So you are in the market for a new CRM, and you are choosing between the different options available. Considering a CRM is primarily focused on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), having a robust and foolproof way of sending emails is an absolute requirement. But how do you understand the differences between the systems? 

Choosing the correct system with the email-sending options you need is crucial for success. In this article, we have put together a list of the different types of email integrations on the market, and how you can tell them apart when looking at different CRM providers. Many people do not understand the differences when choosing a new platform. Choosing the best option is crucial to success and the long-term effectiveness of your new CRM in your events business.

Most businesses use either Google Business or Office 365 as a business emailing system. It is vital that you can effectively integrate these emailing platforms with your CRM to allow for success.

Three Different Types Of CRM Email Integration

There are essentially three different types of emailing systems in CRM platforms.

1. Third-Party Email Service 
2. Zapier Email Integration
3. Native Google/Office365 Integration

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1. Third Party Email Service

So this is the most basic of the three types of emailing system and it has a number of drawbacks. Many providers on the market do not have any form of integration with Google/Office, and instead send all of the system emails, for all of the users, from the same third-party email provider that has been integrated into the system. 

There are many third-party email providers that CRM companies use, such as Sendgrid, Sparkpost, and Mailgun, as well as others. This is a cheap quick-fix solution for the CRM company and does have drawbacks as listed below. 

a. Non-Branded Emails

• Generic Sender Domains: Emails may be sent from addresses like noreply@sendgrid.com or emily@myvenue.sendgrid.com which can appear untrustworthy to recipients. You will not get to use your normal email URL address that is branded for your business. 
• Lack of Brand Recognition: Clients might overlook or distrust emails that don’t clearly display your brand.

b. Higher Risk of Spam Filters

• Shared IP Addresses: Third-party email services mainly use shared IPs. If another user on the same IP sends spam, the risk of your email being flagged or blocked. Because you are in a bucket with all users, you suffer if one person abuses the system.
• Lower Reputation: These platforms rely on their own domain reputation, which you have no control over, which often leads to deliverability and spam issues.

c. Complex Workflow - No 360 View

• Separate Systems: Replies to emails may not go directly into your CRM or inbox but instead require additional configurations to forward responses.
• Disjointed Threads: Conversations may be fragmented across platforms, making it harder to track communication history. You will never get a view of your Google/Office 365 emails and your CRM emails in one place as they are not connected in any way.

d. Limited Security Features 

• Weaker Encryption: Third-party systems generally do not offer encryption as robust as Google or Microsoft, potentially exposing sensitive information.
• Compliance Issues: Third-party shared emailing systems may not be able to deliver the strict adherence to data regulations such as GDPR, that fully integrated systems will deliver. 

e. Technical Setup

In some setups, you maybe required to add records to your web domains DNS setting. Useless you have knowledge of how DNS settings work and are comfortable changes your domains configuration in your hosting environment, you will need to seek the assistance of an IT professional, which can be time-consuming and costly. 

Example Event CRM Providers - Software services that have this form of email integration include Hostology and Sonas.

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2. Email Integration With Zapier

Firstly, we are big fans of Zapier in BriteBiz. BriteBiz can be integrated with Zapier allowing our platform to connect with multiple third-party platforms for many workflows that cut so much time and admin and allow automation in several parts of the business. 

There are however many CRM solutions on the market that are using Zapier to send system emails through Google Gmail and Office 365. There are a number of disadvantages to doing this. 

Choosing a CRM that sends Gmail or Outlook emails via Zapier can seem like an attractive option for automating email communication, but there are several reasons why this may not be the best choice. Here are some key reasons:

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a. Email Deliverability Challenges

• Potential Spam Flagging: Zapier may not implement email authentication practices (like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) as robustly as Gmail or Outlook's native systems. This means that emails sent through Zapier may be flagged as spam more frequently, affecting your deliverability rates and harming your sender reputation. 
• CRM platforms that integrate natively with Gmail or Outlook, ensure these authentication processes are automatically handled, improving email delivery rates​
  

b. Lack of Control Over Branding

• Generic Sender Information: Depending on how the integration is setup, emails sent via Zapier might use a default sender address (like zapier@youraccount.com), which could appear unprofessional or unfamiliar to recipients.

c. Security and Data Privacy Risks

• Third-Party Exposure: By using Zapier, you are providing a third-party access to sensitive customer data. This introduces additional privacy concerns and potential risks, especially if the integration isn’t securely configured. 

d. Limitations in Reporting and 360 View

• Basic Analytics: As a Zapier integration is a one-way send flow, you will not be able to have a 360 view of all communication to any one customer in your CRM. 

e. Increased Costs Over Time

• Zapier’s Pricing Structure: As your business scales and you send more emails, Zapier’s pricing can become rather expensive. Zapier is priced on the number of “Zaps” you send. 

f. Technical Setup

• While we love Zapier and it is very user friendly, you do need to know what you are doing. If you don’t have experience working with Zapier, you will need to seek the assistance of an IT professional, which can be time-consuming and costly. 

‍Example Event CRM Providers - Software services that have this form of email integration include Aisle Planner. 

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3. Native Google/Office365 Integration 

The final type of integration is when a platform has native and true integration with Google and Office 365. This is truly the champagne of email integrations. This means, that any time you send an email in your CRM, it is sent directly from your Gmail or Office 365 account. You will see it in your sent folder straight away once sent. 

The advantages of this type of system are as follows. 

1. No Branding Issues - all emails are branded as you normally send them.

2. No Spam Issues - As no third-party service is being used, all emails will be delivered normally the same as you sent them from your Office of Gmail account. 

3. No Technical assistance required - Native Google/Office365 integrations can simply be setup by authorizing the platform to have access to your email account. As long as you can log into your email account, you can activate this type of email integration, no technical skills needed!

4. No Additional Costs

A native integration can be One-Way or Two-Way. If the integration is One way, you can use the CRM to send emails through your Gmail/Office 365 account. If the integration is two-way, you can also pull the information from your Gmail/Office 365 account that was sent to customers, even before the CRM went live. So this is advantage no.5. 

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5. 360 View Of Communications - If your CRM has a “Two-Way” Native Integration, you will be able to see a 360 view of 

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Event CRM Providers - BriteBiz is the only Event CRM on the market with a “Two-Way” Native Integration with Office 365 and Google Business. 

Other Things To Consider 

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1. Email Inbox - There are huge benefits to being able to see your email inbox in your CRM, so that you are not switching between systems. With BriteBiz, you also have a email inbox on your home dashboard, so you can see and reply to incoming emails directly in BriteBiz, using whatever templates you want. This saves our users a huge amount of time. 

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2. Shared Emails - If having a shared email in your CRM is important to you, you should ensure that your CRM provider can do this. Let's say all your team uses an email called events@myvenue.com, BriteBiz gives you the option that all users can send from this one email address. This is a very powerful feature that many of our users need. 

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3. Web Automated Emails - You should make sure that the system you choose can send an automated response email from any website inquiries that you receive. And as this is the first contact from your business, it is super important that this email is branded correctly, from a Google Business or Office365 account. 

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BriteBiz does all of the three things listed above. If you are dealing with a CRM company, it is best that you ask them out straight, “Please show me the email address that my web form will respond with”. If it is not branded exactly as per your business, you have a branding, and probably a deliverability issue. All BriteBiz web response emails are sent through your Gmail/Office365 account, branded just right! Delivered just right!

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Conclusion

Sending emails is core to the success of your business. Branding, security and deliverability are paramount. Many solutions on the market simply do not cut it when it comes to email integration, as they are built off third-party mailer platforms or Zapier integrations. 

The only way you can achieve real, secure, branded email success is with a Native Gmail or Office35 account and I recommend that you choose a platform, like BriteBiz, that has a native integration, ensuring success for your business. Ensure your integration is Two-Way to give you a 360 view of all emails between you and a client to ensure success. Also, if you need other features, so as a singular email, make sure to ask before you start onboarding. 

BriteBiz works with thousands of users across 5 Continents, all using our Google Business and Office365 Two-Way native integrations to drive success in business and communication. We would love to share more. 

If you would like to schedule a demo or start a free trial, just click on the link below.