Email marketing CRMs are sales software offering email marketing functionality for lead nurturing. The best CRMs for email marketing provide core sales pipeline features to manage your sales process as well as features like template emails, mass email sends, ongoing drip sequences, email analytics, list segmentation, and more. To help you find the best platform for your business, we reviewed the top email marketing CRMs to arrive at the best options.
Here are the top seven email marketing CRMs for salespeople and marketers:
- Zoho CRM: Best overall CRM option for features and customization (free starting price)
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best free email marketing software option (free starting price)
- Freshsales: Best software platform for template email management (free starting price)
- Pipedrive: Best email marketing CRM option with a la carte upgrades (14-day free trial)
- Mailchimp: Best software options for mass email campaign features (free starting price)
- ActiveCampaign: Best email marketing CRM software for automation (14-day free trial)
- Copper CRM: Best CRM platform for Google Workspace integration (14-day free trial)
Per our evaluation, we found that Zoho CRM offers the best value for salespeople and marketers needing an email marketing CRM, claiming the top spot for customization and integrations and tying in three categories. Continue reading to delve deeper into each option, including its use case, pricing plans, and key features. Otherwise, see our scoring logic below.
Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless otherwise noted.
Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Features
The below email marketing features are included in the top CRMs for email marketing:
Create reusable email marketing templates using drag-and-drop builders. Many of the top email marketing CRMs also offer pre-built templates you can use as is or customize for your specific needs. Save important templates and tag them for easy management.
How We Evaluated the Best Email Marketing CRM Software
When evaluating the best CRM software for email marketing, we first identified six weighted scoring categories and then scored every option in each category. We then used the individual category scores to assign each option on our list an overall score out of five, including the identification of primary use cases. Check out our specific scoring criteria below:
Evaluation Criteria
The top CRM email marketing tools should have standard CRM tools and email-specific functionality offered across cost-effective plans. Hence, we first assessed each option’s core feature set and pricing plans. From there, we looked into their customization capabilities and third-party integrations, followed by ease of use, advanced features available, and the quality of customer support.
You’re already expecting a certain amount of functionality from your CRM solution, so we’ve made sure to include all of the common features in this category.
This includes overall pricing as well as free tiers and free trials.
We checked each option’s capability to customize pipelines, drip sequences, email templates, and more, as well as how it syncs with third-party applications.
We looked into how real users rate and review the platforms’ usability across certified websites and also considered the accessibility of their knowledge bases.
We assessed the sophisticated tools the email marketing software offer, including lead scoring and routing, campaign analytics, and A/B testing.
We evaluated real user feedback from reputable sites and looked into the quality of user support solutions via email, live chat, phone, and onboarding.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Are CRM Email Marketing Tools & Why Are They Important for Businesses?
Email marketing tools offer email marketing capabilities for nurturing leads as well as integrated standard sales pipeline features. Top platforms provide a wealth of email templates, bulk email sends, custom drip sequences, and advanced campaign analytics. Businesses need email marketing tools to engage leads as they move through the pipeline and also help identify which marketing channels generate the most revenue.
How Do I Choose the Right CRM Email Marketing Tool for My Business Needs?
The right CRM email marketing tool should respond to what your business needs, especially when it comes to nurturing your leads, and also fit into the resources you have, including your budget, manpower, and skills. As drip campaigns are part of a company’s marketing strategy, finding an email marketing platform that can easily sync with other channels such as social media, landing pages, and blogs will allow your team to cover critical customer touch points.
What Are the Key Features to Look for in a CRM Email Marketing Tool?
A robust email marketing tool should offer the right mix of email features, standard CRM tools, customization options, and tight marketing integrations. When choosing an email marketing platform, look for email builders, mass email features, list segmentation, and advanced tools like campaign analytics and generative AI. Also consider pipeline management and standard reports, plus the customizability and availability of apps for email, social media, and more.
Bottom Line: Best Email Marketing Software
Never underestimate the reach of a strong email marketing campaign. Although they often work best when paired with other strategies, your email campaigns have the potential to reach far more consumers than social media or SMS advertising alone. Since campaigns can be difficult to manage, it’s recommended to find a CRM with built-in email marketing features. If you’re looking for a platform with other marketing features, see our list of the best marketing CRMs.
This article was written by J.R. Johnivan and updated by Kezia Jungco.
