Tom Seebold

Most brands treat their CRM like a broadcast channel, i.e. "Send more, send faster, stay top of mind, optimise for clicks". I think that's the wrong frame entirely. Every message you send and every digital journey you construct, either builds or erodes the relationship your customer has with your brand — and most businesses never measure that. I think they should. I run Intentive, a lifecycle and CRM consultancy that works across the full customer arc from acquisition through to retention and everything in between. We do the strategy and the execution, across email, SMS, RCS and conversational channels. We're not an email agency that's retrofitted a broader story. We've always thought "omnichannel" before it became a buzzword, because that's what customers actually experience. Over the past decade I've done this at scale — building retention systems at EE, running lifecycle programmes for Audible and The New York Times, and delivering CRM strategy for brands like Kaplan, Elizabeth Scarlett and Sons. The work that matters most to me is where CRM thinking goes beyond channel selection and into how the brand actually makes people feel over time. I'm also building something specifically for higher education admissions teams — a tool that surfaces which dormant leads are showing real intent signals and should be spoken to now. If that's your world, I'd love to hear from you. If you need proper lifecycle CRM support, or you just want to talk about where this space is heading, send a message 📥