CRM style email tracking function - looking for ideas

Similar to Mark Shnier, I've used Pipeline/Mailgun, Zapier/logic testing, and Gmail connectors to handle ticketing and ticketing email for a ticket system.

With the recent advances in Pipeline and access to more channels, you could probably do all of these within the QB and your email provider's universe. 

tldr; 
I put together a ticketing system for Helpdesk like Mark did. I did this back when we had just a limited number of Pipeline channels available ...

1. Specialized Google Email Box with single purpose in mind
2. Database App in QB - a place for new Tickets
3. Incoming Email:
   1. Zap that watches the mailbox for new incoming email
   2. If the incoming email (could be via a contact "reply") contains ticket Number in subject treat as "update" if no ticket number, then treat as NEW. 
   3. Branch logic in Zapier that either CREATES a new ticket in an "interstitial table" OR directly updates an existing ticket. 
4. Outgoing Email: 
   1. Individual ticket updates allow email push. 
   2. Pipeline Monitors the QB for email push for new/update
   3. Use Pipeline MailGun channel to send customized email notice with custom data payload, Email Subject shows ticket nr.
   4. Use the Tech involved as the FROM, and the general email box as the REPLYTO
   5. The update to the ticket system that is turned into email is it's own record.  
   6. Email is then fired off. 

Using some features both in Zapier (inbound) and Pipelines (outbound) you can do a zillion different text matching tests.  Zapier now offers "tables" for storing data - so in theory you could probably push a data from quickbase to zapier to maintain a list of contacts for improved handling.  You could likewise maintain that list in QB and with a query, also CC assigned account reps, etc.