But, you don’t need CRM, you need a Superfan Engine

Having been a vocal advocate for CRM for years, it’s both heartening and faintly amusing to watch the music industry rediscover it like a long-lost treasure. The newfound enthusiasm is welcome. But also, if we’re honest, slightly terrifying. Because unless we rethink how we use it, CRM risks becoming just another megaphone in an already overcrowded space.

Let’s be blunt: the industry’s addiction to social media and the sugar rush of vanity metrics led us down a tactical cul-de-sac, dressed up as strategy. Likes, comments, and streams were never a proxy for meaningful connection. They were dopamine hits, not strategy. And this obsession with the ‘cheap and simple’ left us with a short-term playbook, a thinning frontline, and a disengaged fanbase. I don't remember the need to own the final-fan-connection ever going away, even though CRM did.

CRM won't unlock the thoughts of the fan

Now CRM is back on the radar. But here’s the problem: most will treat it like a one-way broadcast channel. Another place for “BUY NOW!” messages. Another silo. Another wasted opportunity.

“BUT HERE’S THE CATCH: CRM PLATFORMS AREN’T INSIGHT PLATFORMS.”

CRM : Stop Broadcasting and Start Bonding

Used well, it’s a space for conversation. A place to listen, to learn, and to build real relationships. Especially with the people who matter most: the superfans. These aren’t just consumers to milk. They’re advocates. Co-creators. Story-sharers, the digital street teams. And they’re hungry for meaning, not marketing spam.

But here’s the catch: CRM platforms aren’t insight platforms. Even the most diligent marketer risks making decisions based on ‘WHAT’ data - that digital ‘exhaust’ from socials - instead of the deeper human truths that explain the ‘WHY’. That’s exactly why we built the Superfan Engine, because CRM isn’t frankly enough.

But, The Superfan Engine isn’t a CRM platform.

If you think of CRM as a Nokia 3310 – best in class, more units shipped than its closest revival, sturdy, reliable, gets the job done. You can call, text, even blast out a polyphonic banger while playing Snake II. As I say, gets the job done, facilitates communication.

But the Superfan Engine? That’s the iPhone 16 Pro Max with LiDAR, 6.9” 8K OLED Always-On Touchscreen, FaceID, A18 Pro chip, AI assistant that finishes your sentence & writes your emails…you get my point.

“THE SUPERFAN ENGINE ISN’T JUST A CONTACT LIST WITH A SEND BUTTON. IT’S A FULLY INTEGRATED FAN ENGAGEMENT + ACTIVATION SYSTEM”

Superfan Engine is not just a contact list with a send button. It’s a fully integrated fan engagement + activation system that brings together:

Qual insight
Quant research
Attitudinal segmentation
Fan communities
Activation tools
…and CRM

It’s all been designed to do one thing: turn fan understanding into real-world growth. We’ve taken the most powerful part of CRM - the ability to engage directly - stripped it down and rebuilt it for the modern fan era.

Real-time insight.
Real-time dialogue.
Real-time 2-way engagement.
Opt-in fan panels.
Behavioural and emotional segmentation.

Tools that go way beyond email blasts.

“…A SUPERCHARGED, TURBO-BOOSTED, NITRO-INJECTED FAN RELATIONSHIP ENGINE, BABY!””

The result?

A system that listens before it speaks.
That segments emotionally, not just transactionally.
That delivers meaning, not just messages.
And that’s fast, cost-effective, and scalable.

CRM was a Rolodex. This is a supercharged, turbo-boosted, nitro-injected fan relationship engine, baby!

A New Philosophy for Fan Relationships

Whatever ‘relationship-management’ tool you use, shouldn’t be for squeezing more out of fans. It should be a framework for growing with them. For listening. For learning. For building legacy, not just landing pages.

“SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY THE ‘R’ IN ‘CRM’ STOPPED BEING ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS”

Final thought:

Somewhere along the way the 'R' in ‘CRM’ stopped being about relationships and started being about reminders, for many. Usually, to just buy stuff.

That ‘relationship’ is not a tactic. It’s a philosophy. Treat it like a broadcast channel and it will disappoint. Treat it like a relationship tool, to listen, to learn and to grow, and the commercial upside is vast. But the problem is no CRM platform can really deliver this combination of benefits.

Next Edition for The Superfan Formula, we’ll show what this looks like in practice, using the humble (and often mishandled) boxset as a case study for how fan relationships, when powered by insight, can transform products, campaigns and long-term loyalty.

In the meantime, if you're serious about growth in all its forms - really serious that is - then get in contact to arrange a demo and find out more about how the SUPERFAN ENGINE can absolutely change your life.

Tell next time mon ami.