Email marketing: what it is and how to implement it

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

 Customer relationship management ( CRM ) software with email marketing capabilities allows companies to communicate with potential buyers and customers individually or on a mass scale without leaving the platform. Email Marketing CRM includes features for designing email templates, deploying them, and monitoring the results of email campaigns. We've ranked dozens of email marketing CRMs and narrowed down the list to the top five. Here are the best CRMs with email marketing functionality:

• Freshsales:  The best CRM option for email marketing, offering extensive customization options for email campaigns.
• Zoho CRM:  An excellent choice for businesses looking to integrate their business communications with other productivity apps.
• HubSpot:  A great option for email-heavy startups looking for a free CRM.
• Salesforce Essentials:  Ideal for small teams that need basic email marketing features such as electronic signature and document management features
• Nimble:  Best for sales teams who need automatic contact scoring and data enrichment features.

Freshsales: The Best CRM for Email Marketing

Overall rating: 4.45 out of 5

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

What we like

• Convenient email setup interface
• Device optimization features to test email responsiveness
• Offers a free plan for unlimited users

What is missing

• Lack of sales promotion tools such as a quote generator
• A relatively limited number of integrations available for productivity apps
• Email templates have a limited selection of fonts

Freshsales Pricing

• Free:  unlimited users (limited features)
• Growth:  $15 per user, per month
• Pro:  $39 per user, per month
• Enterprise:  $69 per user, per month
• Free trial:  21 days

Add-ons for paid plans

• Workflows:  $5
• Phone loans:  Starting at $25
• CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote):  $19 per user, per month

The most striking attribute of Freshsales is its ease of use. The interface is user-friendly, especially when using the email campaign setup features. This gives sales teams the ability to drag and drop when creating layouts, styling, messages, and email designs. Businesses that frequently use email promotions, such as retailers, wholesalers, or e-commerce sites, benefit the most from these features.

Freshsales Features

• Ability to edit email via drag and drop
• Ability to test device responsiveness to display email on desktops, mobiles, and tablets
• Artificial intelligence (AI) automation for scheduling emails based on recipient behavior, such as completing online forms.
• Many built-in communication channels with contacts, including phone, email, chat, WhatsApp, SMS, and Apple Business Chat
• Marketing segmentation features automate the grouping of leads based on geography, demographics, and behavior

Zoho CRM: Best CRM for Email Marketing and App Integration

Overall rating: 4.35 out of 5

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

What we like

• Easily integrates with most Google Workspace and Office 365 apps
• Free option available
• Built-in automatic email notification features

What is missing

• Lack of 24/7 customer support
• Navigating the interface is difficult initially, especially for new users
• Analytical reports can be difficult to use

Zoho CRM Pricing

• Free:  up to three users (minimum features)
• Bigin:  $7 per user, per month
• Standard:  $14 per user, per month
• Professional:  $23 per user, per month
• Enterprise:  $40 per user, per month
• Ultimate:  $52 per user, per month
• Zoho CRM Plus:  $57 per user, per month
• Free trial: 15 days

For email marketing purposes, Zoho CRM is a great option, primarily due to its ability to integrate with almost all Google Workspace and Office 365 apps (as well as integration with Yahoo!). Once integrated, users can manage and track their contacts, calendars, email system, and files in one CRM location. However, Zoho CRM's free plan is limited to three users and only offers basic features. For a more robust free plan that supports unlimited users, consider HubSpot or Freshsales.

Features of Zoho CRM

• Email analytics features allow users to track individual sales metrics such as bounce rate, clicks, and email revenue.
• Automates the planning and deployment of bulk email campaigns
• Built-in email status monitoring lets you check if messages have been delivered, opened, and read.
• The SalesInbox feature automatically displays email messages as a sales pipeline that can be organized, tracked, and analyzed automatically
• Integration options allow users to synchronize incoming messages, contacts, and calendars with CRM.

HubSpot: The Best Free CRM for Email Marketing

Overall rating: 3.90 out of 5

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

What we like

• The free version offers relatively wide advanced features, such as industry benchmark data, ad management, and chatting.
• CRM branding customization allows your business to display your logo instead of the HubSpot logo
• Social media integration with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

What is missing

• Paid plans are getting more expensive per user
• Content management for blogs and social media accounts is only available in more expensive plans
• Limited customer support on the free plan - knowledgebase only offered

HubSpot Pricing

• Free:  Supports unlimited users
• HubSpot for Startups:  $40 to $89 per month
• Marketing Hub:  From $18 per month
• Sales Hub:  From $18/month
• Service Center:  From $18 per month
• CMS Hub:  Ranging from $23 to $1,200 per month
• Operations Hub:  Free to sync HubSpot with third-party apps; paid plans start at $18
• CRM Suite:  From $45 per month
• Free trial:  14 days

Compared to other free CRM plans, HubSpot offers a relatively rich feature set. The free plan offers basic CRM features such as contact organization, communication channels (phone, chat, and email), and report analytics. You'll also get more advanced features like ad content management, auto-adviser bots, and online contact form integration. It is a solid solution for startups looking for free CRM offering tools for marketing, sales, service, and operations management.

 HubSpot supports unlimited users in its free version and includes the team's email management tools. However, if you're looking for other providers that offer a free plan, take a look at Zoho CRM and Freshsales. The free version of Zoho CRM provides email automation tools, while Freshsales is the easiest to use for developing and sending email campaigns.

Features of HubSpot CRM

• Built-in simple email automation for later form use
• Buyer persona feature to create and promote your ideal customer
• Functions to attract sellers to generate offers
• Ability to manage blog content in CRM for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• AI Capabilities in CRM for Sales Automation and Data Management

Salesforce Essentials: Best CRM for Basic Email Marketing and Workflow Integration

Overall rating: 3.71 out of 5

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

What we like

• Integration with electronic signature platforms
• Relatively inexpensive subscription
• Reliable CRM Reporting Metrics

What is missing

• So many functions and buttons that it can be difficult to navigate the interface
• Lacks functions for making quotes and offers
• Portal setup is tedious

Salesforce Essentials Pricing

• Essentials:  $25 per user, per month, billed annually or $35 per user, per month, billed monthly
• Free trial:  14 days

Salesforce Essentials offers the ability to automatically retrieve and sync mailbox data right into your CRM dashboard. The platform also integrates with document management and e-signature platforms such as DocuSign, Dropbox, HelloSign, CodeScience, Nicereply, and Zapier. These applications make it a valuable tool for businesses with a lot of paperwork and client signing procedures, such as insurance agencies, real estate brokers, lawyers, and business consultants.

 While Salesforce Essentials is an affordable platform for small businesses, it is limited to 10 users. Also, the more advanced Salesforce plans are expensive and don't offer monthly billing options. A free CRM that supports unlimited users and offers affordable pricing levels, we recommend Freshsales or HubSpot.

Features of Salesforce Essentials

• Easily find and integrate third-party integrations with the Salesforce AppExchange
• Lightning App Builder allows businesses to build custom apps on the Salesforce platform using pre-built templates and a drag-and-drop interface.
• Bulk email capabilities for planning, deploying and monitoring the results of email campaigns
• Generate leads from an organization's website and import them directly into CRM
• Strong mobile app capabilities to allow offline use for lead management

Nimble: Best CRM for Email Marketing with Data Enrichment Insights

Overall rating: 2.98 out of 5

Top 5 Email Marketing CRM Software in 2022

What is missing

• Lack of sales support features for quoting, invoicing, or payment processing
• The mobile app has limited functionality
• Lacks an intuitive interface

Nimble Pricing

• Nimble Business:  $19 per user, per month, billed annually ($25 per user, per month, billed monthly)
• Free trial:  14 days

Nimble allows users to view up-to-date and accurate contact information. This is made possible by data enrichment and business insights. It imports information such as contact name, company name, number of employees, and industry. You can also filter prospective companies based on industry, employees, revenue, CEO, and other business-related information.

 While Nimble offers solid customer support and email marketing features, it doesn't offer a free plan. Also, the user interface can be difficult to navigate, especially for new users. If you want a solid CRM with a free plan and email marketing tools, check out HubSpot.

Features of Nimble CRM

• Business Insights feature provides verified and up-to-date information about specific companies
• Offers email templates and email tracking features
• Built-in features to automatically update lead contact information when Nimble users surf the web or work in their mailbox.
• Access to custom email templates
• Offers 1:1 user consultation and training for new users
• Integration with QuickBooks for automatic updating of financial statements

How we ranked the best CRM systems for email marketing

A CRM that offers email marketing tools should provide email automation, integration with third-party email providers, and sync with apps to improve the overall customer management experience. In addition, providers must offer solid customer support, be easy to use, and offer attractive pricing options are some of the core CRM features that small businesses need. Based on our evaluation, Freshsales is the best choice for email marketing due to its pricing, email-related features, and ease of setup. It offers a free plan and an intuitive interface that is easy to use even for beginners. Click the tabs below to learn more about our evaluation criteria:

40% of the total score. Total costs, along with a variety of pricing options, are usually the most important decision-making criteria in a small business. Therefore, when considering all the best CRM programs for email marketing, they carried the most weight. These criteria took into account having a free account, multiple subscription options, and monthly billing options.

20% of the total score. We've covered the general features as well as the email-specific features that we consider essential for CRM programs, including email automation features, format customization, third-party integrations, contact management features, and mobile capabilities.

15% of the total score. The features of any application are only as useful as they are easy to use. Therefore, the ease of use of variable CRM software is the next most important criterion. Ease of use was analyzed in terms of the experience required to integrate with other applications, the skills required to operate the email marketing features, and the overall usability of the interface.

15% of the total score. Help and support are given the same weight as ease of use, and we rated it in terms of help desk hours, phone support, chat support, and email support.

10% of the total score. In addition to our own experience with suppliers, we studied reputable review sites and collected expert opinions from external sources. We evaluated distinctive features, overall value for money, popularity, and ease of use.