How CRM Plus CX Platforms Are Shaping the Future of CX

In today’s B2B landscape, especially in service-driven industries, customer experience isn’t just a “nice to have” anymore—it’s the differentiator. I had a conversation with CX strategist Eric Gregg, founder of ClearlyRated, that highlighted something all forward-thinking businesses need to hear: Your CRM is not a digital Rolodex but your operational heartbeat. And when it’s integrated with CX tools and powered by good data, regular engagement, and a touch of artificial intelligence? Game changer.

So what does it take to elevate your customer experience in 2025 and beyond?

Your CRM is only as powerful as its data. You can have the fanciest tech stack in the world, but if your CRM data is stale, sparse, or just plain wrong, everything downstream suffers, from retention strategies to sales forecasting.

Gregg puts it bluntly, “You can’t get to this predictive mode if you don’t have any data.” Strategic firms understand this. They don’t just store names and emails; they enrich every record with relevant, evolving, trustworthy information. That might include feedback data, buyer intent signals, or engagement patterns.

What this really means is that if your CRM doesn’t contain the full story of your customers—their journeys, needs, and preferences—you’re making decisions with blinders on.

Regular communication beats sporadic check-ins. In the age of AI and automation, there’s a surprising truth: One of the most impactful things you can do is...just ask.

Ask your clients how you’re doing. Ask what’s coming up for them. Ask what you could do better. Gregg notes: “The more you know about your clients, the more your CRM is enriched with data that matters, the more intelligent you can be about when you ask these clients for feedback, what you ask them in your feedback.”

Too many organizations overthink surveys or wait for the “perfect” time to gather feedback. But feedback shouldn’t be an annual event—it should be a continuous conversation. Whether through quick check-ins, feedback forms, or informal outreach, staying in touch builds trust and surfaces needs before they become problems.

And guess what? In many cases, those conversations actually drive revenue. It is not uncommon to see survey outreach lead to spikes in order volume—not because it was a sales pitch, but because it opened the door to re-engage.

AI only works if you feed it correctly. AI has massive potential to personalize outreach, flag risk signals, and suggest next best actions. But none of that matters if it ingests junk data.

Want AI to alert you when a client hasn’t bought in three months and suggest checking in? Your CRM better be logging purchase activity accurately. Want AI to recommend the right time to ask for feedback or upsell a service? You need updated, contextual client data.

As Gregg says, “These powerful tools need data. They feed on data. If you feed them trash data, you’ll get trash results.”

Breaking down silos builds better CX. The firms winning in the digital age are those fostering collaboration and encouraging CRM adoption as a team sport. The more everyone contributes to a shared data ecosystem, the smarter the outreach and the better the experience.

As Gregg notes, “It’s the difference between a good note taker and a bad one.” When your CRM becomes rich with context, history, and insights, everyone benefits.

Final Takeaways: 3 Moves You Can Make Today

Let’s wrap this up with some quick wins. If you’re in a B2B service business, here are three actions you can take right now to up your CX game:

1. Start asking questions. Just reach out. Ask how clients are doing, what’s on their radar, and how you can help. Feedback isn’t a formality; it’s a relationship builder.
2. Make your CRM sacred. Clean it, enrich it, and trust it. If your data isn’t actionable, fix it. This is the foundation for everything.
3. Embrace client growth as mutual growth. Stop thinking of upselling or cross-selling as pushy. If you understand your client’s journey and act on it, offering more services becomes a natural part of helping them succeed.

Technology is only part of the CX equation. It’s the combination of smart tools, reliable data, real communication, and a team that actually uses what they have that drives standout experiences. So is your CRM helping your customers—or holding you back?

Danny Estrada is the founder of E Squared, a management consulting firm. Throughout his career Danny has been a CRM evangelist and expert at leveraging technology platforms to create business value. He has been a senior director at KPMG and a thought leader for Salesforce and Microsoft, and he was published in an industry whitepaper by the Harvard Business Review.  He also holds an Executive MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

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