Has AI Disrupted Your Marketing Tech Stack?

Are Partners and Marketers on the same page regarding uncovering new revenue opportunities today versus the future? If you can deliver new revenue opportunities today versus 3 years from now, which should have a higher priority regarding your time and budget? Obviously both are important, but I think a partner would say that a “bird in the hand is better than the future potential of a bird someday?” Add a positive contribution to client retention and client satisfaction, and the decision is clear.

By Tim Keith

If you can add a tool to your technology stack that would give you sales leads with little additional analysis, how would you rank it in importance with your other tools? Most professional service partners and owners would put this tool near the top of the list, but would marketers?

As marketers, we have traditionally put our CRM system, email system, and website software at the top of the list as the center of the new client engine. They were the first tools to give us insight into new prospects, but even these tools have been disrupted in their importance in delivering new revenue.

We have all gotten much better at attracting and nurturing future prospects ( i.e. our competitors' clients), so when a new AI tool adds new capabilities that can deliver revenue immediately, will our commitment to the first generation of digital marketing tools get in the way of putting the next generation of tools into practice? Are we flexible enough to see the benefit of new tools that may deliver revenue quicker, or are we stuck in executing our plans that we are blind to the benefit of new opportunities?

How do you respond to the statements?

• Would you rather write an article that may result in leads or contact clients who likely need your service today?
• Would you rather try to lure new clients with digital tools or increase revenue with your current clients?
• Do you think helping your current clients with offerings they didn’t either know you offered or that they would benefit from is a client retention effort or a “nice to do”?
• Are you fighting back against your competitors who are stalking your clients?
• Would you rather continually verbalize disappointment at the low number of services subscribed per client or would you like to give your team an easy to use tool to make a meaningful difference?
• Are your current plans stopping you from seeing new and better options?

If you want to prioritize building stronger relationships with your current clients, improve retention, and drive revenue growth, then you need to challenge conventional thinking and take a look at new generative AI solutions. The days of giving more work to partners are over. We need to give them options served up on a silver platter.

The Reality: Traditional Digital Tools are Passive Platforms

Traditional digital tools like CRM platforms do what they were designed to do. They track contacts, log interactions, and provide visibility into pipeline activity. That structure matters, especially for larger firms that need consistency and accountability.

But, they’re fundamentally passive.

They also require constant input from professionals and marketing staff who are already stretched thin. Notes have to be entered, opportunities need to be updated, and activities must be logged. The value is there, but it’s delayed. You only get something out of the system after putting a lot of time into it.

Even then, getting to a useful answer isn’t always straightforward. Finding helpful insights often requires searching across records, pulling reports, or relying on incomplete information. The data exists, but it isn’t surfaced in a way that makes it easy to act on. Tie in potential miscommunications between professionals, partners, marketing staff, and the clients themselves, and opportunities get even more convoluted.

That’s why CRM usage often becomes more about compliance than actual growth. It’s something professionals maintain because they have to, not because it helps them push business development efforts forward.

New AI Tools Are Driving Immediate Results

AI-powered tools are transforming traditional digital platforms from systems that simply track data into ones that actively guide decisions and next steps.

More importantly, they’re changing how firms are thinking about their technology stack.

Instead of relying on professionals to interpret data, AI tools analyze it continuously and surface what matters:

• Which clients are likely to need additional services
• Where relationships may be at risk
• What actions make sense right now

The more data they process, the more valuable they become. Over time, that creates a compounding effect. The system goes beyond storing information by actually learning from it and providing actual insights that make a difference. That’s why firms that begin using AI tools quickly have a competitive advantage over late adopters.

AI tools like Propense take existing firm data and turn it into something usable. Instead of asking professionals to search for insights, they deliver them directly: which clients are likely to need additional services, where relationships may be at risk, and what actions make the most sense.

That’s a fundamental shift from tracking activity to driving action.

Are These AI Tools Designed for Partners, Professionals, or Marketing Teams?

There’s also a disconnect in how these systems are used within firms.

Traditional CRM platforms are typically implemented and managed by marketing or operations teams. They’re structured around reporting, segmentation, and visibility across the firm.

But the people expected to rely on them for business development efforts are partners and client-facing professionals whose day-to-day needs don’t always align with how the system is set up.

They’re not looking for more systems to manage. They want:

• Clarity on where opportunities exist
• Confidence in their client conversations
• Direction on what to do next

When a tool removes friction and delivers immediate value, adoption follows.

That’s why AI-powered solutions like Propense are gaining traction, particularly with senior managers and partners. The experience is completely different from what you’d find in a traditional CRM. Instead of navigating dashboards or running reports, professionals are presented with prioritized opportunities and relevant context from the start.

Shifting Focus to the Clients You Already Have

If the goal is to generate revenue today, not just pipeline for tomorrow, then your existing clients should be the priority.

The right AI tools make that possible by identifying where additional services align with real client needs, often before the client asks.

Tools like Hatfield extend this even further.

Acting as an always-on client service partner, Hatfield continuously monitors a professional’s book of business. It tracks milestones, anticipates needs, and surfaces insights at the right moment, helping professionals show up prepared without adding to their workload.

The result is a more proactive client experience that strengthens relationships while uncovering new opportunities.

Case Study: What AI-Powered CRM Tools Look Like in Practice

Bennett Thrasher, an Inside Public Accounting Top 100 firm, faced a challenge familiar to many firms: with thousands of clients across industries, service lines, and locations, identifying cross-sell opportunities was time-consuming and inconsistent. Even with strong teams in place, it was difficult to maintain a complete picture of their growth opportunities.

After implementing Propense, everything changed.

By analyzing time and billing data alongside CRM data, Propense helped the firm pinpoint specific, actionable opportunities across its client base. Instead of broad assumptions, growth teams could generate highly targeted lists—such as single service audit clients in a specific industry above a certain revenue threshold—and bring those insights directly into business development conversations with partners.

That shift matters. Instead of asking, “Where should we look?” teams are starting with, “Here’s where we can act.”

It also made collaboration easier. With clearer data and more relevant recommendations, growth teams and partners could align faster on which opportunities were worth pursuing and which services made sense for each client.

As Tyler Houk, Senior Growth & Strategy Associate at Bennett Thrasher, said, “If someone asks a question about our clients, I go to Propense first because it’s configured our data in a way I can actually manipulate.”

The Risk of Prioritizing the Wrong Tools

CRM systems aren’t going away, and they still play an important role. Relying on them alone, however, creates a perilous gap.

Firms that layer in AI-driven tools like Propense and Hatfield are able to move faster. They surface opportunities earlier, act on them more consistently, and show up to client conversations better prepared.

Firms that don’t remain dependent on manual processes and fragmented insights to keep pace. Over time, that difference compounds—along with the revenue gap.

What Are You Really Buying?

At a basic level, traditional CRM platforms and new AI-powered tools serve different purposes.

A CRM platform helps you organize and track information.

AI helps you use it.

One supports the possibility of future revenue.

The other helps you act on revenue opportunities that already exist.

Firms don’t need to replace their CRM, but they do need to rethink how they prioritize the tools in their technology stack. If a tool can help you generate revenue today, it shouldn’t sit behind tools that only support what might happen tomorrow.

Platforms like Propense and Hatfield are already proving that shift, identifying approximately $33 billion in uncaptured revenue for nearly 20% of the top 100 CPA firms in the U.S. since its inception in 2023.

Schedule a demo to learn how Propense and Hatfield can strengthen your firm’s marketing tech stack while supporting long-term growth.