--- title: The Difference between a CRM and a Marketing Automation Platform description: In the last 10 years, automated platforms have redefined the sales and marketing process. Companies have been continuously striving to implement new ways to align the efforts of both teams. image: https://blog.vablet.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/vablet-blog-crm-v-ma.png --- [![Screen Shot 2025-01-27 at 1.10.38 PM](https://blog.vablet.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202025-01-27%20at%201.10.38%20PM.png)](https://www.vablet.com/) - Why vablet? - [Platform Features](https://www.vablet.com/platform-features/) - [Enterprise Content Management](https://www.vablet.com/enterprise-content-management/) - [Closed Loop Marketing](https://www.vablet.com/closed-loop-marketing/) - [Mobile Content Management](https://www.vablet.com/mobile-content-management-platform/) - [Sales Enablement](https://www.vablet.com/sales-enablement/) - [Integrations](https://www.vablet.com/integrations/) - Who uses vablet? - [Marketing Teams](https://www.vablet.com/marketing-teams/) - [Sales Teams](https://www.vablet.com/sales-professionals/) - [On-boarding and Training](https://www.vablet.com/training-organizations/) - Industries - [Life Science](https://www.vablet.com/life-sciences/) - [Manufacturing and Distributor Sales Field](https://www.vablet.com/manufacturing-and-distributor-mobile-sales/) - [Services and Maintenance](https://www.vablet.com/professional-services/) - [Financial Services](https://www.vablet.com/financial-services/) - [Digital Marketing and Agency](https://www.vablet.com/digital-marketing-agency/) - Resources - [Blog & News](https://www.vablet.com/vablet-blog/) - [Learning Center](https://www.vablet.com/learning-center/) - [Partners](https://www.vablet.com/partners/) - [Pricing](https://www.vablet.com/pricing/) - [Contact Our Team](https://www.vablet.com/contact-our-team/) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.vablet.com/privacy-policy/) [CUSTOMER LOGIN](https://admin2.vablet.com/) [GET A DEMO](https://info.vablet.com/get-a-demo) Sales # The Difference between a CRM and a Marketing Automation Platform In the last 10 years, automated platforms have redefined the sales and marketing process. Companies have been continuously striving to implement new ways to align the efforts of both teams. [Debbie Marks](https://blog.vablet.com/author/debbie-marks) Jul 5, 2017 --- In the last 10 years, automated platforms have redefined the sales and marketing process. Companies have been continuously striving to implement new ways to align the efforts of both teams. Companies that have succeeded, work under common sets of definitions of each stage of the sales cycle and utilize RPM disciplines that allow them to quicken and increase sales conversion. This post, however, is going to revisit the concept of sales and marketing and redefine the objectives of both as the separate entities that they are. Let’s begin with a CRM. The most important tool for customer relationship management is a CRM.  A CRM is the solution for prospect and customer record-keeping and is used by the sales teams to track all activities that occur with each contact and account. A CRM records and tracks things like phone conversations, e-mails, downloaded publications, appointments, meetings and more. All this is documented and kept in the CRM for sales teams, CEOs and CMOs to access at any given time. Depending on the type of CRM you are looking to adopt, each one has its own interface. For the most part, a CRM is populated with the following modules: **Home **– Your Home page **Calendar **– Timeline of your events **Dashboard**– Graphical representation of your sales pipeline **Leads** – Cold calls **Contacts** – Your contact at the Account **Account**– Company name **Opportunities** – Progress report **Activities** – Schedule calls and meeting When data is kept clean and each new activity is properly documented, these modules produce a sales pipeline report that reveals the entire status of a company’s sales effort. Your sales pipeline ensures that you have clear objectives and that you are able to influence the buying behaviors of your prospects. On the other side of the spectrum, is a marketing automation platform; a system that enables marketers to do more with less while eliminating the entire manual marketing process. From lead nurturing to email campaign execution, from demand generation to segmentation, a marketing automation platform enables organizations to execute unitary and multi-channel campaigns with a single click while having access to the buyer journey at the same time. The right automation technology in the hands of a sophisticated marketer means executing campaigns like never before – automatically, with precision and with the ability to imagine any workflow possible and make it happen. Marketing automation creates programs that run lead scores and manage data while taking up an end-to-end responsibility of running any campaign with minimum manual effort, time and money investment. While a CRM takes care of the sales department and allows it to have access to any and all information pertaining to individual contacts, a marketing automation program elevates marketers to a whole new level of marketing campaign execution. Have you considered which automated solutions you will be using for your sales and marketing efforts? [Sales](https://blog.vablet.com/tag/sales) [sales enablement software](https://blog.vablet.com/tag/sales-enablement-software) [align sales and marketing](https://blog.vablet.com/tag/align-sales-and-marketing) [sales enablement](https://blog.vablet.com/tag/sales-enablement) ## Similar posts Sales ### [Customer Engagement: The Secret Ingredient of Sales Success](https://blog.vablet.com/customer-engagement-sales-success) Consumers have high expectations in terms of user experience when shopping online. Debbie Marks Feb 15, 2017 Sales ### [Making On-Demand Training Easy](https://blog.vablet.com/making-on-demand-training-easy) The ability to have training materials at their fingertips gives sales reps an instant resource for research and builds confidence in sales meetings. Debbie Marks Mar 20, 2016 Sales ### [Top 5 Management & Leadership Tips for Proactive Sales Execs](https://blog.vablet.com/top-5-management-leadership-tips-proactive-sales-execs) Sales execs are responsible for setting the tone and culture of a sales organization, and they have the ability to make or break a company’s fortunes. Debbie Marks Oct 30, 2017 ### Get notified on new marketing insights Be the first to know about new B2B SaaS Marketing insights to build or refine your marketing function with the tools and knowledge of today’s industry. © 2025 vablet  All Rights Reserved | [Data Processing Policy ](https://www.vablet.com/data_processing/)| [Cookie Policy](https://www.vablet.com/cookie_policy/) | [Privacy Policy](https://vablet.com/privacy-policy/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Debbie Marks", "url" : "https://blog.vablet.com/author/debbie-marks" }, "dateModified" : "2021-03-25T22:25:42.673Z", "datePublished" : "2017-07-05T08:27:57.000Z", "headline" : "The Difference between a CRM and a Marketing Automation Platform", "image" : [ "https://blog.vablet.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/vablet-blog-crm-v-ma.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.vablet.com/difference-crm-marketing-automation-platform-2", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.vablet.com/hubfs/vablet%20assets/vablet%20224x164.png" }, "name" : "Meiotic, Inc." } } ```