• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 17, 2025

On top of all their other problems, small businesses suffer from fragmented sales and marketing tech stacks. Nimble is an engagement platform that is working to discourage this use of disconnected tool sets with confusing pricing models and hidden upgrade costs. 

“Small businesses are being nickel-and-dimed just to manage basic sales and marketing functions,” says Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble. “You start with a CRM, but it won’t handle marketing emails. Then you add an email marketing solution, but it doesn’t manage sales outreach. Soon you're trapped, juggling multiple disconnected platforms, each adding unnecessary costs and complexity without ever truly working together.”

In the interest of full disclosure, Nimble is offering what it says is a solution to this problem. One user is Valoir. 

“Nimble’s integrated approach to CRM and email marketing streamlines customer engagement by aligning sales and marketing teams on a single platform,” says Rebecca Wettemann, CEO and principal analyst at Valoir. This approach eliminates siloes, she says, adding that with "built-in automations and a shared customer view, businesses can drive meaningful interactions, improve efficiency, and accelerate growth while streamlining technology management.”

Viveka von Rosen -- founder of Beyond the Dream Board, another Nimble client -- says Nimble has been very helpful in simplifying her sales and marketing tools. “Previously, multiple disconnected apps drained my budget and time. Nimble brought everything into one easy-to-use sales and marketing platform, streamlining workflows, cutting costs, and freeing me to focus on building meaningful relationships.”

Don't take this as a product endorsement. But this is a serious issue that SMBs need to solve.