Did We Just Get the First CRM Actually Built for B2C?

This week on Funnel Frontier: No more piecing together 16 disconnected tools. The first CRM for consumer brands is here.

This week:

• The first CRM actually built for B2C?
• CRM heavyweights are fighting for the future of AI Agents—who’s winning?
• The CRM checklist no one talks about 
• Inspiration Friday: How Lush turns customers into die-hard fans
• Worried your agents are close to burnout? Here’s what to do.

Stat of the Week

91% of businesses report a reduction in customer acquisition costs (CAC) after implementing CRM software, with nearly half experiencing cost savings between 11% and 20%. (CRM.org)

The first CRM actually built for B2C?

B2B brands have Salesforce. Enterprise giants have Microsoft. But what about consumer brands—the ones selling sneakers, skincare, and subscriptions?

Klaviyo says they’ve been stuck piecing together 16+ disconnected tools just to keep up.

That’s why Klaviyo just launched Klaviyo B2C CRM, claiming it’s the first (and only) CRM actually built for consumer brands.

This isn’t just another CRM with a fancy marketing pitch—it’s powered by Klaviyo Data Platform (KDP) and fuses marketing, analytics, and customer service into one place.

Think of it as a CRM designed for brands that sell at scale, need real-time insights, and want fewer customer support headaches and more repeat buyers.

What’s inside Klaviyo B2C CRM?

Klaviyo Marketing → Omnichannel campaigns, personalized outreach, and automated engagement across email, SMS, and in-app messaging.

Klaviyo Analytics → AI-powered insights that identify high-value vs. at-risk customers, track engagement, and automate retention strategies.

Klaviyo Service → The Customer Hub lets shoppers track orders, manage subscriptions, start returns, and (ideally) spend more money—all in one place.

AI-Powered Shopping Agent → A bot that answers product questions directly on product pages—helping shoppers pick the right size, compare options, and even convert without needing a live agent.

Behind it all, KDP crunches customer, purchase, and behavioral data, making it instantly actionable. With 350+ pre-built integrations and open APIs, you can plug it into your existing tech stack without a 6-month IT project.

Does this B2C CRM actually work? Early adopters say yes.

Klaviyo’s B2C CRM isn’t just a concept—it’s already showing results:

Happy Wax cut order-tracking inquiries by 75%, freeing up customer service teams and driving repeat purchases.

Brands using Customer Hub are seeing shoppers self-serve more, reducing support tickets.

AI-driven insights are helping businesses target high-value customers faster—without the guesswork.

How is this CRM different?

Klaviyo isn’t just launching another CRM—it’s calling out the competition. CEO Andrew Bialecki put it bluntly:

“B2B CRMs transformed sales, but consumer brands need a system designed for them. This is a natural step forward for Klaviyo.”

Translation: Salesforce is great for B2B, but if you’re selling to actual people, you need something built for high-volume, fast-moving consumer interactions.

And with ServiceNow entering CRM, Google sniffing around HubSpot, and rumors of Amazon making a move, the CRM space is heating up.

So—is Klaviyo actually onto something? Or just another player in the CRM land grab?

The Week @ CRM.org

CRM Best Practices. Using a CRM properly is like cooking—here’s your recipe for avoiding the mess (with famous company examples!). 

10 Best Sales CRMs for 2025. Selling is part art, part science—and part automation. We’ve found the top CRMs that take the guesswork out of closing deals.

Weekly Bloom

5 Ways to Create a High-Performance Team. Investors today value a quality team over the founding idea. So ditch the ego and focus on building a dynamic, inclusive group.

CRM heavyweights are fighting for the future of AI Agents—who’s winning?

Remember when AI was just a nice-to-have? Now, it’s an all-out war, and the biggest names in CRM are throwing AI agents at the problem like they’re confetti at a billionaire’s wedding.

Salesforce, Microsoft, and ServiceNow are all flexing their AI muscles, each claiming they’ve got the ultimate AI assistant to handle customer interactions, automate workflows, and basically make old-school SaaS look obsolete.

Let’s break down what’s happening—because, honestly, it’s a lot.

Salesforce: The Agentforce invasion

Marc Benioff isn’t just selling AI—he’s selling Agentforce world domination.

Salesforce closed 5,000 Agentforce deals since October, and Benioff says it’s the company’s fastest-growing product ever. He’s even calling this the “Quarter of Agentforce.”

And it’s not just Fortune 100 clients buying in—companies like OpenTable, Goodyear, and Pfizer are already using Agentforce to handle customer service, speed up sales cycles, and even optimize clinical trials.

However, all this AI magic depends on Salesforce Data Cloud, which just hit 50 trillion records. That’s great… unless Agentforce turns out to be overly dependent on it. If Data Cloud adoption stalls, Agentforce might hit a wall.

Microsoft: Lamanna vs. Benioff, Round 3

Meanwhile, over at Microsoft, Corporate VP Charles Lamanna is taking not-so-subtle jabs at Salesforce.

Just days after Benioff’s earnings call, Lamanna casually dropped a LinkedIn post boasting that Microsoft has deployed thousands of AI agents—both internally and for customers.

He even tagged Benioff, just to make sure he saw it. (Classic move.)

Benioff has repeatedly called Copilot “repackaged ChatGPT”, slammed it as “Clippy 2.0,” and questioned Microsoft’s entire AI agent strategy.

Microsoft, in return, is doubling down, replacing Genesys with its own AI-powered Dynamics 365 Contact Center and claiming its agents are already reshaping enterprise workflows.

The ongoing Microsoft vs. Salesforce AI war is getting spicy.

ServiceNow: Forget feuds, just automate everything

While Salesforce and Microsoft are throwing shade, ServiceNow is actually out here launching products.

Their latest move? Industry-specific AI agents.

At Mobile World Congress, ServiceNow announced new AI-powered assistants for telecoms and manufacturing—designed to handle everything from network issue detection to billing complaints and even field service scheduling.

ServiceNow’s play is different: instead of competing in the big SaaS showdown, they’re leaning into niche, high-impact AI that businesses can deploy without tearing apart their entire tech stack.

And it’s working. Their “platform of platforms” approach is gaining traction, giving IT teams an AI solution that doesn’t require them to buy into the whole ServiceNow ecosystem just to see value.

So, who’s winning the AI agent race?

Depends on how you look at it.

• Salesforce is betting on Agentforce as the future of enterprise AI. It’s got scale, big customers, and serious adoption—but its reliance on Data Cloud could be a weakness.

• Microsoft is positioning Copilot as the Swiss Army knife of AI agents, but the feud with Salesforce makes it harder to tell what’s real and what’s PR warfare.

• ServiceNow is skipping the drama and focusing on specialized AI for specific industries. It’s a smart, long-term play that’s flying under the radar… for now.

Either way, the battle for AI supremacy is heating up—and we’re just getting started.

Stellar Strategies: Tips & Tricks for Sales, Marketing & Service

The CRM checklist no one talks about

Hard to believe, but your CRM might be a silent deal killer. Make sure you’ve got the real deal.

Most CRM checklists are the same snoozefest: ease of use, automation, integrations. Sure, those things are nice—but do they actually help you close deals?

If you already have a CRM but it feels like nothing more than an overpriced contact list, or you’re about to switch and want to avoid an expensive mistake, here are the features that actually matter.

1. Scalability without the headaches

A CRM should grow with your team, not hold you hostage with pricey add-ons and painful migrations. The best ones let you scale users, features, and integrations without an existential crisis every year.

2. Predictive lead scoring

Your gut feeling isn’t a strategy. A smart CRM tells you which deals will actually close by analyzing behavior—not just some dusty demographic data.

3. Pipeline health alerts

Tracking deals is fine. Knowing when they’re dying? Game-changer. If a deal is stalling—ignored emails, radio silence, slow cycles—your CRM should be waving a big red flag before it’s too late.

4. Ghosted deal detection

We’ve all been there: a red-hot prospect suddenly disappears. The best CRMs spot ghosting patterns, predict why it’s happening, and suggest the next move.

5. AI-powered call summaries

Your CRM should be summarizing calls, identifying objections, and even suggesting next steps. If your reps are still frantically typing up notes, you’re already behind.

If you’re nodding along thinking, Yeah, my CRM is just a glorified spreadsheet—it’s time for an upgrade. Check out our top picks for sales CRM in 2025.

Inspiration Friday: How Lush turns customers into die-hard fans

Some brands talk about values. Lush lives them. That’s why it’s not just another beauty brand—it’s a community powerhouse with customer service that makes people want to stick around.

Lush doesn’t just sell bath bombs and skincare; it builds trust, transparency, and emotional connections at every touchpoint. The result? A brand that doesn’t need gimmicks to keep customers coming back.

What Lush gets right (that others don’t)

Brand Values That Actually Mean Something

Lush’s commitment to cruelty-free, sustainable, and ethical sourcing isn’t a marketing checkbox—it’s a core part of its business. Customers don’t just buy products; they buy into a movement they believe in.

Employees Who Feel Like Friends, Not Salespeople

Walk into a Lush store, and you’ll find staff who actually know their products (and care). Lus employees are trained to help, not sell—offering tailored advice rather than generic pitches.

Transparency first approach

Lush doesn’t just say they use ethical ingredients—they show customers where every ingredient comes from. Product labels, in-store displays, and online descriptions break down sourcing, sustainability, and impact, building instant trust.

Steal These Lush Strategies for Your Own Brand

• Make your values clear—and actually stick to them. Customers spot fake a mile away.

• Build a customer service team that gives a damn. Real engagement beats robotic scripts every time.

• Create moments that matter. Surprise customers with thoughtful gestures, not just discount codes.

Want more brands that are setting the bar in customer service? Check out the full list here.

Worried your agents are close to burnout? Here’s what to do.

Contact centers have changed—agents aren’t just answering simple calls anymore. They’re handling high-stakes, emotionally charged interactions across multiple channels, all while juggling new AI-driven tools. But instead of making their jobs easier, these changes are making work more complex and exhausting.

According to Calabrio’s Voice of the Agent study, 31% of agents say their jobs have become harder in the past year. If contact centers want to retain top talent, they need to rethink how AI, scheduling, and management strategies actually impact their teams.

1. Stop making AI their enemy

AI was supposed to handle the repetitive, mind-numbing tasks. But instead, it’s leaving agents with only the hardest cases. The fix? 

Use conversation intelligence to analyze why customers are reaching out in the first place—then work with marketing and product teams to reduce those pain points. Less unnecessary friction = happier agents.

2. Scheduling - the most overlooked hack

Let’s be real: a high-tech chatbot sounds sexier than a scheduling tool. But when nearly half of agents feel they have zero control over their schedules, that’s a problem. Flexible scheduling that adapts to demand (and gives agents some autonomy) reduces stress and increases retention. And yes, the tech exists to make it happen.

3. Balance AI and human needs

Throwing more automation at a broken system won’t magically fix it. Contact centers need to balance efficiency with agent well-being—that means smarter staffing, better training, and supporting your agents instead of overloading them:

• Employee well-being alongside performance metrics

• Hybrid work options and social engagement initiatives

• AI-driven demand forecasting to adjust staffing before issues arise

Want the full picture? Download Calabrio’s Voice of the Agent full survey.

Galactic Gourmet

CRM blips from around the web

Teleperformance Uses AI to Make Staff Sound Less Indian. Teleperformance is using AI to neutralize Indian call center agents’ accents in real time, aiming to improve customer comprehension and agent efficiency. But is this a practical upgrade or a troubling ethical dilemma?

HubSpot and Canva Join Forces to Streamline Content Creation. HubSpot is integrating Canva’s full design suite and AI tools directly into its platform, allowing users to create, collaborate, and publish visuals without leaving HubSpot.

Salesforce Expands Partnership with Google Cloud. Salesforce is integrating Google’s Gemini AI into Agentforce, enabling more advanced AI agents with real-time data access and multi-modal capabilities. Businesses can now deploy Salesforce apps on Google Cloud.

Astronomical Assets

Significant moves in the past 7 days

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