Talk about AI, tools, and automation all you like, but training pigeons to carry letters and deliver them to the right person will always fascinate me.

Email marketing started in 1978, but the truth is, CRM practices have existed since the beginning of humanity.

At its core, CRM is about sending the right message to the right person through the right channel. Cavemen carved messages to communicate. The Pharaohs used hieroglyphs. The royal court had jesters to deliver news and sentiment.

Fast forward a few hundred years, and pigeons became the earliest form of CRM, but eventually and unfortunately  they had to retire to make way for the digital era.

Things evolved, but the question still remains: What is CRM Marketing?

We asked our community, and here’s what they said

“CRM Marketing is utilising data and insights to deliver the right message at the right time to the right customer—creating seamless, personalised experiences that build trust and long-term loyalty” - Gina Farrell

 “CRM Marketing for me is marketing that remembers your name, your preferences, and shows up with the right message at the right time”- Kemisola

“Chiming in here, trying something fancy - The art of using scientific means to deliver exceptional customer experience AND business outcomes.” - Zhiliang 

As for me, CRM Marketing is like a virtual friend that guides and supports your customer through their entire journey. It’s about putting the customer first.

It’s not just about talking the talk, it’s about taking meaningful action that leads to innovation, differentiation, and ultimately, customer retention and loyalty.

It also bridges creativity and data

CRM isn’t just about fancy tools. It’s a dynamic domain that blends design, content, logic, data analysis, and a whole lot of creativity. 

To build strategies that truly work, you need to tap into both sides:
- Tech-savviness
  - Creative thinking

CRM lives at the intersection of structure and imagination. If you’re only leaning on one, you’re missing the full picture.

Now that we’ve explored how CRM began and what it is, the final (and most important) question is: Why do we need CRM Marketing?

Ah, good question. We’ll be dedicating a second article to this, but here’s a concise way to think about it:

Let’s illustrate it. Ask yourself the following questions:

the answer to all of these questions and more is CRM Marketing.

CRM marketing helps you collect and channel user data to send personalized, automated communications across the different stages of the customer journey.

These messages are delivered through the channels that best suit each customer, so they feel seen, appreciated, and encouraged to take action.

The result? Customers buy more, stay longer, and ultimately become loyal advocates for your brand.

Here’s also what CRM Marketing help in through the customer journey:

😺 Retention:

Keep customers coming back by engaging them beyond the first purchase or sign-up.

😺 Activation:

Guide new users to their “aha” moment through welcome flows, onboarding sequences, and product education.

😺 Engagement:

Maintain consistent, value-driven communication through personalized emails, push notifications, in-app messages, and more.

😺 Churn Prevention:

Identify and re-engage at-risk users with targeted win-back campaigns and lifecycle nudges.

😺 Customer Loyalty:

Build emotional loyalty through meaningful, personalized touches, think birthday campaigns, milestones, or surprise rewards.

CRM Marketing is what helps you make sense of all that chaos.

It’s how you turn noise into clarity, behavior into insight, and clicks into loyalty.

Stay tuned for the next article where we unpack why CRM Marketing isn’t just important, it’s essential.

Salam 👋🏼