Why You Might Need to Break Email Marketing Out of Your CRM
We talk a lot about communication at iCreate — and for good reason. It’s the glue that holds your sales funnel together. And when it comes to digital comms, email marketing is one of your sharpest tools.
But here’s the kicker: while your CRM is brilliant at tracking leads and managing relationships (especially in real estate), it’s usually not so brilliant at email marketing.
CRM Email Marketing? Often an Afterthought.
We get it. Real estate CRMs are built to serve the industry, lead tracking, buyer journeys, contracts, inspections, and listings. They’re powerful, but when it comes to email marketing, many of them bolt on a half-baked feature to tick the “marketing” box.
Why Email Design Isn’t Just 'Drag and Drop'
Here’s something most people don’t realise: emails don’t render the same across Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, or mobile devices. What looks sleek in one browser can break in another — misaligned buttons, broken formatting, unreadable text.
Add to that the growing expectation that emails look sharp and scroll effortlessly on mobile, and suddenly your CRM’s “basic email editor” isn’t cutting it. Especially in property, where visuals matter and every message is a chance to build trust.
A proper email marketing platform ensures that your campaigns are responsive, reliable, and brand-consistent, no matter what device your audience is using.
Carving Email Marketing Out of the CRM
Switching CRMs is a major commitment (and not something we’d suggest lightly). But unbundling just your email marketing? That’s often the smartest move you can make, especially if you want to:
- Build automated nurture journeys
- Track engagement properly (opens, clicks, conversions)
- Keep costs predictable
- Control brand design and messaging
What Are Email Journeys?
Email journeys (also called automation sequences or drips) are pre-set emails triggered by a user’s behaviour or status, like downloading a brochure, attending a webinar, or simply not responding after 14 days.
For example:
- Prospect downloads a brochure → trigger welcome email
- Prospect doesn’t book a call in 3 days → send reminder
- Prospect opens the reminder but takes no action → send case study or testimonial
All without you lifting a finger.
Done right, email automation feels personalised, keeps your brand top of mind, and moves leads closer to action — all while you focus on other parts of the business.
So What Platforms Do We Recommend?
We like to keep it simple and strategic.
- Campaign Monitor and Mailchimp – clean, cost-effective platforms for beautiful emails and basic automations
- HubSpot – great for more advanced automation, especially if you’re nurturing across a longer lead time
- ActiveCampaign or Ortto (formerly Autopilot) – strong on journey building and behavioural triggers
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) – an affordable and flexible option with solid automation features
- Automate Accelerator – purpose-built for property, if you want a platform with brains and property smarts baked in
At iCreate, we help clients cleanly carve this function out, ensuring your email strategy still works hand-in-hand with your CRM but no longer lives or dies by it.
Here’s the Takeaway:
Your CRM doesn’t have to be your email marketing platform. If it’s holding you back with clunky formatting, broken rendering, or no automation, it’s time to decouple.
We don’t work for any of the platforms mentioned above — Campaign Monitor, Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Ortto, and BREVO — they’re just tools we’ve seen work well in the real world. There are plenty more out there, and the right fit always depends on your goals and internal setup.
But here’s the truth: when these tools don’t work properly, it creates pain. For you and for us. So we’re here to help make sure they do — that your email platform supports your strategy, integrates cleanly with your CRM, and delivers results.
Want to talk through how it could work for your business?