From marketing service provider to CRM marketing services … what’s in a name? An evolution and some confusion. More agencies are going to market with “CRM services,” which also spans Salesforce consulting partners to contact-center outsourcers. My new report, CRM Marketing Services Evolve To Meet Changing B2C Marketer Needs, examines what CRM marketing services entail — data, insights, and technology — and what marketers need to know.

Not Your Mother’s MSP

Think of CRM marketing services as an evolution of marketing service providers (MSPs). MSPs used third-party data partners and/or proprietary data to build propensity models and audiences for direct mail campaigns, driving retention and engagement through email marketing. Modern CRM marketing services take these legacy capabilities to a new level by crossing the entire customer lifecycle. Rather than a focus on acquisition and retention, CRM marketing services have also built or acquired new capabilities such as commerce services and digital experience delivery. As a result, they can address every stage of the customer lifecycle:

 

CRM marketing services offer an intriguing solution to address challenges that have nagged B2C marketers for years: how to meaningfully tie customer data to marketing activation. To succeed, marketers need to examine how they’re defining CRM, which will directly impact the scope of CRM marketing services. Think about the customer data flows, channels, and technologies that need to work together to deliver data-driven marketing; chances are that they’re much broader than one tool. And given the breadth of services under the CRM marketing services umbrella, this may even include paid media and loyalty program management.

Check out the new report here: CRM Marketing Services Evolve To Meet Changing B2C Marketer Needs. Set up a guidance session to understand how CRM can help meet your marketing goals, and stay tuned for a landscape report coming later this year.