Built-in CRM

A built-in CRM is a customer relationship management tool that comes inside the marketing platform. It stores contacts and companies, records activity such as emails opened and pages visited, and often includes a deal pipeline where sales can move opportunities from enquiry to won. ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Keap, Klaviyo and Mailchimp are examples of tools listed with this feature, and the depth differs considerably between them.

Marketing and sales both need the same view of a contact. If email lives in one system and deals in another, the two drift apart: sales cannot see what someone has been sent, and marketing does not know who has become a customer. A built-in CRM keeps that in one place and lets automations react to deal stages.

It suits small teams who do not yet have a CRM and want to start simply. A company with an established CRM and a sales team that lives in it will usually keep that and connect the marketing tool to it instead.

Built-in versions are often lighter than dedicated CRMs. Check the features sales will use daily, not only the ones that look good on a feature list.

• Does it include a deal or opportunity pipeline, tasks and notes, or only a contact list.
• Can sales see email history and marketing activity on each contact record.
• Can automations start or stop when a deal changes stage.
• Can you export your data and connect a different CRM later if you outgrow it.