Exploring The Differences Between CRM, Marketing Automation, and ESP

While it’s not uncommon for one organization to use a combination of CRM, marketing automation, and e-mail service provider (ESP) systems, it’s unlikely that a B2B tech company at the expansion stage would need all three.
In fact, because most of these systems offer similar marketing capabilities, it really pays to know the differences between each to get the most out of your marketing efforts.
Determining which systems are best for your organization is up to you. However, the information below highlights the major differences between CRM, marketing automation, and ESP systems, and explores why and how they are used, as well as who uses them.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM is primarily used to track new sales, perform account management, and support service, and it is the system your sales team is most likely to spend its time in.
WHY: Track sales-ready opportunities and pipeline
HOW: Sales rep communicates directly with prospect and interacts with CRM
WHO: Primarily sales and sales management, some marketing
Examples: Salesforce.com, MS Dynamics, Sugar CRM

MAP (Marketing Automation Platform)

Marketing Automation platforms automate marketing programs by allowing marketers to track website visits and e-mail, as well as score, nurture, and pass qualified leads to sales (typically through CRM).
WHY: Develop personalized nurturing campaigns to build lead generation efforts
HOW: Marketers build and deploy automated campaigns (primarily email and web forms) and scoring rules based on behavior triggers through the platform
WHO: Marketers focused on lead generaiton
Examples: Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua

ESP (E-MAIL SERVICE PROVIDER)

ESP’s are automated e-mail systems that host, deploy, and track e-mails for large lists that also allow marketers to segment these lists on behavior and activity, as well create highly personalized e-mails.
WHY: Send large volumes of customized e-mails (think retail)
HOW: E-mail marketers create e-mails (messaging & creative), manage lists, deploy and track all from the ESP platform
WHO: E-mail Marketers
Examples: Responsys, ExactTarget, SilverPop

E-mailing

All three platforms allow you to e-mail prospects. However, here are the major differences:

• CRM: Best fit for individual sales reps to warm prospects
• MAP: Best fit for nurturing and drip campaigns to top of the funnel leads
• ESP: Best fit for high-touch large e-mail lists with deep segmentation

Tracking

Tracking and reporting capabilities are available on each platform, but not on the same metrics. Here’s how they differ:

• CRM: Account and prospect lead data and pipeline; mid to bottom of the funnel
• MAP: Top of the funnel lead generation efforts, prospect conversion data, and scoring
• ESP: Detailed e-mail reporting on testing, and engagement transactional data

Cost

Costs of these programs differ greatly from vendor to vendor. However, the pricing models typically involve the following:

• CRM: Number of user seats
• MAP: Number of contacts (e-mail addresses) in database
• ESP: number of contacts (e-mail addresses) in database

There are also many features and capabilities that each of these technologies offer which should also factor into your decision. Nonetheless, this list offers some of the most fundamental ways these technologies differ in how they are used.

Are you using any of these systems differently? If so, how?