creating email marketing automation in ESPs that send emails for different trigger events and segments. However, sometimes, the data that email marketing software collects may not be enough.
This means that you need to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) and email marketing now. This article will explain how integrating CRM platforms with email marketing tools can significantly boost customer engagement, segmentation, and campaign performance.
What is a CRM email marketing?
Here are just a few facts about how using CRM impacts marketing and sales:
- 78% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences through CRM;
- businesses using CRM see a 29% increase in sales, a 34% improvement in sales productivity, and a 42% increase in sales forecast accuracy (Source).
Here’s what happens if you combine a sales intelligence tool with email marketing.
CRM email marketing is the practice of using customer data stored in your CRM system to craft personalized, highly targeted email campaigns. Instead of treating your email list as just a list of contacts, a CRM helps you tap into rich insights — like past purchases, website activity, and customer preferences — to send messages that resonate.
This approach improves engagement and supports every stage of the customer journey, from nurturing leads to retaining loyal customers. With CRM-powered email marketing, you’re not just broadcasting messages — you’re building relationships rooted in relevance and trust.
Key CRM features that power email marketing
CRM and email integration present an exciting opportunity for data activation, automation, and optimization — ultimately driving stronger customer engagement and higher conversion rates. (Which is exciting!)
Jennifer Lancaster Dana,
Marketing Tech Executive.
CRM platforms have many benefits that make them indispensable tools for sales and marketing departments. Today, we will examine the features that have the greatest impact on email marketing.
Customer data collection
Effective email marketing campaigns can’t exist without data. Experienced email marketers always say that if something is wrong with your emails — you are not satisfied with the openings, engagement, or deliverability — start with what data you are using. A configured and integrated CRM allows you to collect a lot of correct data and build communication based on it.
Contact management
A CRM system helps you collect contacts, manage them, link them to data from different sources, and store them in one centralized database. Studying such detailed profiles helps you better understand and meet your target audience’s needs.
Analytics of the customer journey
CRM offers advanced reporting and analytics capabilities to help you take your email marketing strategies to the next level. Ensure your CRM can track email marketing metrics such as email deliverability, opens, clicks, and unsubscribe rates. Consider the ability to connect these reports with sales metrics. This data strengthens your decision-making process and helps you improve the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
There are endless possibilities for how CRM systems can support email marketing! But one we’re all too familiar with is a tale as old as time — a lack of alignment between Sales and Marketing. A fully integrated CRM and CEP can bridge the gap and allow visibility of key insights to support both areas: campaign history, results, and metrics for Sales to target engaged/non-engaged leads accordingly, and sales insights to support enhanced targeting/segmentation in campaign strategy.
Kimberley Anthony,
How CRM supports email marketing
Integrating the two systems — data collection and email marketing — is key to making marketing efforts more effective.
Here are some practical benefits of integrating CRM with email marketing that you get:
- better timeliness and relevance — you send the right message at the right time using CRM-based analytics;
- enhanced segmentation by using CRM data to create detailed audience segments based on behavior and lifecycle stage;
- hyper-personalization, allowing you to create content based on recent actions, preferences, or past purchases;
- trigger automated email campaigns based on CRM data (e.g., abandoned cart, renewal reminders, post-purchase emails). Automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails. And 81% of marketers agree that automation through CRM improves workflow efficiency.
Of course, the marketing automation feature is one of the main, but not the only, reasons to use CRM for email marketing. You will see this for yourself below.
Here’s what Emily McGuire, Senior Lifecycle Marketing Manager at Close, advises:
In SaaS, the CRM should be the center of your customer journey. It lets you map behavior and sales motion to lifecycle stages, trigger automated outreach based on sales activity, and measure actual revenue impact from campaigns. You can do things like:
- trigger upsell emails when subscribers hit usage limits;
- re-engage cold leads after a sales call drop-off;
- personalize onboarding messages based on the actions someone has (or hasn’t) taken yet.
All of that goes way beyond storing emails. It’s what makes your messaging feel human, timely, and effective.
Emily McGuire,
How brands benefit from CRM email marketing integration
Jennifer Lancaster Dana, Marketing Tech Executive, shared with us this example from practice:
The most successful campaigns I’ve seen involved seamlessly integrating CRM data across email and website experiences. When behavioral data was integrated in real-time, conversion rates increased by + 80% compared to campaigns that didn’t leverage this data.
Key data sources included:
- purchase behavior;
- site/browse behavior;
- engagement behavior (email, app, SMS);
- demographic data.
This combination enabled highly personalized email communications. The real game-changer came when email engagement data was used to personalize content on the brand’s website dynamically. This reduced friction in the customer journey and significantly boosted conversion.
What challenges do teams face when integrating CRM with the email platform?
Implementing and setting up a new data management system is not simple or quick, so be patient. To make this process easier for you, use tips from experts.
They note the main problems that arise when integrating CRM and email marketing.
Not complete optimization of the integration process
Due to a lack of time, teams do not fully optimize the email integration process, which subsequently leads to low efficiency of marketing efforts:
One of the most common challenges I’ve seen is that brands don’t allocate sufficient time, leadership, or strategic vision to fully optimize the integration process. Due to constraints — whether budget, time, or lack of ownership — teams often default to retrofitting existing infrastructure into the new system rather than reimagining the integration to unlock real transformation. I’ve frequently heard, “We have to work with what we have — we don’t have access to upstream team members who can implement changes.”
This approach often leads to short-term fixes and long-term inefficiencies, with recurring issues that resurface post-launch.
Jennifer Lancaster Dana,
Marketing Tech Executive.
Inconsistent data structures across tools
Data fragmentation between CRM and ESP disrupts synchronization and reduces personalization capabilities:
For B2B SaaS teams, integration hiccups usually come from inconsistent data structures across tools. Your sales team might log deals in CRM one way or another, while marketing needs different fields for segmentation or lifecycle tracking in your email platform. This creates sync issues and broken personalization.
The best fix is aligning early on a shared data schema, especially around things like lifecycle stages, product usage, and account-level data. That requires data governance and automating clean, real-time syncs between systems.
Emily McGuire,
Misunderstanding what data had already been collected
Teams don’t know what data they actually have, which means they can’t plan effective email marketing strategies.
These are insights from Holly Payet, CRM and Email Marketing Consultant at The Intentional Inbox:
As simple as it sounds, a key challenge I see repeatedly is teams not knowing what data they actually have. As teams and business needs change over time, data can easily become full of add-ons and workarounds. You’d be surprised how many brands don’t know what’s available — and in what state.
When integrating a CRM, it is important to know what you have and how well it is collected. For example, do you have gaps for lots of contacts? Is the data formatted as you’d expect? Do you have evidence of spurious data, such as first names full of “N/A”?
To overcome this, teams need to sort, clean and have a strategy for enriching their data. Don’t be afraid to get specific. Move beyond nice-to-haves and think about use cases. Ask yourself: What purpose will this data serve in your email marketing plans? And how will this enhance this marketing channel as well as your customer’s experience?
Holly Payet,
What data are overlooked by email marketing teams
Even if a lot of data is collected and it is of high quality, not all marketers use it, although this data can improve the effectiveness of email campaigns.
Activity data
When setting up marketing campaigns, teams rarely use activity data such as the last contact date, number of phone calls made, meeting history, and individual engagement actions.
Many teams zero in on job titles or company size, but activity signals are what tell you if a lead is warming up or slipping away. When paired with deal stages or product usage metrics, you can time your emails around intent moments instead of relying on static segments.
Emily McGuire,
Data about the specifics of engagement
Everyone knows that it’s important to measure customer engagement, but few take that a step further and consider the specifics of engagement. So they’re engaged — but what are they engaging with exactly?
For example, is it content around a particular theme? Do they tend to favor more educational content or pure sales pieces? Are they only focused on content directly related to products?
Knowing all this can do wonders for your email targeting and segmentation. Collecting specific engagement data and deploying it to create tailored customer experiences is top-tier brand behaviour — not to mention it can help your content teams know where they should be focusing their energy. If no one’s engaging with it, re-invest that time and money elsewhere.
Holly Payet,
Customer service/support interaction history
One more overlooked CRM data that can always improve the targeting and overall effectiveness of email campaigns is customer service/support interaction history. We know how channel-specific engagement or preferences should apply to email targeting, but this doesn’t paint the full picture of how your customers are interacting with your brand.
Overlaying insights from support/servicing interactions and factoring in the indirect channel engagement your customers are having, too, can add next-level optimization to your communication strategy. More importantly, you can prevent sending specific content (i.e., promotions) to members who are currently dealing with support queries and wait for the right time when these are resolved to resume marketing.
Kimberley Anthony,
As you can see, CRM platforms collect data, the understanding and use of which allows you to influence sales. This information reflects customer behavior, the degree of interest, and readiness to buy. Also, with the help of the collected data, you can predict the client’s further actions and send them emails with offers that hit the target. It is important not to miss this data and use it in building email automation and a sales funnel.
Best practices for integrating CRM with your email marketing
To maximize the combination of CRM and email marketing, it’s important to avoid common pitfalls (as discussed above) and follow actionable advice and recommendations that ensure a smooth and effective integration.
Choose the right CRM for your needs
Start by selecting a CRM system that integrates easily with your existing email marketing tools — or consider an all-in-one solution that includes CRM, email marketing functionality, and a built-in email template editor (ideally, a drag-and-drop plugin like Stripo plugin). Your CRM should align with your specific business goals, not just your tech stack.
Get started with the platform
At this stage, consider these essential tips for practical work from Jennifer Lancaster Dana, Marketing Tech Executive:
- Define measurable business goals upfront. Clearly articulate the outcomes you want to achieve and the specific business challenges the integration should address.
- Build a multidisciplinary, empowered team. Include key stakeholders across CRM, marketing, data, and IT who are not only aligned to a single set of business goals but also have the authority and time to make changes across systems and processes. (The smaller the team, the better and more nimble.)
- Launch iteratively and track performance. Use each phase to measure results against your stated goals, and be ready to adjust based on what’s working — or not.
Use CRM data for automated email campaigns
One of the most impactful steps you can take is setting up automated email campaigns powered by your CRM data. These can include:
To simplify and speed up the process, use any of the 1600+ Stripo prebuilt email templates for each campaign type as a base for your future campaigns. These templates should align with your sales funnel stages, ensuring your messaging is timely and relevant. Automation saves time — but more importantly, it ensures consistency and relevance at scale.
Maintain clean, accurate CRM data
The effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns hinges on the quality of your data. Keep your CRM up to date by regularly cleaning out duplicates, correcting errors, and updating contact information.
Involve sales and customer service teams
Your sales and support teams interact with customers daily and can provide valuable data points — from objections during the sales process to common customer questions. Encourage collaboration so these insights enrich your CRM, making your campaigns even more personalized and effective.
By following these best practices, you’ll fully unlock the value of CRM-powered email marketing — boosting engagement, improving customer relationships, and driving stronger business outcomes.
Top 5 CRM software for email marketers
In this section, we have collected the most popular CRM email marketing software. The list of CRM tools is longer, so when you choose, do your research.
1. ActiveCampaign — best for advanced automation and personalization
ActiveCampaign stands out for its robust automation capabilities, combining CRM and email marketing into a seamless platform. With a visual automation builder, dynamic content, and predictive sending, it enables businesses to create highly personalized customer journeys. Its deep segmentation and lead-scoring features help tailor messages to specific audiences, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
2. HubSpot CRM — ideal for all-in-one marketing and sales alignment
HubSpot CRM offers a comprehensive suite that integrates email marketing, sales, and customer service tools. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy creation of automated email campaigns, personalized content, and detailed analytics. The platform’s scalability suits businesses of all sizes, providing tools that grow with your needs.
3. Zoho CRM — great for small to medium businesses seeking affordability
Zoho CRM provides a cost-effective solution with rich features, including email marketing automation, lead management, and analytics. Its integration with Zoho Campaigns allows for seamless synchronization of contact data and email campaigns. The platform’s AI-powered assistant, Zia, offers predictive insights to optimize marketing strategies.
4. Brevo — best for multichannel marketing on a budget
Brevo combines email marketing, SMS campaigns, and CRM functionalities into an affordable package. It offers a user-friendly interface, marketing automation, and real-time reporting. With unlimited contact storage even on its free plan, Brevo is an excellent choice for small businesses looking to engage customers across multiple channels without breaking the bank.
5. Microsoft Dynamics 365 — ideal for personalized email automation
Microsoft Dynamics 365 enhances the performance of your email campaigns by making personalization at scale easy. One of its standout features is the ability to automate dynamic content creation. So, each recipient gets an email tailored specifically to them based on their CRM profile data. With customizable rules and robust segmentation tools, you can deliver highly relevant messages that drive engagement and improve ROI.
The future of CRM and email marketing
The future of CRM and email marketing lies in smarter, more predictive technologies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already reshaping how marketers interact with customer data — helping identify patterns, predict behaviors, and automate decision-making at scale.
Instead of relying on guesswork or static segments, marketers can now use AI-powered CRMs to send emails at the optimal time, with subject lines likely to drive opens and content tailored to each recipient’s real-time behavior. These tools boost engagement and free up time by reducing manual tasks like list segmentation and performance tracking.
CRM is quickly becoming the intelligence layer for email in B2B SaaS. Instead of just housing contact records, it drives smarter campaign logic: surfacing churn risks, identifying buying signals, and powering complex personalization with a lift from AI. The tools are absolutely becoming more deeply integrated into process, analysis, and strategy, especially when your product data, CRM, and messaging platform can all speak to each other. But that only works if your ops foundation is strong enough to support clean, shared data models.
Emily McGuire,
Predictive analytics is another game-changer. 83% of marketers believe that predictive analytics in CRM enhances customer engagement. By analyzing historical data, predictive models can forecast future customer actions, like who’s most likely to open an email, convert, or churn.
This means marketers can proactively address customer needs and design more targeted and effective campaigns. As CRM systems evolve with AI capabilities built-in, the integration with email marketing will become even deeper and more seamless, enabling truly one-to-one communication that feels timely, relevant, and human, even when sent to thousands.
Wrapping up
When CRM and email marketing work together, they create a powerful engine for building stronger customer relationships and driving business results. From deeper personalization to more intelligent automation, the integration helps you deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
By choosing the right tools, following best practices, and keeping your data clean and strategy-focused, you’ll be well-positioned to turn every email into a meaningful touchpoint — and every campaign into measurable success.
Focus on strategy, not coding — let Stripo handle the design
