Many small businesses and startups use batch and blast email tools to send communication to their customers and prospects. At the same time, SaaS-based customer relationship management (CRM) systems are increasingly vital for contact management among businesses large and small. While both of these tools are effective on their own, integrating the power to capture and track contacts with the ability to send personalized communication is a one-two-punch that nurtures relationships throughout the sales process, growing revenue. There are several local businesses and startups right here in St. Louis who are using the combination of CRM and email marketing to deliver personalized correspondence. They’re finding this combination highly effective at increasing engagement and driving sales for their business. Here’s one example from a local business using my company’s software, Hatchbuck. Inbru Puts Marketing on Autopilot Rebekah Sherman is the owner of St. Louis-based Inbru Coffee Flavors, the sugar-free, fat-free, calorie-free, carb-free way to flavor coffee. Before tying email marketing into a CRM, Inbru did not have a good way to capture leads online, organize contact information or measure the impact of email campaigns. “There really was no method to our madness, and the results reflected that,” said Sherman. Now, by tracking contacts in a CRM and measuring the results of email marketing campaigns, Sherman has the information she needs to continually improve sales and marketing efforts. “We use Hatchbuck, which gives us results at our fingertips. We finally have a way to measure whether our communications are reaching the people we want to reach, and if those communications are directly impacting sales.” The one-two-punch of email marketing and CRM has given Sherman’s small business the same capabilities that large organizations have, putting email marketing on autopilot. “Being a small business owner can be challenging, in that we often don’t have the staff and/or capital to outsource email marketing,” said Sherman. “Hatchbuck makes it easy to manage email and CRM professionally, like a much larger business. We love that we can capture email addresses on both our website and Facebook, and that they’re imported right into the software. We also like that we can automate so much of our communication, so after a little work up front, our email communication basically runs itself.” This is just one example of many. So, why does this matter? Essentially, CRM provides insight into contact relationships, while email is a powerful communication tool. When the two tools are combined, small businesses and startups can create more targeted content that reaches contacts in a personalized way. The pay-off is relationship nurturing that drives sales, giving small businesses and startups leverage for growth.
