The Future of CRM is Social

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👋 Welcome to more than 100 people joining us this week.

In this newsletter we’re exploring the future of marketing so you can stay one step ahead.

And this is, drumroll please, Volume #1.

In this issue we will be diving into:

• Why the future of CRM is social

• How big ideas can become fuel for your brand

• Key steps to future-proof your brand

And some more!

Hey friends,

A lot is happening in the world of marketing and we’re here to keep track of all the latest developments and trends.

I was curious to know what top industry leaders think about what the next 18-24 months look like in the world of brand and marketing, so I reached out to people like Oliver Yonchev, Ann Handley, Seth Matlins, Everette Taylor, Elfried Samba, Tim Nash, Olga Andrienko, Hanna Larssson, Diego Borgo (and more) to get their insights on this.

I’ve compiled all the insights in a report for you to download here, and meanwhile here are my top 3 takeaways from everything these guys shared with me:

✔️ AI will completely transform how we THINK about marketing, making it 100x more effective

✔️ Creative will become commoditised, making it more competitive as smaller businesses and teams will be able to do similar things traditionally reserved to bigger budgets

✔️ Brands control owned and paid channels, but the true power is the earned media, and not many companies are creative enough to find new, not oversaturated channels and ways to distribute content.

Leaders of the Future spotlight: Benjamin Benichou , CEO of Drop

The Future Of CRM Is Social.

Less Cost, More Engagement, Maximum ROI.

Serial entrepreneur and media veteran with a degree in fashion, Benjamin is one of the most creatively visionary and approachable tech founders I’ve ever met.

His company Drop is changing the game in CRM, and I’ve asked him to give us some context on why social is the future of CRM.

What is Drop and who is it for?

Drop is a Social CRM and engagement platform empowering brands and retailers to seamlessly capture their social audience and sell products via Direct Messages. We predominantly work with pure-play e-commerce businesses and enterprise-level brands. These brands either already have a robust social media presence or are keen on expanding their digital footprint. They recognize the imperative of reaching the next generation of consumers where they are most active—on social platforms.

What is the biggest problem that Drop solves for its clients?

The foremost issue we’re tackling is the limitations of legacy CRM systems, which have historically focused on post-sales information and relied heavily on email for customer communication. At Drop, we’ve found that 70% of the audience captured from social platforms is not present in our clients’ existing CRMs. Many of these people may never have visited the brand’s website. What we’re building is a next-gen CRM that captures all these interactions, leveraging AI to understand context and sentiment. Our platform enables brands to initiate conversations and opt users into Direct Messages without requiring them to leave their favorite social media apps. Our ultimate goal is to enhance our clients’ revenue streams by both attracting new customers and enhancing the lifetime value of existing ones through meaningful experiences and seamless checkouts.

What are your best insights in terms of keeping consumer engagement high for consumer facing brands?

Consumer engagement has been a one-way street for too long, contributing to a broad decline in interaction across various platforms. While some attribute this to algorithmic changes, the issue often stems from the lack of meaningful return on engagement for consumers. That’s why Drop operates on platforms like Instagram (and soon, TikTok) to automate conversations based on engagement events, making every user feel valued.

Secondly, fostering a sense of community is critical. When we partner with brands like Dior Beauty, PSG, or Hot Topic, we always recommend implementing initiatives like “Friends & Family” or “Secret Club” programs. This ensures that members feel engaged rather than simply bombarded with push notifications like they get via email or SMS.

Finally, co-creation is a powerful tool, whether it’s for building a community, launching a product, or introducing a capsule collection. This approach has a particularly strong impact on Gen-Z and Alpha demographics. Brands now have the opportunity to invite their audiences into their worlds, giving them a voice in shaping more meaningful, long-lasting relationships.

If you want to reach out to Benjamin for more details on how Drop can help your company elevate your CRM game, you can contact him here or visit https://www.usedrop.io/.

🍔 MY CONTENT DIET RECOMMENDATIONS THIS MONTH

🎧: Season 2 of the Unmtchd. podcast is now LIVE, with episode 1 featuting brand strategy trio WAM: Wes Henstock, Ash Rathod and Martin Zarian. Listen here.

📱: Entrepreneurship masterclass with Ali Abdaal and Daniel Priestley, which in my opinion is the best podcast I’ve consumed in a while. Watch here.

💠: Diego Borgo‘s Smart Tokens case study which I believe is the future of IP rights and privacy that brands will need to tap into very quickly.

📣: Pinterest’s New Algorithms Want You to See Every Body Type: Read here.

🌊 The Gen Z Consumer Tech Wave Is Coming – check out the study released by Battery here.

Future of Branding spotlight: Sunny Bonnel, Chief Visionary Officer at Motto®.

THE MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES ARE MORE THAN FAMOUS NAMES—THEY'RE IDEAS WORTH RALLYING AROUND.

This month I’ve had the chance to meet and chat with the amazing Sunny Bonnell, Co-founder, and Chief Visionary Officer of award-winning branding company, Motto®.

Motto® is a strategic branding agency leading the world’s most visionary companies to brand big ideas so they can be the first to leap into what’s next.

Sunny and Ashleigh Hansberger, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, started Motto® in 2005 with $250 after dropping out of college together and they really stand behind their founding sentiment:

“We dare to do big things, create big ideas, make big leaps, and take big risks”.

Out of all the amazing projects Sunny and the team at Motto have worked on, one really stood out to me.

After reaching 30,000 workers in New York City with their beta product, founders Timothy Makalinao, Caleb Lee, and Larry Zhang of Bandana, partnered with Motto® to transform their placeholder identity into a re-envisioned brand that supports their vision:

A worker-first job search platform that puts trust and transparency at the forefront to support underserved hourly workers and honour their worth and needs.

They developed a creative name to stand out from other corporate vanilla job platforms and reflect the essence of real, everyday people.

The name Bandana creatively captures the spirit of the worker. Boasting a nearly 300-year history of form, fashion, and function, the bandana has represented many things throughout history—everything from American independence to workers’ rights.

It is a perfect symbol of determination, hard work, and rebellion.

The signature idea that sits at the center of the Bandana brand—its Idea Worth Rallying Around®—is “For the People.”

It underscores the importance of the community the brand caters to and emphasises the commitment to putting their needs and interests first.

These three words became the internal North Star for decisions and a resonant rallying cry to galvanise job seekers, hiring companies, investors, partners, and talent.

Everything Motto and Bandana did together flows from this one central idea and ladders up to it, creating an incredibly successful and consistent brand.

If you want to learn more about how to build a brand around an idea, make sure to check Motto out!

They truly embrace the go big or go home philosophy.

Go check them out!

Article spotlight: Adweek, by Michelle Peluso, SVP of Digital Sales & CMO, IBM

Five Steps to Future-Proof Your Brand.

Change is coming, are you ready?

1. Find your big idea

2. Know the user as well as the buyer to serve her better

3. Understand and improve every dollar you spend

4. Create an open, agile culture where people can do their best work

5. Embrace the technologies that will shape our profession

Read the full article here.

Whew… we covered a lot of ground in this first issue, didn’t we? 💪💪💪

Here is the biggest takeaway I am already implementing in my day job as a head of marketing at a global brand:

Understand and improve every dollar you spend. 

Times are tough, so every dollar you spend has to have an IMPACT. Currently, meticulous tracking, data-driven decisions, and a relentless focus on ROI need to be the driving forces behind our marketing strategies.

That’s it for this issue!

Until next time, keep your 👀 on the future.

Oana

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