CRM marketing 101: Definition, benefits, and powerful strategies

A customer relationship management (CRM) tool seamlessly integrates all lead and customer data into a single, unified view where every touchpoint, preference, and interaction is instantly accessible. This software also allows you to launch marketing campaigns and create personalised messages that resonate with customers, which increases engagement rates and conversions. Plus, your marketing team moves from reactive to proactive, anticipating customer needs before they even arise.

With CRM marketing, your sales strategies can go beyond generic marketing blasts. Centralised lead and customer data can personalise campaigns, shorten sales cycles, reach the right prospects, and optimise conversion rates. But turning prospects into loyal customers—or even brand advocates—requires streamlined sales processes and optimised marketing strategies.

Use this guide to uncover the secrets to CRM marketing success, including how businesses can use marketing automation and CRM marketing strategies.

More in this guide:

• What is a CRM marketing strategy?
• What can businesses do with CRM software?
• What is CRM marketing automation?
• Popular CRM marketing channels and tools
• Benefits of CRM marketing
• 8 CRM marketing examples and strategies
• Frequently asked questions
• Enhance strategy with CRM marketing

What is a CRM marketing strategy?

A CRM marketing strategy is a comprehensive marketing approach that creates strategic campaigns that align with sales goals using CRM tools and techniques. With this sales strategy, businesses can move beyond one-size-fits-all marketing and create unique experiences that resonate with each type of lead and customer segment.

Using a CRM marketing strategy, businesses can use collected information to:

• Streamline lead generation and identify high-potential customers
• Nurture leads and prospects with relevant content and offers
• Improve customer retention through personalised communication

A well-executed CRM marketing strategy also ensures marketing and sales teams are aligned on improving conversions, customer lifetime value, and revenue growth. With CRM software like Zendesk Sell, you can also connect your CX and marketing strategy to deliver great experiences that drive long-term customer loyalty and improved business outcomes.

What can businesses do with CRM software?

CRM software is a powerful tool that can transform how businesses identify leads, manage customer relationships, and drive sales. It allows businesses to:

• Centralise data: Eliminate data silos by consolidating customer information, leads, and account data from multiple touchpoints into a single platform.
• Gain customer insights: Analyse customer behaviour, preferences, and purchase history, and receive insights through customisable CRM reports.
• Track and manage email campaigns: Create and schedule campaigns, monitor email marketing performance, and adjust strategies in real time.
• Automate project management: Streamline workflows and automate repetitive tasks like lead scoring, email follow-ups, and reporting to improve team productivity.
• Collaborate with teammates: Foster seamless internal collaboration, communication, and coordination between sales and marketing teams.

With a CRM tool like Zendesk Sell, marketing and sales teams can create uninterrupted workflows, integrate with existing tech stacks, automate workforce management (WFM), and create custom performance dashboards.

What is CRM marketing automation?

CRM marketing automation uses tools to manage repetitive marketing tasks and sales cadences, allowing teams to focus on strategy rather than manual work. This type of CRM automation helps companies deliver personalised, timely, and relevant marketing messages at the right time based on behavioural triggers or pre-defined criteria.

For example, a lead could take a specific action, like downloading a white paper. This action triggers the CRM marketing system to automatically take the next step, like sending a follow-up email, to ensure no lead falls through the cracks or receives inconsistent care.

CRM marketing automation also includes:

• Automated email campaigns: Sequences triggered by specific actions, behaviours, or milestones and supported by email automation software.
• Customer segmentation: The categorisation of customers into groups based on shared characteristics or behaviours, including demographics, interests, and purchase history.
• Targeting: Delivering personalised content or offers to specific segments based on unique needs and behaviours.
• Campaign execution: Running omnichannel marketing campaigns, like customer win-back campaigns, with minimal manual intervention.
• Monitoring and improvement: Tracking campaign performance and sales analytics insights to refine strategies and optimise future efforts.

While not every CRM marketing solution has the tools to automate these processes, Zendesk Sell features these key components—plus more.

Popular CRM marketing channels and tools

CRM marketing leverages multiple channels and tools, enabling businesses to reach prospects and customers where they are most active. Some of the most important channels and tools include:

• Email

• Voice

• Messaging

• Customer support and service portals

• Sales outreach tools like power dialler and bulk outreach

• Sales engagement tools like sequencing

Businesses can use CRM software to integrate, manage, and track these channels to create seamless omnichannel experiences while gathering valuable data to inform future strategies and initiatives.

Benefits of CRM marketing

The advantages of CRM can significantly impact a business's bottom line. By leveraging data and automating marketing processes, companies can achieve:

• Improved lead and customer understanding: Use data to gain deeper insights into preferences, behaviours, and needs.
• Refined and relevant messaging: Deliver unique campaigns that resonate with specific segments using advanced insights.
• Increased customer loyalty and retention: Personalise support and communication to foster stronger relationships.
• Boosted customer engagement: Interact with customers more effectively and encourage continued interaction by delivering relevant and valuable offers across touchpoints.
• Personalised campaigns: Use relationship marketing best practices to cater to individual prospect needs and preferences.
• Streamlined and automated tasks: Invest in sales CRM to automate repetitive sales tasks and processes to free up teams for more strategic work.
• Sustained performance measurement: Track and analyse campaign performance to proactively identify areas of improvement.
• Enhanced tool integrations: Integrate your CRM with other marketing tools and existing tech stacks for a seamless workflow and data flow.
• Targeted lead nurturing: Use sales tools to guide prospects through the sales funnel with timely, relevant content.

These benefits can also drive business growth and enhance relationships through every stage of the buyer’s journey.

8 CRM marketing examples and strategies

These eight CRM strategy examples show how businesses can leverage CRM marketing to achieve sales goals.

1. Service solution integrations

Connecting CRM software and marketing strategies with customer service solutions helps businesses align sales and support efforts while creating a single flow of information between both teams. This integration allows for a more holistic view of the buyer’s journey, enabling personalised interactions and tailored messaging at every touchpoint. Using integrations available through solutions like Zendesk Marketplace can enhance this capability, allowing businesses to tailor their CRM to specific needs and industry requirements.

2. Personalised email campaigns

Personalised email campaigns leverage CRM data like purchase history, demographic data, and more to create highly relevant messages for entire email lists. CRM systems can also integrate with email automation software and productivity tools to create customised email sequences, streamline outreach and follow-ups, build tailored prospect lists, and sync notifications.

3. Cross-selling and upselling

CRM systems can identify specific opportunities for cross-selling and upselling by analysing customer purchase history and lead behaviour patterns. Software features like sales triggers and sequences can help teams identify relevant products or services for individuals. This enables representatives to make informed recommendations for complementary products or premium upgrades that align with needs and preferences, ensuring that businesses don’t overlook any potential for additional revenue.

4. Event-triggered marketing

Event-triggered marketing uses CRM data to automatically initiate marketing actions, processes, and campaigns based on specific behaviours or milestones. For example, a prospect’s abandonment of an online shopping cart can trigger personalised messages or unique offers. CRM software can also build trigger-based actions to eliminate administrative work and streamline workflows to ensure all parties receive scalable, personalised interactions with minimal manual effort.

5. Automated lead nurturing

Automated lead nurturing uses CRM software to guide prospects through the lead funnel with targeted content and interactions. Businesses can maintain consistent engagement without overwhelming their sales team by setting up email sequences, content offers, and follow-up tasks based on lead behaviour and characteristics. This approach ensures prospects receive the right information at the right time, gradually moving them toward a purchase decision and enhancing lead conversions.

6. Account-based marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) focuses on treating high-value accounts as markets of one, customising efforts to each account's specific needs and characteristics. CRM marketing supports ABM by providing detailed insights into account history, key stakeholders, and engagement patterns. This allows marketing and sales teams to create unique campaigns for each market, increasing the chances of successful engagement and conversion.

7. Messaging and conversational marketing

Integrating messaging and conversational marketing into your CRM strategy—including live chat, phone calls, and other forms of communication on messaging platforms—allows for tailored, personalised interactions with customers and prospects. By centralising these conversations within your CRM, you can maintain context across interactions, provide more informed responses, and transition from marketing to sales when appropriate. Tools like bulk outreach and power dialler can also automatically cycle contacts through filtered contact lists, enhancing real-time communication and asynchronous messaging.

8. Omnichannel marketing

Meeting customers where they are requires an omnichannel CRM approach. This strategy combines various marketing channels—email, social, SMS, and more—into a centralised platform to create consistent, integrated interactions across all touchpoints. A robust CRM system also enables businesses to coordinate omnichannel campaigns, leverage mobile applications, and support API access.

Frequently asked questions

Enhance strategy with CRM marketing

CRM marketing is essential to drive revenue growth and improve business outcomes. By leveraging a CRM system's rich data and capabilities, companies can create more personalised, efficient, and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with audiences and deliver measurable results.

The key to success in CRM marketing lies in prioritising the right tools and implementing them strategically. Use our CRM buying guide to choose the right solution for your business, and consider how you can leverage data to create meaningful experiences, automate repetitive tasks, and integrate marketing efforts across channels for a cohesive experience. With the right approach, CRM marketing can be the catalyst that propels your business to new heights of sales engagement and customer retention.