Top 10 CRM Email Marketing Platforms to Increase Customer Engagement

Email remains one of the most effective channels for delivering a high ROI. On average, you get about $36 for every $1 spent. 

When you integrate CRM with email automation, you get the leverage of rich customer data, making it easier to hyper-personalize email marketing. CRM email marketing platforms run the show in the background, empowering you to deliver emails that hit the sweetest spot in your customers’ journeys. 

In this article, we’ll explore 10 CRM email marketing platforms that assist businesses in nurturing relationships and maximizing CLV. 

But before checking out the tools, let’s take a look at what we are checking for:

What is a CRM Email Marketing Platform?

A CRM email marketing platform is a customer relationship management system that either includes native email marketing capabilities or integrates closely with email automation tools. It uses CRM’s rich customer data to create targeted, personalized email campaigns as part of your overall marketing strategy.

Below are some of the key benefits it offers: 

• Centralized Customer Data: All your contact information, purchase history, and interactions live in one place. This holistic view ensures the latest data informs your emails for each customer.
• Personalized and Segmented Campaigns: A CRM email platform lets you segment audiences by demographics, behavior, lifecycle stage, and more, then tailor content to each group or individual. Businesses categorize contacts by attributes like purchase history or engagement patterns to send highly relevant messages.
• Automated Workflows for Nurturing: You can design automated email sequences and triggers that respond to customer actions or life cycle stages without manual effort. Many CRM platforms allow if/then logic and trigger emails based on user behaviors, so each customer gets relevant follow-ups automatically.
• Measurable Impact With Analytics: CRM email tools provide dashboards and reports to track deliveries, opens, clicks, conversions, and even ROI. You can tie emails to sales outcomes and continuously optimize. With the CRM link, you can also see how email engagement affects downstream metrics, such as retention or revenue per user.

Also read: Email automation explained in a simple, step-by-step guide.

10 Best CRM Email Marketing Platforms

Below is a curated list of the top ten platforms that blend CRM and email marketing capabilities. Each summary covers key features and what type of business or marketer it’s best suited for.

1. CleverTap

CleverTap is an all-in-one customer engagement and retention platform built for data-driven, personalized marketing. It integrates analytics, segmentation, and multi-channel messaging, including a powerful email marketing module, into a single solution. 

Marketers use CleverTap to deeply understand user behavior and run targeted campaigns that boost retention and lifetime value. 

Below are some key features of CleverTap

Advanced email marketing features

CleverTap email offering is not a mere delivery engine, but a full-fledged engagement tool that sits within an omnichannel stack. You get a drag-and-drop editor and templates for mobile-responsive emails. Beyond static content, you can embed AMP elements: forms, carousels, quizzes, live pricing, and even shopping experiences right inside the email. You can also add enhancements like Gmail Annotations (logo + offer image + promo code in the inbox preview) to increase visibility. 

It delivers interactive emails to help reduce friction, where users take action without leaving their inbox. That’s a significant shift from open and click to open and engage. 

If you handle e-commerce, subscription, or content journeys, embedding more live experiences directly in email with CleverTap helps improve conversion.

Advanced Segmentation and Real-Time Behavioral Targeting

CleverTap lets you define precise user segments based on past actions, in-app events, demographics, and more, ensuring each email campaign is highly relevant to its audience. The platform supports 1:1 personalization of emails, automatically inserting customer names, preferences, loyalty tier, or any CRM attribute into subject lines and content. 

Under segmentation, CleverTap gives you the following capabilities:

• RFM Analysis: Automatically groups users based on how active they are in your app with RFM analysis.
• Intent-Based Segmentation: CleverTap’s intelligent data science engine identifies which users are most likely to complete the action.
• Custom Segmentation: You can also create custom user groups on CleverTap using your own segmentation tool, then build campaigns and monitor segments with the full power of our detailed dashboard.

Related: Check out the best customer segmentation tools. 

Automated Lifecycle Workflows

Using real-time event data, you can trigger emails at optimal moments. For example, send a welcome email immediately after signup, a reminder if a user abandons a cart, or a re-engagement campaign when an active user becomes dormant. 

These behavior-triggered emails ensure you reach out at just the right time along each customer’s journey. You can design complex customer journeys with branching conditions, delays, and omnichannel touches (email, push, in-app, SMS, etc.), all orchestrated from one dashboard.

A/B Testing and Optimization

Marketers get to experiment with different subject lines, email designs, send times, and content variants, then automatically send the winning version to maximize engagement. 

The platform’s analytics go deep. A real-time dashboard tracks deliveries, open rates, clicks, bounces, and conversions for every campaign. You can even measure the ROI of each email blast by tying it to conversion events and revenue. It provides a clear picture of what your email marketing efforts are earning. 

Agentic AI engine

CleverAI comprises autonomous AI agents that collaborate to optimize campaigns. 

For instance: 

• Decision Agents dynamically match each customer with the right product or offer and even automate segmentation and recommendations. 
• Creative Agents generate on-brand, personalized copy and creative elements tailored to each individual (not just segments). 
• Action Agents orchestrate and execute 1:1 interactions across channels (email, push, in-app, WhatsApp, etc.) based on the strategy you set.

CleverTap’s AI acts like an intelligent marketing assistant that autonomously analyzes data, decides the best course of action, personalizes content, and sends emails at the optimal time, all within your defined goals and guardrails. For example, CleverAI will automatically recommend the best send time and frequency for each user segment by analyzing behavior patterns, so emails land when each user is most likely to check their inbox. 

It even suggests the following best action or offer for each customer by comparing them to lookalike audiences and past behaviors.

Best for: CleverTap is ideal for growth and retention-focused teams that want to leverage rich customer data and AI to maximize engagement. If you are a marketing manager or CRM specialist looking to run highly personalized, trigger-based campaigns (across email and other channels) and to optimize them with real-time insights continuously, CleverTap is a decent choice. 

2. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM combines CRM features with email marketing capabilities. It features a friendly interface and an extensive free plan, making it popular among businesses of all sizes, particularly small and mid-sized teams with budget constraints. 

With HubSpot, your email marketing is tightly integrated into your CRM, sales, and service tools.

Below are some key features of HubSpot CRM: 

• If/Then Automated Workflows: If a lead fills out a form, then send a follow-up email series. Each recipient’s path can branch based on their interactions for a tailored experience.
• Unified Journey Visibility: Track a contact from email open or click to website activity to deal conversion, with interactions automatically recorded on the timeline.
• Outcome-Linked Reporting: Tie email metrics to CRM outcomes such as contacts created or deals closed using built-in dashboards.
• Optimization Toolkit: Improve performance with send time optimization and preview tools to check how emails render on different devices.
• Extensive Integrations: Connect with third-party apps like Slack and eCommerce platforms to extend CRM email capabilities.

Best for: HubSpot CRM is suited for small to mid-sized businesses seeking a scalable solution that encompasses marketing, sales, and service within a single platform. Its ease of use makes it great for teams that don’t have dedicated technical specialists but still want email automation tied to their CRM. 

3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a part of the broader Salesforce CRM ecosystem, is an enterprise-grade solution for email and multi-channel marketing. It leverages Salesforce’s CRM database and AI (Salesforce Einstein) to help optimize campaigns and personalize at scale. 

Salesforce provides a holistic view of each customer by aggregating data across sales, support, and marketing, which you can use to tailor email content and targeting.

Below are some key features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud. 

• Personalization and Segmentation: Create highly granular segments using any CRM field or customer behavior, and craft dynamic content that varies by recipient attributes.
• Loyalty and Recommendation Emails: Enable personalized product recommendations and loyalty program emails unique to each member.
• Automation Studios and Journey Builders: Design complex customer journeys with emails, SMS, push notifications, and ads that respond to customer actions in real time.
• Automated Workflows: Eliminate tedious marketing tasks through automation to save time and maintain consistent messaging.
• Analytics and AI-Driven Insights: Access real-time dashboards to track performance and leverage AI to predict engagement, optimal send times, and churn likelihood.

Best for: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is tailored for large teams and enterprises that need analytics, scalability, and extensive customization.

4. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign includes built-in CRM features. It’s particularly known for its automation workflows and a data-driven approach to email marketing. 

ActiveCampaign started as an email marketing tool and expanded into light CRM, making it a favorite for teams that prioritize sophisticated email sequences, drip campaigns, and personalized messaging.

Below are some key features of Active Campaign. 

• Visual Automation Builder: Drag and drop to create automation flows that tag contacts, send emails, score leads, or alert your team based on triggers like email opens, clicks, visits, or CRM field changes.
• Granular Targeting and Logic: Build personalized journeys with numerous triggers and conditions for precise targeting and branching paths.
• Email Marketing Capabilities: Access a rich library of templates, a drag-and-drop editor, and dynamic content insertion that adapts each email to the contact’s data.
• A/B Testing: Test different email versions or even entire automation paths to identify what performs best.
• Lead Scoring: Automatically score leads by engagement or behavior to help sales teams prioritize follow-ups.

Best for: ActiveCampaign is suited for growing businesses and marketing teams that need sophisticated automation and personalization.

Don’t miss: 10 CRM automation platforms designed to simplify marketing operations.

5. Zoho CRM + Zoho Campaigns

Zoho CRM is part of the larger Zoho suite of business applications, offering a CRM with integrated email marketing capabilities. While Zoho CRM primarily caters to managing leads, contacts, and sales pipelines, it tightly integrates with Zoho Campaigns, their email marketing module, to provide CRM-driven email automation. 

This combo provides a comprehensive view of your customer and enables you to engage via email directly within the CRM environment.

Below are some key features of Zoho CRM + Zoho Campaign. 

• Extensive Customization: Tailor CRM fields, workflows, and reports to fit your business requirements.
• Email Template Gallery: Use pre-designed templates and send one-off or mass emails directly to CRM contacts.
• Zoho Campaigns Integration: Unlock advanced features like drag-and-drop email design, scheduling, autoresponders, and detailed campaign analytics.
• Bulk Email Campaigns: Target large, segmented lists directly from your CRM data for high-volume outreach.
• Automated Lead Nurturing: Automatically send a series of introduction or follow-up emails when new leads enter the CRM.
• AI Assistant (Zia): Analyze engagement data, including open rates, call outcomes, and site visits, to suggest the best times to contact leads and predict conversion likelihood.

Best for: Zoho CRM plus Campaigns is suited for small to mid-sized businesses that want an affordable, all-in-one solution and are already (or willing to be) in the Zoho ecosystem. 

6. Mailchimp (with CRM features)

Mailchimp’s core strengths lie in email design, automation, and list management, now supplemented by features that manage audience data and interactions.

Below are some of its key features. 

• Drag-and-Drop Email Builder: Create emails easily using an intuitive builder and a vast template library.
• CRM Database: Store customer and lead data with demographics, tags, and custom segments for a complete marketing view.
• Centralized Customer Profiles: Access engagement history, tags, and website activity for each subscriber to personalize communication.
• Advanced Segmentation: Filter audiences by purchase history, engagement, or geography to send targeted, relevant messages.
• Personalization Tools: Merge customer data, such as first name or product recommendations, directly into emails.
• Automation Flows: Schedule and trigger campaigns based on user actions—like welcome series, win-back emails, or abandoned cart reminders.

Best for: Mailchimp is suited for small businesses, startups, or individual marketers who require a user-friendly platform for email marketing with a touch of CRM functionality.

7. Freshsales (Freshworks)

Freshsales Suite is a CRM platform that blends sales automation with built-in marketing/email features. It helps sales teams streamline their process while enabling effective customer communication via email and other channels. 

Essentially, Freshsales provides a single environment for managing leads, deals, and performing email outreach or campaigns, great for aligning sales and marketing efforts.

Below are some key features of Freshsales. 

• Contact and Deal Management: Manage contacts, accounts, and deal pipelines while scheduling tasks and appointments in one place.
• Email Marketing Capabilities: Create and send email campaigns, track opens and clicks, and build automated marketing journeys.
• Visual Journey Builder: Automate multi-step email sequences and include SMS or other touchpoints triggered by actions like sign-ups or deal stage changes.
• AI-Powered Lead Scoring: Use Freddy AI to analyze interactions, score leads, and recommend next best actions based on engagement.
• Email Tracking: Monitor one-to-one or bulk emails and view opens or clicks directly in each contact’s record.

Best for: Freshsales is suited for sales-focused teams (including SMB sales teams) that want core CRM functionality with essential email marketing capabilities baked in. If your primary goal is to manage leads and close deals, but you also want to run simple email campaigns or automated nurture sequences without purchasing a separate email platform, Freshsales is a good fit. 

8. Pipedrive (with Campaigns)

While Pipedrive’s core is sales tracking, it also offers an optional add-on called Campaigns by Pipedrive, which brings integrated email marketing capabilities to the CRM. 

This allows sales-driven organizations to execute email campaigns directly from Pipedrive, using the contact data and segments they have already organized.

Below are some key features of Pipedrive (with campaigns). 

• Kanban-Style Pipeline: Manage leads and deals through an intuitive, visual interface that simplifies sales tracking.
• Campaigns Add-On: Access a drag-and-drop email editor and customizable templates to create newsletters or promotional campaigns.
• Smart Segmentation: Filter contacts by deal stage, tags, or other criteria to send targeted, relevant emails.
• Unified Communication View: View all one-to-one and campaign emails in each contact’s profile for full interaction history.
• Automated Workflows: Set up simple rules, for example, send a follow-up email three days after a deal reaches the “XYZ” stage.

Best for: Pipedrive with email campaigns is best for small and mid-sized sales teams that want to consolidate their outreach in one tool. If your main users are sales reps or a sales-focused marketing team, and you value simplicity, Pipedrive is a great choice. 

9. Keap (Infusionsoft)

Keap, formerly known as Infusionsoft, is an all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform tailored for small businesses. It combines a contact management system with email marketing, landing pages, e-commerce, and more. 

Keap is primarily known for its strong emphasis on automating follow-ups. It was one of the early platforms to offer advanced email automation tightly integrated with CRM data.

Below are some key features of Keap. 

• Centralized CRM: Store contacts, assign them to campaigns, track interactions, and manage orders or invoices in one place.
• Visual Campaign Builder: Design personalized, multi-step email and SMS workflows with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
• Automated Drip Campaigns: Deliver emails based on timed delays or user behaviors, for example, send a welcome email after signup and follow-ups if no purchase occurs.
• Dynamic Branching: Create adaptive sequences that change paths when contacts click links or take specific actions.
• Embedded Lead Capture Forms: Collect new leads directly into your CRM for immediate inclusion in automated campaigns.

Best for: Keap is suited for small businesses and entrepreneurs who require a comprehensive CRM, email marketing, and automation solution to manage their operations effectively. It’s beneficial for those who want to automate many email marketing processes and routine tasks without needing multiple tools. 

10. Sendinblue (Brevo)

Sendinblue, recently rebranded as Brevo, is an email marketing platform that has gradually expanded into a CRM as well. It’s known for its affordability and multi-channel capabilities, combining email with SMS, live chat, and more. 

Brevo provides businesses with an integrated solution to communicate with customers and manage basic contact information in one place. 

Below are some key features of Sendinblue 

• Email Marketing Toolkit: Create campaigns using a drag-and-drop editor, responsive templates, and automation workflows for welcome, re-engagement, or cart recovery emails.
• Visual Workflow Builder: Automate complex customer journeys by setting triggers based on behavior, purchase history, or engagement level.
• Smart Segmentation: Automatically categorizes contacts into categories such as high-value customers or cold leads, allowing for targeted campaigns.

Best for: Brevo (Sendinblue) is suited for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a cost-effective and user-friendly platform that addresses both email marketing and basic CRM requirements.

How to Choose the Right CRM Email Marketing Platform

When evaluating which CRM email marketing solution is right for your organization, consider the following factors:

• Size of Your Customer Base and Scalability: Some platforms are best for handling millions of contacts and heavy automation, while others cater to smaller lists. Select a tool like CleverTap that can efficiently manage your current list and scale with your growth. 
• Depth of Personalization Required: If your marketing strategy relies on highly personalized, segmented messaging, consider platforms with robust data capabilities and AI. For example, platforms like CleverTap use AI to optimize email send times and content for each user and offer advanced behavioral segmentation. Ensure the platform can handle the level of segmentation (number of segments, rules, dynamic content) you need.
• Omnichannel Integration: Consider whether you plan to engage customers beyond email. Some CRM email platforms also integrate SMS, push notifications, WhatsApp, social ads, or more. If you foresee a multi-channel strategy, pick a platform that can orchestrate across those channels or at least integrate with them. 
• Ease of Use vs. Advanced Capabilities: There’s often a trade-off between ease of use and depth of features. Marketing teams with limited technical resources might prioritize an intuitive interface and good customer support over a complex but powerful system. 
• Integration With Other Systems: Your CRM email platform doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Check how well it integrates with your existing stack. Many platforms have pre-built integrations or Zapier connectors for popular apps. 
• Budget and ROI: Costs can vary widely. Some platforms charge a flat monthly rate, while others offer a pay-as-you-go model for emails. Additionally, some have higher tiers with advanced features or more contacts. Map out not just the current cost, but also how the cost will grow as you add contacts or increase the send volume. 
• Retention and Lifecycle Marketing Features: Since customer retention is a key goal of CRM-based marketing, evaluate how each platform supports lifecycle campaigns. Do they offer features for building customer journeys or sending triggered emails for events such as reactivation, post-purchase follow-ups, and renewal reminders? A platform like CleverTap, for instance, is very retention-centric, providing not just tools to send emails but to analyze cohorts over time.

Let Your Emails Hit The Right Spots

CleverTap stands out with its advanced segmentation, analytics, and agentic AI capabilities, delivering the right message at the right moment, not just via email, but across the customer’s preferred channels. 

This level of individualization and intelligent automation significantly increases retention, conversions, and customer lifetime value. When selecting your CRM email marketing platform, consider where your marketing efforts will have the most significant impact. 

If driving growth through retention and lifecycle campaigns is a priority, you’ll want a platform that excels in those areas. CleverTap offers not only the tools to execute campaigns but also to understand and optimize the customer journey over the long term.

Ready to elevate your email marketing and customer retention? Schedule a demo with CleverTap.