CRM Marketing: Why Your Strategy Is Behind

By Cap Puckhaber, Reno, Nevada

I have worked with CRM tools for years, starting at Amazon where we ran a proprietary platform that looked nothing like the SaaS dashboards you see today. Back then, the software was built for scale and precision, not ease of use, and while it was powerful, it often required a small army of analysts to get value out of it. 

Now, as the owner of Black Diamond Marketing Solutions and someone who helps small businesses daily, I have seen the other side of the CRM universe. I know what it feels like to test three or four “cheap CRM software” tools in the same month because none of them handle both pipeline management and email automation without breaking. That is why I pay attention when real trends emerge in CRM marketing. The pace of change in 2025 has accelerated so much that if you miss even a few weeks, you can fall behind.

What I want to share here are not generic definitions of “CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management” or “CRM helps track leads.” You can Google that and get ten million search results. What matters more right now are the shifts happening in CRM tools that change how we engage customers, how we keep their attention, and how we scale campaigns without burning out. At the same time, I will answer the questions I see popping up constantly in search queries, like whether Excel can be used as a CRM, whether CRM is a resume skill, or which platform is best for beginners. My goal is to give you a clear path to understand what is happening in CRM marketing today, why it matters, and how you can take action before the competition does.

What Exactly Is CRM?

CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management, and it is both a process and a set of tools. The abbreviation sometimes confuses people because they assume CRM is only software, but in truth, it is a strategy for handling customer data, interactions, and business growth. If you want a clean way to think about it, CRM is the system that tells you who your customers are, what they want, how they behave, and when they are most likely to respond. Without it, you are shooting in the dark with your advertising.

Over the years, I have been asked if QuickBooks is a CRM, if Excel is a CRM software, or if Mailchimp counts as one. The short answer is that QuickBooks is an accounting tool, Excel is a spreadsheet, and Mailchimp is an email platform that has added lightweight CRM features. You can technically use all of them as a form of individual CRM system if you are resourceful, but you will hit walls quickly. At Amazon, we had a proprietary CRM that made those tools look like toys, yet even for a freelancer or small agency, you can access surprisingly powerful enterprise CRM features through tools like HubSpot or Zoho without paying a fortune.

Learning CRM software is not as hard as people fear. When I transitioned from enterprise CRM to affordable small business platforms, I discovered that the concepts are the same: you track prospects, nurture them with CRM email campaigns, and eventually convert them into paying customers. The real difference lies in automation and integration. A modern automated CRM will connect your email marketing, your ad targeting, and your customer support tickets into one flow. That is where the time savings and marketing precision come in.

The 4 Types of CRM Systems (And Why They’re Blurring Fast)

Traditionally, CRM systems are divided into four categories: operational CRM, analytical CRM, collaborative CRM, and individual CRM. Operational CRM focuses on streamlining workflows like sales automation and contact management. Analytical CRM digs into customer data to help you find patterns and make predictions. Collaborative CRM connects departments like sales, marketing, and customer support so they are not working in silos. Individual CRM, sometimes overlooked, describes the way a single professional uses tools like a free pipeline CRM or a simple Google Sheet to manage relationships on a small scale.

The lines between these categories are fading. HubSpot, for example, markets itself as an inbound marketing platform but also covers analytics, collaboration, and campaign management. Mailchimp, which many people still think of as just an email marketing tool, has expanded into CRM advertising with customer profiles and behavioral targeting. Even inexpensive CRM software now offers some degree of automation that used to be locked behind enterprise CRM platforms.

This blending creates both opportunity and confusion. A real estate agent might search for a free CRM for real estate and end up with a tool that promises to do everything but fails at pipeline tracking. A startup might grab cheap CRM software and discover it lacks integrations for advanced email campaigns. That is why understanding the CRM process matters more than labels. You need to map your workflow first, then pick the tool that fits rather than chasing the biggest CRM companies or the trendiest software of the month.

Agent-Ready CRM Context via MCP: Why It Changes Everything

One of the most exciting developments I have seen this month is Cordial’s announcement of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface. For years, marketers have asked when AI would truly plug into CRM rather than just sit at the edges writing email drafts. Now it is happening. With MCP, AI agents can interact with live customer data, adjust audiences on the fly, and spot real-time intent shifts. This means we are no longer just scheduling generic campaigns a week in advance. We are reacting to what customers are doing right now.

At Amazon, we used predictive models to decide when to send follow-up emails or offers, but those models were static and required long data prep cycles. With MCP, even a small business can let an agent tweak messaging mid-campaign. Imagine you run an influencer CRM campaign and your audience suddenly spikes interest in a new product variant. Instead of waiting for a human to notice and build a new list, the agent can handle it in real time.

The implications are huge. Attention is the scarcest resource in marketing, and if your brand can move faster than competitors, you win. I have seen campaigns where a delayed response meant thousands of dollars in wasted ads. With agent-ready CRM context, those mistakes become less likely. Tools like Cordial are building a moat around speed and intelligence, and marketers who adopt early will see compounding returns.

RCS Messaging: Richer, Louder, More Engaging Than SMS

For years, SMS was the workhorse of CRM system email marketing, even though technically it was not email at all. Businesses loved the direct reach, but consumers grew tired of short, plain text messages that looked identical across brands. Cordial’s decision to add Rich Communication Services (RCS) support changes that dynamic.

RCS lets you send interactive content inside messages: images, buttons, and even mini-app-like features. Think about the difference between a plain text “Click here to buy” and a rich card that shows the product image, price, and a one-tap purchase option. I recently worked with a small retailer testing RCS through a beta CRM integration, and the engagement rate doubled compared to their standard SMS blasts. Customers appreciated that the messages felt more personal and useful rather than intrusive.

For small businesses, the question becomes cost. Which CRM is best for beginners if you want RCS without enterprise pricing? Right now the market is shifting, but I expect free pipeline CRM tools to add RCS integrations through partners, while larger players like HubSpot will bundle it into premium tiers. My advice is to start small, test RCS with a limited segment, and measure the lift before scaling. Just remember that RCS demands better creative assets. If your design looks sloppy, the interactivity will not save you.

Adobe’s AI Agent Suite: No Longer Just for Enterprises

Adobe recently pushed its AI Agent Suite into general availability within the Adobe Experience Platform. I know some small businesses roll their eyes at Adobe because it feels like enterprise bloat, but this update matters. The suite includes agents like Journey Agent, Data Insights Agent, Experimentation Agent, and Audience Agent, each designed to handle multi-step, context-aware tasks.

What is new is not the idea of automation but the accessibility. These agents can now be configured by mid-market teams without requiring a six-figure IT budget. That means a growing business can run experimentation cycles, predictive modeling, and audience adjustments automatically. In the past, you had to either pay for enterprise CRM software or hire a dedicated analyst team. Today you can get much of that power baked into a subscription model.

I have tested tools that claim to deliver similar capabilities, but the difference with Adobe’s approach is chain-of-thought execution. For example, an Experimentation Agent can design A/B tests, run them, and adjust based on results without constant oversight. That mirrors what I used to do manually when testing ad creative across Amazon’s vast inventory. The scale has changed, but the principles remain, and now they are available to any company willing to adopt smarter CRM marketing automation.

The Permission Economy and the Attention Crisis

Cordial’s “Battle for Attention” report hit me hard. Only thirty-eight percent of consumers feel messages they receive are personalized, and only three percent of brands can predict customer needs in real time. Those numbers confirm what I have seen in the field: most businesses are still stuck blasting messages without considering context.

This is where the concept of the permission economy matters. Customers are no longer tolerating irrelevant outreach. They give permission to brands that respect their time and deliver value, and they revoke it quickly when they feel spammed. In my own campaigns, I have watched unsubscribe rates climb whenever frequency outpaced relevance. CRM email campaigns are not about volume anymore; they are about being the right message at the right time.

The challenge is balancing automation with empathy. Automated CRM tools can send messages instantly, but if the creative or targeting is weak, you accelerate irrelevance. That is why I push clients to upgrade both data quality and creative quality before they chase more automation. A CRM manager definition may sound clinical, but the real job is protecting attention. If your system cannot measure relevance in real time, you are already behind.

CRM Speed Wars: Who Can Move Fastest Wins

We are entering a CRM speed war. Platforms like HubSpot , Salesforce , and Adobe  are rolling out new features every few weeks. Micro-segmentation powered by AI, automated A/B testing, predictive revenue dashboards—these are no longer optional add-ons. They are table stakes for marketers who want to keep pace with customer behavior.

The winners in this environment are the businesses that test rapidly, fail fast, and implement quickly. Small businesses, in particular, have an advantage because they can pivot without the bureaucracy of large corporations. If you are still running the same CRM workflows you used in June, you are behind. If you haven’t explored AI-powered campaign optimization, you are missing efficiency gains that competitors are already capturing.

The CRM Process: How Small Businesses Should Approach 2025

1. Audit Your Current Workflow: Map out every customer touchpoint and see where your CRM is adding value versus where it creates friction.
2. Test AI Agents: Start with small experiments using AI features in your existing CRM. Monitor results and scale gradually.
3. Integrate Communication Channels: Ensure email, SMS, WhatsApp, and RCS are coordinated. Disconnected channels create brand friction.
4. Prioritize First-Party Data: Cookies are fading. Build direct relationships through email, loyalty programs, and subscription lists.
5. Measure Relevance Over Volume: Focus on engagement metrics, not just open or click rates. Relevance drives attention and revenue.
    

Following these steps positions your business to leverage the fastest-moving CRM innovations without chaos. It’s not about adopting every feature; it’s about adopting the right features at the right time.

Choosing the Right CRM

The market is crowded, and the right choice depends on your business size, budget, and technical comfort. Free pipeline CRMs like Trello, Airtable , or HubSpot’s free plan can serve freelancers and small teams. Mid-market teams may opt for Zoho, ActiveCampaign, or the Adobe Experience Platform for advanced automation. Enterprise businesses continue to rely on Salesforce, Adobe, or Oracle.

Remember: the “best CRM” is not about popularity. It’s about workflow fit. Does it integrate with your email, payment processor, ad platforms, and reporting tools? Does it allow AI agents to react in real time? Can it handle RCS or other modern messaging? Evaluate features, not just price.

Future of CRM Marketing: What Comes Next

AI adoption will continue accelerating, but personalization will remain the true differentiator. Expect more tools to offer context-aware agents, predictive segmentation, and real-time creative testing. RCS and similar interactive messaging platforms will gain traction as attention becomes more precious. Businesses that combine first-party data, automation, and high-quality creative will see outsized returns.

Privacy will remain central. The businesses that prioritize customer consent, transparency, and meaningful engagement will gain trust and loyalty. Those still chasing generic mass campaigns will struggle to maintain relevance.

Final Thoughts

The last two weeks have made it clear that CRM marketing is evolving faster than ever, and small businesses stand to benefit more than most. AI-powered micro-segmentation is removing the burden of manual targeting. Native video tools are lowering the barrier to engaging content. Unified SMS and WhatsApp campaigns are streamlining communications. First-party data enrichment is future-proofing targeting in a cookie-less world. And predictive revenue dashboards are giving small businesses real-time confidence to make better decisions.

I have lived through plenty of hype cycles in marketing technology, and I can tell you that what is happening right now is not just noise. These are platform-level updates being rolled out across the biggest CRMs, and they will shape how businesses operate this year. The companies that move early, test aggressively, and adapt their processes around these tools will see outsized results. If you are still running the same CRM workflows you were running in June, you are already behind.

Now is the moment to dig into your CRM, explore the new features that have been released in the past few weeks, and rethink how you are building customer relationships. The future of CRM marketing is not years away; it is happening this month, and the businesses that lean in will be the ones customers remember.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can Excel be used as a CRM software? Technically, yes. You can use Excel or Google Sheets as an “individual CRM” to track contacts and pipelines. However, you will quickly hit walls regarding automation, email integration, and real-time data. For a scaling business, moving from a spreadsheet to a dedicated CRM like HubSpot or Zoho is essential for efficiency.

2. Is CRM a resume skill worth listing? Absolutely. Understanding the CRM process—how to manage leads, analyze customer data, and run automated campaigns—is one of the most in-demand marketing and sales skills in 2025. Proficiency in platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Adobe Experience Platform is a major asset for any professional.

3. Which CRM platform is best for beginners? For beginners, HubSpot’s free plan or tools like Trello and Airtable are excellent starting points due to their user-friendly interfaces. If you need more automation at a lower price point, Zoho or ActiveCampaign offer great balances between power and ease of use.

4. What is the difference between CRM and QuickBooks or Mailchimp? QuickBooks is primarily an accounting tool, whereas a CRM focuses on relationship management and sales pipelines. Mailchimp began as an email platform but has evolved to include lightweight CRM features. A true CRM integrates your accounting, email, and support into a single customer “source of truth.”

5. How are AI agents changing CRM marketing in 2025? AI agents, like those using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), can now interact with live customer data to adjust audiences and messaging in real time. This moves CRM from “scheduled” marketing to “reactive” marketing, allowing businesses to respond to customer intent as it happens.

6. What is RCS messaging in CRM, and why does it matter? RCS (Rich Communication Services) is an upgrade to standard SMS. It allows businesses to send interactive content like product images and “one-tap” purchase buttons directly to a user’s messaging app. It creates a much higher engagement rate than plain text messages.