Is CRM Santa early this year?

This week:

• A little CRM in all of us

• Clearly not a bit 

• Table for two

Stat of the Week

Early CRM Santa?

As autumnal bloom fades to barren branches, those holidays don’t look so far away.

Guess who’s already ho-ho-ho-ing? Why it’s Bernard May, CEO of the internet marketing co. National Positions, playing The Man in Red to businesses looking for an edge. 

His CRM-laden Forbes piece deals with five strategies to turn old customers into repeat customers on the cheap. 

1. First up, he says, charm your customer segments with emails so personalized, they feel like handwritten letters from a secret Santa. 

2. Then there's leveraging that CRM data to pump life into loyalty programs, offering VIP experiences that feel like exclusive invitations to Elf Town. 

3. When it comes to remarketing, it’s about using that same CRM database to remind past customers why they fell for you in the first place—only this time with a festive twist.

4. SMS campaigns, sharpened by CRM insights, cut through the jingle bell noise rock, delivering deals straight to the pockets of those who once loved you.

5. Finally, turn your social media into a live CRM showcase, highlighting customer favorites and new steals.

Because maybe, deep down, there’s a little CRM in all of us. 

The Week @ CRM.org

Best CRM Software. So many options. Peep our extended Top 10 list for inspiration. 

Microsoft Dynamics vs Salesforce. Salesforce chats everyone up, while Dynamics quietly calculates the best way to split the bill.

Zoho Bigin Review. Because 'Bigin' might just 'begin’ a beautiful story about small biz leads.

ServiceNow vs Jira Service Desk. ServiceNow's got muscle, but Jira's got moves.

Successful CRM Implementation. As with Ikea furniture assembly, skipping steps can lead to wobbly customer experience.

🌸 Weekly Bloom 🌸 

Of UX & User-Centered Design. The idea of UX was once fringe and freaky. Presenting the 80s odyssey of Don Norman, the man who coined the term.

HubSpot’s latest acquisition is “clearly not a bit”

Why settle for LinkedIn lurking, when you can get a full dossier via ‘superapp’?

That’s the big idea behind HubSpot’s recent acquisition of B2B intelligence app-maker Clearbit. 

Clearbit’s biz is knowing which Nespresso machine haunts the corporate cafeteria. They’re armed with data on millions of companies and half a billion decision-makers. 

HubSpot’s tentacles, already deep into marketing, sales, and customer service, will now get embiggened by Clearbit’s hefty intelligence.

The aim is to stitch together the ultimate digital gossip network, where no tidbit about any company is too trivial. That’s what it takes to cosplay Minority Report, predicting a customer’s next move with a side of AI insight. 

Data mining meets mind-melting, with the idea of zapping leads with laser-like precision. ‘Pew pew’ indeed.

The transaction makes HubSpot even more “sticky”—very au courant. Expect to see Clearbit integrated into the HubSpot product line.

Table for two: Insightly and you?

Alright, let’s crank this up a notch.

Insightly's latest caper is a partner program that promises to spin the CRM merry-go-round faster than a sugar-rushed toddler. 

They’re peddling a dream, where businesses—acting as partners—hitch their wagon to one of the bigger stars in the CRM cosmos: adding zeros to their reach, scale, and clout without the hassle of counting pennies for the pleasure. 

Ahem, of course, you will need to use Insightly CRM… 

The CEO, Anthony Smith, is trumpeting this as the golden ticket to CRM Wonderland, where the rivers run with leads and the trees are hung with commissions. 

On the ground, anointed Insightly partner Amy Payne's giving it the thumbs up, more-or-less saying it’s sliced the Gordian knot of customer data chaos.

It’s a cheeky move, designed to fix agencies and consultants to Insightly’s wagon. 

And hey, if it piques your interest, you can find more details here.

This Week’s Deal 🎁

Get HubSpot CRM for free!

Tasty Tidbits

CRM blips from around the web

Zillow to acquire Follow Up Boss CRM. Zillow says Follow Up Boss, a popular real estate CRM, will stay an independent brand with standalone product options.

Marin Software releases Q3 financial results. Net revenues dipped YoY, but the digital marketing software maker highlighted adding HubSpot to their CRM integrations.

J&J Ventures Gaming implements SugarCRM. The 1929-vintage US gaming machine company is using Sugar Sell Premier to CRM-ify its operations. 

CRM healthcare market projected to grow at 8.85% CAGR. So says a report treating 2022–2027, which suggests US dollar-value growth of $8.01 billion. 

Stocks of the Week

Significant Moves (10/30-11/03)

^{*Figures are for the previous week (10/30/23-11/03/23), price calculated at close of markets on Friday, October 27th. We look at publicly listed CRM-related vendors only. This is not financial advice, and we make no claims on the accuracy of these figures.}