Let’s address the elephant in the room: when you hear “CRM 3.0,” your first instinct might be to dismiss it as another empty buzzword in the endless parade of “digital transformation” hype.
We get it. We’ve all sat through those presentations.
But stop what you are doing… Something profound is happening beneath the surface, a fundamental shift that’s redefining the customer relationship landscape. This isn’t just an incremental update or a marketing rebrand, it’s a change in how brands build lasting relationships in an AI, mind-reading, personal, data-driven world!
The Era of Traditional CRM has Come to an End
We recently read an interview with Amy Lanzi, CEO of Digitas North America, where she explained the shift. According to Lanzi, we’ve reached a pivotal moment where commerce and marketing are no longer separate functions but have fundamentally converged.
“It’s not just about points and loyalty cards any more,” she says. “It’s about using information to deliver better experiences that make you faster, stronger, which leads to real loyalty. We’re moving from ‘like’ to ‘love’ to true loyalty.”
As Amy explains, this isn’t just managing relationships anymore; it’s all about the experience, and brands are winning with their CRM by combining first-party data powered by AI-driven workflows. Are you collecting data but failing to use it or understand it? You are still in CRM 1.5 mode, my friend.
Let’s Talk About How CRM Has Grown Up
Remember the early days of the internet? That “read-only” Web 1.0 era gave us CRM 1.0 – pretty much just a digital brochure pushing information at customers to help them make decisions. Not exactly a two-way street!
Then came Web 2.0, when we all got to join the conversation (Hello!), and CRM had to level up too! CRM 2.0 was all about getting customers to engage, comment, and share, tapping into our social side and building communities around brands.
And now? We’re stepping into something really exciting – Web 3.0! Way smarter with AI and machine learning doing the heavy lifting. Every interaction becomes unique, like having a personal conversation rather than reading from a script.
AI’s new role in commerce and CRM
It’s no secret that AI is disrupting the digital world. Last year, generative AI became one of the top CRM trends, with 83% of businesses exceeding their sales goals with its intelligence. Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, is the perfect example of this evolution. It analyses over 40,000 product reviews and customer data points and then has the power to provide recommendations that are completely relevant to that customer.
It’s a glimpse into what is coming in the future. Imagine this – “We can imagine a world where Rufus orders things for you based on your habits – where agents are talking to agents.”
The future of the tech stack (Marketing Stack)
As an agency, we’ve spoken about how Martech stacks are evolving, we’re finding more and more organisations moving away from all-in-one CRM systems and instead asking us to implement a more agile CRM stack consisting of multiple systems that serve a singular function each. We have previously explored in this article, “Goodbye All-in-One CRM, Hello Custom CRM Stacks”.
You don’t need every tool in the world, only a select few! “It depends on the organisation,” Lanzi says. If your goal is a broad reach, a complex tech stack might not be necessary. But if you’re aiming for personalisation and efficiency, you absolutely need the right tools.
“CRM is having a major blow-up moment”
So what is this big revelation? Well, the old silos are crumbling. CRM, commerce, media, AI, and storytelling aren’t separate lanes anymore – they’re becoming one powerful, interconnected highway.
As Lanzi says, “CRM is having a major blow-up moment. It’s about knowing your customer, creating better experiences – and it’s going to be the engine of the next wave of brand growth.”
Think about it, when you are scrolling through TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, what is it that catches your eye? It’s not the boring, generic emails that are being blasted to everyone. (As we call it, the spray and pray – urgh), It’s the authentic, compelling brand stories that feel real.
At WeDoCRM, we’ve seen this transformation up close. Consumers today crave connection. They want to know the human behind the brand, understand its values, and feel like they’re part of something meaningful.
Brands that understand this? They’re the ones winning hearts, minds, and market share.
Is Your Business Ready for CRM 3.0?
The future of customer relationships isn’t coming, it’s here.
Ask yourself:
- Is your current CRM smart enough to know what your customers need before they even ask?
- Does your commerce experience feel smooth and connected, no matter where customers interact with you?
- Are you making the most of zero-party data in a way that’s respectful and privacy-friendly?
- And can your customer experience shift in real time, based on what’s happening in the moment?
If you’re thinking “not quite” to any of these, you’re not alone, and we’ve got insights that can help. Dive into our expert insights, explore real-world strategies, and find out what it takes to thrive in CRM 3.0.
Explore our articles that can help you:
- Why businesses are exploring alternative CRM platforms
- How AI is transforming the future of CRM
- How to break free from outdated CRM systems
If you’re still working with outdated systems or struggling to make your data do something, now’s the time to rethink.
Our CRM experts are here to help you navigate this new era of AI-driven, personalised, agile, and effective.
We are so excited for the new dawn of the CRM era; we are here for it, and so should you. Want to know more about it or need additional CRM support? We would love to talk to you.
Get in touch with us, we look forward to hearing from you!
