In this article, we will explore the significance of marketing and sales alignment for business success, discuss the benefits of alignment, such as increased revenue, enhanced customer experience, and efficient operations, and provide actionable strategies to ensure your organization operates cohesively.

Building a collaborative environment

Establishing a collaborative environment is fundamental for marketing and sales alignment. A shared sense of purpose and mutual respect can bridge the gaps between these departments. A workplace where both teams feel valued and supported fosters trust and boosts overall performance.

Developing a service level agreement (SLA) is one way to stimulate collaboration. An SLA clarifies expectations, outlines roles and responsibilities, and sets key performance indicators (KPIs) that both teams can strive towards. This promotes accountability and simplifies expectation management.

Frequent check-ins enable both teams to communicate openly, exchange insights and data, address challenges, and realign goals and strategies. This continuous dialogue facilitates improvement and fortifies the relationship between marketing and sales.

Aligning on the buyer’s and workforce’s Journey

Synchronizing marketing and sales efforts around the buyer’s and workforce’s journeys is crucial for delivering outstanding customer experiences. This shared understanding allows for identifying key touchpoints where marketing and sales teams can collaborate, providing a consistent experience for prospects and customers while addressing the needs and concerns of the employees serving them. Considering both aspects, you can craft a seamless experience for prospects, customers, and your internal team, resulting in higher conversion rates and a more unified organization.

Developing detailed buyer and workforce personas is an effective way to understand and target the right audience and shape your internal culture. Marketing and sales teams can pinpoint their ideal customers’ common characteristics, pain points, and motivations, crafting personalized and relevant messaging that resonates with prospects. Simultaneously, comprehending your workforce’s personas enables you to cultivate an environment that promotes employee growth, engagement, and satisfaction.

Streamlining processes and leveraging technology

Optimizing processes and employing technology can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing and sales teams. Adopting the appropriate tools and implementing well-defined processes empower both teams to collaborate more seamlessly, ultimately driving exceptional customer experiences.

Defining the lead qualification and scoring process is a critical area to address. Establishing the criteria for qualifying leads enables marketing teams to pass high-quality prospects to sales, saving time and increasing the chances of closing deals. Sales teams can then prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, ensuring their efforts are focused on the most promising prospects.

Implementing CRM and marketing automation tools is essential for keeping both teams organized, sharing information effectively, and maintaining alignment on their goals and strategies. Integrating these tools into workflows streamlines processes enhances communication, and fosters collaboration.

Measuring and analyzing shared key performance indicators (KPIs) is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of the strategies in place. Regularly tracking these metrics allows both teams to identify areas for improvement, adjust their tactics accordingly, and ensure their efforts are aligned and focused on delivering the best possible customer experiences.

Crafting consistent messaging and content

A consistent and coherent brand story is vital for building trust and resonating with your target audience. Sales and marketing teams play a crucial role in shaping this narrative by aligning their messaging and collaborating on content creation.

Both teams should collaborate to ensure their messaging is consistent across all channels, including emails, social media, website content, and other touchpoints where prospects and customers interact with the brand. Maintaining a cohesive and compelling brand story can create a solid and memorable impression that sets you apart from the competition.

Sales and marketing teams should also join forces in content creation. Collaborating on developing relevant and engaging content enables both groups to leverage their unique insights and expertise better to address their target audience’s needs and pain points. This not only helps to nurture leads but also aids in closing sales and fostering long-term relationships with customers.

Lastly, it’s essential to encourage a culture of feedback and continuous improvement. By maintaining an open line of communication, marketing and sales teams can learn from each other’s experiences, adapt to new challenges, and continually refine their approach to deliver the most remarkable customer experiences possible. Regularly reviewing and updating strategies ensures that both departments remain aligned and focused on achieving their shared goals.

The key to marketing and sales alignment

Marketing and sales alignment drive business success and create remarkable customer experiences. By fostering a collaborative environment, aligning efforts around the buyer’s journey, streamlining processes through technology, and maintaining consistent messaging and content, mid-market and enterprise sales and marketing leaders in B2B companies can achieve better results and drive growth. Implementing the strategies outlined in this article will equip your teams to face the challenges of today’s competitive landscape and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

The post How to align B2B sales and marketing teams appeared first on MarTech.

It’s time to prioritize a strategic and holistic view of your company’s martech stack and create a lean, efficient, results-driven marketing technology infrastructure.

Learn how a marketing technology optimization framework benefits marketing organizations, enhances the customer experience and drives real ROI. 

Marketing technology optimization: A paradigm shift

Marketing technology optimization (MTO) emphasizes:

• Evaluating current marketing technology tools and platforms.
• Identifying gaps or redundancies.
• Making data-driven decisions on eliminating existing or implementing new martech solutions. 

This approach helps align the martech stack with the company’s overall business, marketing and customer experience goals, creating a streamlined and efficient set of tools that drive real ROI.

Further, MTO integrates ongoing optimization with the maintenance of the martech stack, preventing unnecessary spending and fostering maximum utilization of the tools. By adopting MTO, marketers can avoid the pitfalls of an unwieldy and bloated martech stack and focus on driving results with lean and efficient tools and platforms.

Dig deeper: The secret to building a useful martech stack

MTO benefits for the C-suite: More than just marketing

Marketing technology optimization offers unique advantages for CMOs, COOs and CFOs in driving ROI and improving customer experience.

For CFOs, MTO enables more effective budget allocation towards marketing technology, ensuring higher ROI and optimizing company performance. For COOs, MTO can lead to cost savings, enhanced team collaboration and reduced resources required for maintenance and support.

In addition, MTO supports compliance with industry regulations and data privacy laws. It empowers CMOs to adopt a proactive approach to compliance rather than reacting to data breaches or regulatory violations after they occur.

Change management and organizational buy-in for MTO

Creating a culture of marketing technology optimization within an organization requires effective change management and buy-in from key stakeholders. Strategies to foster a culture of MTO and obtain organizational buy-in include:

Establish clear goals and objectives

Set well-defined objectives aligned with business, marketing and customer experience goals to foster a shared understanding of MTO’s purpose and value.

Communicate benefits consistently

Share MTO’s advantages with stakeholders to build momentum, engagement and commitment. Emphasize improved efficiency, ROI, customer experience and compliance.

Involve stakeholders in decision-making

Actively engage stakeholders in assessment, strategy development and implementation for a sense of ownership and support, leading to better decision-making.

Provide ongoing training and support

Equip team members with skills and knowledge to manage the martech stack effectively. Demonstrate commitment to MTO and continuous improvement through training investments.

Celebrate successes

Acknowledge and celebrate MTO achievements to reinforce their value, motivate team members and encourage ongoing innovation and improvement in marketing technology optimization.

Budgeting and resource allocation for MTO success

Allocating financial resources and personnel to support MTO initiatives is crucial to ensuring ongoing optimization and maintenance of the martech stack. Best practices for budgeting and resource allocation in MTO include:

• Align budget with overarching goals: Focus on the business, marketing and customer experience goals to direct financial resources towards impactful initiatives.
• Consider the total cost of ownership (TCO): Account for acquisition, implementation, training and maintenance costs for comprehensive budgeting and informed technology investment decisions.
• Allocate resources for continuous optimization: Dedicate resources to regular assessments, updates and refinements, ensuring up-to-date marketing technology and sustained ROI.
• Invest in training and development: Equip personnel with the necessary skills to maximize marketing technology investments and contribute to MTO initiatives’ success.
• Assign “owners” for each tool or platform: Enhance accountability and encourage ongoing optimization within the martech stack by designating responsible leaders.
• Establish cross-functional teams: Collaborate with members from marketing, IT, data analytics and other departments to optimize the martech stack, improve decision-making and boost organizational performance.
• Monitor and adjust budget/resource allocation: Use data-driven KPIs and metrics to make informed decisions, adapt investments and maintain a cutting-edge martech stack that delivers sustained success.

Measuring and reporting on MTO success

To measure the success of MTO initiatives and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders, C-level executives should track key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics aligned with the organization’s overall business, marketing and customer experience goals. 

Some key KPIs and metrics to track include martech stack efficiency, marketing campaign performance, integration and data quality, compliance and data security and customer experience.

Embracing marketing technology optimization

Adopting a framework like marketing technology optimization becomes increasingly important as businesses evolve and adapt to the ever-changing digital environment. By embracing MTO, organizations can foster a culture of continuous improvement, stay ahead of the curve and maintain a competitive edge in digital marketing. 

Focusing on efficiency, agility and alignment with organizational objectives can help marketers unlock the full potential of their martech stacks, maximizing return on investment and enhancing the customer experience.

Dig deeper: 3 steps to building an effective martech stack

The post Marketing technology optimization: The path to peak martech stack performance appeared first on MarTech.

At a high level, martech partner programs are created to help vendors expand their reach. The partners become an extension of the vendor sales team.

These programs also provide value to customers since partner companies lend additional credibility, experience and ancillary services and products (i.e., implementation, customization and third-party connectors). 

The open secret

The vendor can compensate partners in various ways, including:

• Commission-based compensation.
• Revenue sharing.
• Lead generation.
• Co-op advertising funds.
• And more. 

Commission-based compensation

The partner earns a percentage of the revenue from selling the vendor’s technology to their clients. The amount of commission can vary and is typically based on the size of the deal and the level of involvement the partner has in the sales process. In some instances, this can be very lucrative to the partner.

Revenue-sharing

The partner earns a portion of the recurring revenue from the customer over the contract’s life. This compensation structure incentivizes the partner to focus on customer retention and satisfaction, as the recurring revenue they earn is tied to the customer’s continued use of the technology.

Lead generation

Partners are compensated for providing the vendor with qualified leads that result in a sale. This can include providing contact information to arrange demos or meetings with potential customers. 

Co-op advertising

This provides the partner with soft dollars that can be used for events, advertising, vendor conference fees and more.

6 practical tips for martech partner selection

When working with martech partners, you must ensure their recommended solution fits your specific needs rather than their financial gain. Clear communication is key here.

Ask questions about their motivations and process. Evaluate the technology and the partner’s approach to ensure it aligns with your needs and goals. (You know, adult conversations.)

I’m sure most of you practice safe martech vendor and partner interactions, but sharing some practical tips for choosing a martech partner can’t hurt. 

1. Define your marketing objectives

Before you search for a martech partner, get your business, marketing, CX and technology goals in order. You must understand what you want to achieve with your martech. 

Identifying your goals and objectives lets you determine what martech solutions you need and what you should look for in a partner.

2. Conduct a needs assessment

After you’ve identified your marketing objectives, conduct a needs assessment. Consider:

• Your current-state marketing infrastructure.
• The skills of your in-house marketing team.
• Your budget (set one and stick to it).  

Dig deeper: How to unlock the power of your marketing technology

3. Evaluate potential partners

With a clear understanding of your needs, you can now evaluate potential martech partners. Look for a partner with a proven track record of delivering successful martech projects. Consider factors such as:

• Their experience level.
• The types of martech solutions they offer.
• Their willingness to customize their services to meet your specific needs.

4. Request references and case studies

Before deciding on a partner, ask for references and case studies from past clients. Happy or maybe not so happy, speak with current and former customers to better understand the partner’s ability to deliver successful martech projects.

Dig deeper: Martech is mainly about relationships

5. Meet with the partner

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential partners, schedule a meeting with each one. Discuss your needs and objectives in greater detail and determine whether the partner fits your business well. That includes asking the partner directly how the martech vendor compensates them.

6. Evaluate the partnership

Finally, after you’ve selected your martech partner, it’s essential to evaluate the partnership on an ongoing basis. Set KPIs to effectively measure the outcomes and assess the project’s success and the partnership’s value. 

Checkpoints allow you to assess whether to continue working with the partner or if it’s time to look around. Partnerships, like any relationship, are not “set it and forget it.” They take effort and commitment.

Selecting the right martech partner

Investing in a martech partner is a crucial decision. It significantly impacts how your martech projects perform. Research your options thoroughly and select a partner that aligns with your needs and goals. The tips above will help you minimize risk, reduce exposure and maximize the chances of successful outcomes.

Dig deeper: Managing martech relationships: Partnerships and agility in marketing

The post How to choose the right martech partner: 6 practical tips appeared first on MarTech.

Dig deeper: What is a digital experience platform or DXP and is it the future of content management?

What is MACH?

MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-native and headless) is a modern approach to digital experience management that allows for greater flexibility, scalability and speed. MACH-based DXPs offer several benefits to marketing organizations looking to work more effectively and efficiently.

Misalignment in MACH-based products

This may shock you, but not all products marketed as MACH DXPs are created equal. MACH has become a highly sought-after concept in the industry. Some vendors may see the label as a way to differentiate themselves and attract customers looking for solutions that embody the principles of MACH. (The same goes for SaaS, but that’s a topic for another article.)

Not all products marketed as MACH are fully compatible with the architecture or even aligned with its principles. This misalignment creates customer confusion and mistrust and can ultimately harm the vendor’s reputation and credibility.

Dig deeper: Digital experience platforms: 4 building blocks to success

Benefits of MACH-based DXPs

One of the key advantages of MACH-based DXPs is the ability to break down complex systems into smaller, independent components that can be managed and updated separately. This allows for faster and more efficient development, testing and deployment of new features and functionality.

Another key advantage is the API-first approach, which enables marketers to easily access and use data from various sources to deliver personalized experiences. This helps organizations keep pace with constantly evolving consumer expectations.

Cloud-native technology, built specifically for deployment — wait for it — in the cloud, provides the scalability and reliability required to support complex digital experiences at scale. The headless approach allows for greater flexibility and independence in the front-end development process, enabling marketing teams to move faster and deliver new experiences to the market more quickly.

Overall, MACH-based DXPs help marketing organizations achieve faster time to value and time to market, enabling them to keep pace with a consumer who moves faster than the brand. This approach to digital experience delivery helps organizations stay ahead of the curve, deliver better experiences and achieve better business results.

Dig deeper: Reinventing the digital experience platform

Reducing risk and increasing success

To reduce risk, avoid misleading marketing claims and improve your chances of success in adopting a MACH-based DXP, here are key considerations:

• Thoroughly research and assess potential vendors to ensure their offering aligns with the organization’s specific needs and the principles of MACH architecture.
• Look for vendors that clearly understand the MACH architecture and its benefits and a solid track record of successful MACH-based DXP implementations.
• Consider the vendor’s expertise, commitment to supporting the MACH architecture and experience working with other organizations in similar industries or marketing challenges.
• Ask for references and case studies from organizations that have successfully adopted a MACH-based DXP to better understand the vendor’s capabilities and track record.
• Pay close attention to the vendor’s support and training offerings to ensure they have the resources to help your organization adopt a MACH-based DXP.

Separating marketing hype from reality

MACH architecture is a modern approach to digital experience management that offers benefits like flexibility, scalability and speed. Not all products marketed as MACH DXPs are aligned with the principles of MACH, leading to confusion and mistrust among customers. 

To ensure success and reduce risk, it is essential to thoroughly research potential vendors and assess their alignment with the organization’s needs and the principles of MACH architecture. Look for a vendor with a solid track record, expertise and commitment to supporting the MACH architecture and consider their support and training offerings.

The post The truth behind MACH-based DXPs: Benefits, risks and key considerations appeared first on MarTech.

Using the right combination of channels is essential in today’s dynamic landscape. Here’s how to successfully engage with your audience and better fulfill their changing needs and preferences. 

Defining multichannel, omnichannel and omnipresent marketing

Let’s define each strategy to establish a shared context for the rest of the article.

Multichannel marketing

Multichannel marketing uses various channels to reach customers, including in-store, email, social media and other touchpoints. However, these channels are managed and promoted independently, with limited coordination. This approach may be suitable for marketers with limited budgets who want to focus on specific channels to reach their target audience.

Omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing refers to an integrated approach across all channels. It suits companies that want to provide a seamless customer experience and improve customer loyalty. The goal is to deliver a consistent experience regardless of the channel. This approach requires a unified customer database to ensure consistency across all touchpoints.

Omnipresent marketing

Omnipresent marketing requires being present wherever the customer is, regardless of the device or channel they use to engage with the brand. It involves maximum integration across all channels and touchpoints for a seamless, always-on customer experience. This approach is ideal for companies seeking to provide a highly personalized, always-available customer experience — and has the resources to support it.

Meeting the omnipresent consumer’s expectations

The omnipresent consumer is always connected and accessible through various devices, channels and touchpoints. Such consumers:

• Expect a seamless, integrated and personalized experience across all channels. 
• Engage with brands on their terms.
• Value convenience, speed and reliability and seek brands that meet these needs.

To fulfill these expectations, brands must take a holistic approach by: 

• Breaking down silos between departments and functions.
• Integrating data and systems.
• Delivering a unified view of the customer.

Easier said than done. Many companies struggle to manage the complexity of the customer journey effectively. Plenty still rely on outdated or siloed data, processes and systems. Rapid advances mean what was innovative a year ago may now be obsolete.

Dig deeper: 3 ways to deliver more relevant customer experiences

The importance of data in omnipresent marketing

Data’s role in modern marketing cannot be overstated. Actionable data lets us personalize our messaging and tailor campaigns to individual customers.

Data-driven approaches result in higher engagement, greater relevance and a more meaningful and consistent customer experience across all touchpoints. Below are some examples:

• With web and mobile analytics, a retailer can recommend products to customers based on their browsing and purchasing behavior, as they are more likely to purchase items relevant to their interests and needs.
• Data from CRM systems and customer feedback lets marketers segment their email lists and send targeted campaigns to different customer groups. Targeted messaging leads to higher open rates, click-through rates and conversions.
• Social media and third-party data offers insights into customers’ interests and preferences, helping us create campaigns relevant to the customer’s current context (i.e., location or time of day). 

“Omnichannel and omnipresent marketing are two sides of the same coin, but the difference lies in their level of commitment to the customer journey. While omnichannel focuses on bridging the gaps between channels, omnipresent strives to immerse the brand into the very fabric of the customer’s life. It’s not about being everywhere, but about being everywhere that matters.”

— Adam Vazquez, Partner, HEARD Media

Dig deeper: Customer experience for the modern marketer

Going beyond traditional engagement strategies

To achieve omnipresence, brands must adopt a customer-centric and holistic approach to their engagement strategy. This involves focusing on the following key factors:

Customer journey

To deliver exceptional customer experience, understand your customers’ interactions through all channels, both online and offline, by:

• Mapping their journey. 
• Tracking behaviors and preferences.
• Identifying pain points and opportunities.

Seamless experience

Strive to provide a consistent, integrated experience across all touchpoints and channels by: 

• Using technology to manage customer data.
• Personalizing content and offers.
• Maintaining consistent messaging and design.

Innovative engagement

Stay ahead by incorporating new channels and technologies (i.e., voice assistants, conversational intelligence and social media) into your strategy. This requires agility, adaptability and ongoing testing and refinement.

Collaborative effort

Foster collaboration across teams through strong leadership, clear goals, effective communication tools and teamwork.

Outcome-oriented

Rather than solely measuring outputs, an engagement strategy’s success should be evaluated based on its impact on business outcomes, such as increased customer loyalty, revenue growth and improved customer experience.

Outcomes, not outputs

This 2012 HBR article highlights the importance of focusing on outcomes rather than outputs in marketing efforts. The authors argue that, too often, the focus is on producing outputs (i.e., total impressions, clicks or leads generated) rather than achieving desired outcomes (i.e., increased sales, customer loyalty or brand recognition).

For example, companies that focus on outputs such as total impressions may miss out on the impact of offline marketing efforts. They might also overlook customer experience in the marketing process. An overemphasis on outputs can lead to a lack of accountability because it’s difficult to determine how these outputs drive outcomes.

The authors advocate for a more holistic approach focusing on outcomes and customer experience. Organizations must consider the entire customer journey, from first contact to post-purchase engagement, then measure marketing’s impact on customer behavior and business results. This customer-centric, data-driven approach requires effort but results in a higher return on investment and better marketing outcomes.

Omnipresent marketing in today’s dynamic digital landscape

The transition from multichannel to omnichannel and now omnipresent marketing indicates a significant change in how brands interact with customers. Today, relying solely on one marketing channel is insufficient. 

Brands must strive for a data-driven, technology-enabled and customer-centric strategy to deliver a seamless, consistent and personalized experience across all touchpoints. Only then can they address the evolving demands and expectations of the target audience. Embracing an “always-present” approach is a competitive edge.

The post Marketing in the age of the omnipresent consumer appeared first on MarTech.

Companies often fail to realize the full potential of their martech investments due to a lack of understanding and utilization. Smaller businesses or teams, in particular, may not have the resources or personnel to assess how they can use a given tool properly. 

To maximize ROI, it’s crucial for marketers to:

• Consider more than just price when buying martech. 
• Ensure that you understand all features available and how best to leverage them. 
• Carry out regular maintenance and support to sustain any technological advantage from purchasing an advanced tool.

The effects of martech bloat vary depending on company size and scope. To prevent this, you should carefully plan and research before selecting and implementing technologies to ensure they provide long-term benefits. 

Pre-analysis that considers budget constraints, timeline expectations and organizational capabilities helps teams avoid investing in the wrong products or services and create leaner stacks in the long run.

Unifying marketing technologies

Marketing technology integration is the process of combining disparate marketing technologies into a unified system. This includes integrating software, hardware, databases, analytics tools and other systems to enable data-driven decisions and automated processes.

The goal is to create a cohesive whole for more efficient customer engagement activities such as segmentation, targeting and personalization. Integrating the disparate tools that comprise the martech stack can:

• Result in greater efficiency — from gathering leads to closing sales opportunities. 
• Give marketers access to real-time insights on customer behavior to optimize their campaigns quickly and easily with less manual effort. 
• Provide better visibility into how each part of the stack works together and help identify potential bottlenecks early.

Dig deeper: My stack is bigger than your stack, so what?

Reducing martech bloat through API integration

The concept of an application programming interface (API) dates back to the 1960s. Software engineers initially used it to create application-specific programming interfaces, making it more straightforward for developers to work with different hardware and software. In the 1970s, larger organizations such as IBM and Microsoft began utilizing APIs as an access point for their products and services. 

With the rise of the internet in the 1990s came web APIs, which developers used to create applications that communicate with remote systems over a network. Today, many industries use APIs, including finance, healthcare, retail and transportation. 

Using APIs to integrate marketing technology point solutions and platforms helps reduce martech bloat by streamlining the data flow between different systems for better coordination across teams. 

APIs make moving data between different systems easier, eliminating the need to input information manually or use multiple interfaces. The benefits include:

• More efficient use of resources.
• Faster strategic activation.
• Improved scalability.
• Cost savings by reducing the footprint of the martech stack over time.

Dig deeper: Why martech integration needs more than technical skills

5 steps to successful and efficient martech stack integration

Taking the following five steps is essential to ensure successful and efficient martech stack integration.

1. Identify data sources

The first step is identifying all available data sources that can be connected using API. These could include:

• CRM databases.
• Social media channels.
• Websites.
• Analytics tools. 

It’s essential to map out what data is needed from each source and how it will be used holistically across platforms or applications.

2. Assess your current system architecture and platforms

Before integrating any new solutions into your martech stack, assess your existing system architecture and platform capabilities. 

Look at legacy systems and modern cloud-based solutions. This will help ensure the integration process runs smoothly without causing disruption or loss of functionality for users.

3. Evaluate connectors and integration tools

Once you’ve assessed your current architecture and platforms, it’s time to evaluate connectors and integration tools. Connectors offer a straightforward way to join distinct elements within the martech stack. 

For example:

• Allowing access to capabilities like automatically sending emails when contact information has been changed in a database.
• Constructing lead-scoring rules based on user interaction with website content.

4. Test different solutions before going live

Once all necessary integrations have been identified, test various combinations of these technologies to ensure everything works correctly once deployed. 

Testing helps marketers evaluate if newly integrated solutions can deliver desired results without negatively impacting existing end-user processes. It can also uncover potential issues like latency caused due to too many API calls being made at once, etc.

5. Monitor performance and optimize

Finally, after successfully deploying integrated solutions, it’s vital to monitor performance and usage. Gather feedback to detect issues early on so adjustments can be made immediately instead of waiting until something goes wrong later. 

Managers should reach out to users through surveys and interviews to understand how they use the new integrated solutions. This will help them pinpoint any possible problems that may have occurred during deployment.

Reducing martech bloat: Internal team or consultant?

Whether you use an internal team or a marketing technology consultant to reduce martech bloat, it’s essential to understand the benefits of both. 

An internal team can be beneficial because they are familiar with existing systems and processes. This aids in making informed decisions when selecting new solutions and integrating them into the stack.

Additionally, having an in-house team allows for faster decision-making when responding to changes in customer needs or technology advancements.

On the other hand, working with a marketing technology consultant can provide access to more specialized knowledge on current trends and best practices from outside sources that could benefit your organization. 

A good martech consultant:

• Delivers valuable insight into the latest trends and technologies in the industry.
• Guides you through complicated decisions when selecting, integrating and managing your martech stack. 
• Identifies areas where automation or optimization would be beneficial and offer guidance on achieving these goals. 
• Advises on topics such as budgeting for investments in new technologies and measuring ROI from existing solutions.

The choice to use an internal team or a marketing technology consultant depends on the size of your business and budget constraints. However, both options come with their own set of advantages for reducing martech bloat.

Creating a unified martech ecosystem

Reducing martech bloat can be daunting. But with the right approach and tools, it’s possible to create a unified, optimized stack that maximizes ROI.

Careful planning and research are necessary before selecting any solutions or services, as well as regular maintenance and support for sustained effectiveness. 

Companies can reduce complexity by leveraging APIs to connect disparate technologies into a unified ecosystem and unlock greater marketing efficiency.

Finally, whether using an internal team or a marketing technology consultant depends on the size of your business and budget constraints. Still, both provide their advantages for reducing martech bloat.

The post 5 steps to reducing martech bloat through API integration appeared first on MarTech.

Over time, it looks something like this:

• It’s a browser-based content management and web development system.
• It’s a .NET CMS.
• It’s an enterprise website and intranet portal software.
• It’s a .NET web content management system (CMS), online marketing and intranet software.
• It’s a customer engagement platform.
• It’s a CMS for customer experience management.
• It’s an experience platform.
• It’s a platform to help you market in the context of customer interactions.
• It’s a content marketing platform.
• It’s a modern SaaS CMS.
• It’s a SaaS-based platform for headless content delivery.
• It’s the first entirely cloud-native CMS.
• It’s end-to-end digital experience software.
• It’s a composable digital experience platform.

Confusion instead of synergy

For third-party sellers, this creates countless problems. Long-time sellers who’ve been with the vendor for years are constantly dealing with new sales motions, struggling to keep pace with a go-to-market story that creates confusion in the marketplace instead of synergy. 

New sellers climb aboard, hoping to capitalize on the vendor’s latest model and make bank. Not unexpectedly, these sellers struggle to connect with and convert prospects who have high expectations and are generally competent and intelligent. Instead of helping them make confident purchasing decisions, this approach creates buyer confusion, ultimately leading to hesitation and inaction, which results in the dreaded protracted sales cycle.

The example I’ve outlined above isn’t about brand extension — it’s an all-out identity crisis wrapped in brand confusion. Sure, the brand is having some issues, but no one else can figure out what it wants to be when it grows up, either.

Because of this, some martech vendors are often relegated to (*shudder*) commodity status. Not only have they created confusion with their prospects, but they’ve created confusion and diluted their brand in the marketplace.

What’s a CMO to do?

Despite the previously discussed challenges, if you’re patient, know where you’ve been (including the mistakes) and clearly define where you’re going and control the urge to buy martech tools like a kid in a candy store, you can navigate the less-than-optimal process and come out ahead. Here’s my advice.  

1. Don’t fall in love so fast

Those flashy martech demos and smooth-talking salespeople can have you swooning in no time. The next thing you know, you’re locked into a multi-year deal on a martech tool that costs you a small fortune and doesn’t begin to serve your business, marketing, customer experience or technology needs. 

Psychologists call this tendency to fall in love quickly “emophilia.” It can lead people to overlook red flags, leading to unhealthy relationships — and the last thing you want is an unhealthy martech vendor relationship. 

2. Reject ‘martech promiscuity’ 

That’s right, I said it. This idea of a sprawling martech stack full of independent point solutions is so 1970s. Bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to your digital ecosystem. Challenge yourself and your team to limit your marketing technology tools to only those that directly solve your business and marketing objectives. 

Start by defining, aligning and prioritizing your business goals for marketing, customer experience and marketing technology. This exercise clarifies your needs and priorities and helps you communicate effectively with the seller, helping them to show you how their solution aligns with your stated goals.

3. Go for a test drive

The beauty of the test drive is it offers utility for both the vendor and the customer. Think about it — a test drive is obligatory if you’ve ever visited an auto dealership when you were in-market for a car. It’s pretty hard not to buy once you’ve slid in behind the wheel and taken the car for a short ride. 

In the case of procuring martech tools, the proof of concept, or POC, is about as close as you’ll get to a test drive. Work with the martech vendor to define the parameters of the POC to prove that their solution will produce the desired outcomes for your business, marketing team and customers. This may require a small investment as the vendor will likely recommend a partner to help formally define, design, develop and deliver the POC.

Additional resources

There’s a lot of confusion out there. Finding the right martech solutions for your business can be daunting, but plenty of experienced sages can help you navigate the labyrinth if you need a guide. Consider some of my proven strategies and tactics in previous articles here on martech.org.

• How to avoid a marketing technology #Fail: Some vendors prioritize growth and new features over supporting existing clients, and the pressure of deciding which one is an ongoing challenge.
• The secret to building a useful martech stack: Want to ensure the success of your martech investments? Here’s a simplified approach to implementing your martech stack.
• How to unlock the power of your marketing technology: Do it right and you increase your chances of successful digital transformation.
• 3 ways to make martech simple again: Is it a bridge too far to find a way to a simpler, more useful martech stack and ease the misery of (mar)tech debt?
• How to avoid the martech black hole and ride the crest of change: Find out how to weather the storm and unlock the power of your marketing technology while futureproofing your stack.

The post 3 pointers to navigate the confusing martech marketplace appeared first on MarTech.

Martech is simply a tool

Part of the argument is that the martech stack does not adequately serve the marketing organization or the business due to its complexity. I support that view because I’ve seen repeated proof of its truth in the wild. 

But we must remember that these complex martech stacks didn’t get that way unaided. A Pew Research Center report, which focused on digital innovation aimed at enhancing democracy, made an excellent point:

“Many of these experts pointed out that technology is neither inherently helpful nor harmful. It is simply a tool. They said the real effects of technology depend upon how it is wielded.”

The same goes for marketing technology. Its effectiveness is highly dependent upon how it is selected, implemented and used.

And for those who say the success of martech within an organization depends on some subjective measure of digital maturity, martech maturity, customer experience maturity or any other type of maturity for that matter, I beg to differ. 

The maturity model trap

Maturity models have been around for many years. For example, the Capability Maturity Model, developed in the late 1980s, was used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to evaluate its vendors’ ability to deliver on software development projects effectively.

More recently, martech vendors (and consulting firms) have embraced and invented various self-serving maturity models to help them sell more software and services. Search “digital maturity” (with or without quotes) and you’ll see what I mean. 

It might go something like this:

“If you’re not engaging your customers with the right experiences — personalized experiences — at the right place and at the right time, your organization’s low level of digital maturity could prevent your company from thriving or, worse, surviving [commence hand wringing]. Our digital maturity assessment will tell you…”

The question to be asked by leaders of those supposedly immature organizations whose level of [fill in the blank] maturity is defined as lacking should be, “As compared to what?” 

Your business and approach are an innovation. Yes, there are standard KPIs we can measure, but comparing the “maturity” of your business or marketing organization to another, even if they’re similar in size and offerings, leaves too much room for subjective opinions. 

A website with 100 visitors a month driven to conversion by the brand’s messaging and offering is more valuable than 100,000 visitors to a competitor’s site offering the same products and services who could care less. How can we compare them as if they were the same?

“A maturity model, by itself, does not ensure organizational improvement. It is a measuring stick, an indicator of progress. A maturity model can help to identify weaknesses, but not fix them.”

– Project Management Institute

Making martech simple again

Let’s all agree that there’s more to building a useful martech stack than taking some hokey maturity assessment, whipping out a credit card, cobbling together some SaaS-based point solutions and hoping for some magic. 

Let’s also agree that we don’t need an overpriced, overhyped and over-complicated collection of disjointed marketing technology tools to deliver value to our customers and businesses and go toe to toe with our competitors.

OK, now that we’ve settled that, let’s talk about three ways to make martech simple again.

1. It’s the hole, not the drill

I have a longtime CMO buddy who regularly shares stories of disappointment regarding his adventures in martech. He’s constantly adding new point solutions to his martech stack and is stunned when they don’t deliver the results he expects.

I’ve shared insights with him from noted Harvard Business School marketing professor Theodore Levitt who proposed that customers want to hire a product to do a job. Thus, knowing what job the customer’s trying to get helps you create a more relevant product or solution. “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!” said Levitt.

It is rare that if you understood the customer, you would also understand the job, according to an HBS Working Knowledge article. The authors assert that this focus on the customer causes marketers to target phantom needs. I asked my buddy to consider this as the reason for his consistent disappointment with his martech stack.

Having dealt with many martech vendors as a customer and partner and worked as a seller for martech vendors directly, I can honestly say I didn’t spend much time trying to understand the why, size or depth of the hole; it was about the features of the drill.

And in many cases, when the vendor does understand the job, the product isn’t quite right to get the job done. The problem is that the customer doesn’t find out until after they’ve signed on the line that is dotted, like my CMO friend.  

So, focus on the job you’re trying to get done and not the shiny object features of the martech tool. You might have to shell out a couple of bucks, but one sure way to avoid disappointment (or worse yet, losing your gig) is to stand up a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the martech solution can do the job.

Taking this approach will help you save money, time and frustration, and will be a gigantic step toward reducing the complexity of your martech stack.

Dig deeper: 6 things martech vendors don’t want you to know

2. No overbuying

Buying stuff makes us feel good. It’s a dopamine thing. I’m not sure you need 22 connected devices in your house to feel good, but this is a no-judgment zone. As for martech tools, we’re all familiar with the overabundance of choices — some 10,000 martech solutions are available for your buying pleasure in 2022.

But just because you can buy doesn’t mean you should buy. Martech stack bloat is real and creates complexity and waste, which is the opposite of the simplicity you need.

Over time, with no plan or too much focus on the drill and not the hole, you can find yourself the proud owner of a bloated, expensive and complex Frankenstack that’s likely not providing the value or utilization you expected.

The solution? Buy only what you need based on regular audits of your requirements and your stack to ensure you’ve got the right tools for the jobs that need to be done with no bloat.

Dig deeper: 3 steps that will protect you from martech buyer’s remorse

3. Continuous improvement

The American Society for Quality defines continuous improvement, sometimes called continual improvement, as: 

“…the ongoing improvement of products, services or processes through incremental and breakthrough improvements. These efforts can seek “incremental” improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement all at once.”

When selecting marketing technology solutions, many marketers believe the technology will drive breakthrough improvements in their marketing game. You’re reading this because you know better — it’s not magic; it’s martech. 

Marketing is a “test and learn” discipline. Like a good meal, it takes time to cook up marketing strategies and related activations that drive acquisition, conversions and retention (or loyalty).

Once you get there, you can’t rest easy. Your particular business, marketing and technology ecosystem is constantly changing, as are your prospects and customers.

The idea that what worked once will work again has served me well over the years, but that’s not to say I haven’t tried to improve continually. I’m running on the Gene v6.0 operating system with an upgrade to v6.5 on my product roadmap.

To embrace continuous improvement is to become a more agile marketing organization. By that, I mean instead of looking at marketing through a linear waterfall campaign lens (i.e., make the plan, work the plan), we see a series of smaller initiatives driven by an agile, continuous improvement process. 

Instead of one rigid, lengthy macro campaign, we deliver value to both the target audience and the business via smaller, incremental micro-campaigns that can be optimized repeatedly over a shorter period for maximum value. This is an excellent example of the “test and learn” concept I mentioned above.

Continuous improvement can also be applied to your martech stack. For example, consider a composable strategy (“micro martech”) instead of purchasing large, expensive all-in-one monolithic platforms (“macro martech”).

The micro approach will be a logical and functional choice as you test and learn. You’ll gain increased flexibility, scale and speed through the ability to insert or remove components to serve the marketing organization’s needs better. 

Try it, you’ll like it

By focusing on the job to be done instead of the drill, you’ll make smarter martech procurement decisions. You’ll save money by rejecting the urge to solve the marketing problem du jour by becoming a martech hyper-consumer. 

And with a focus on continuous improvement, you’ll learn how to optimize your martech stack, create a path to new opportunities, achieve outstanding productivity levels and make martech simple again.

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• A pandemic.
• A looming recession.
• Inflation at levels the U.S. has not seen for 40 years.
• And ongoing labor and supply chain issues. 

Somehow, news that ecommerce jumped 55% during the last couple of COVID years is lost on many, except maybe the companies able to capitalize on the wave.

Every CMO I’ve talked with in the past two years is hungry for talent, but they haven’t had the budget to staff up. While 61% of CMOs report they lack the in-house capabilities to deliver their strategy, spending on in-house labor remained static, per Gartner’s 2022 CMO Spend survey. 

U.S.-based employment cuts in September of this year were 46.4%, an increase of 67.6% from the same month last year, according to a recent Challenger Job Cuts Report. (Tech company cuts are up a whopping 86% from last year). 

The same report details that September marks the fifth time this year employment cuts were higher in 2022 than the corresponding month a year earlier. We see labor contraction at startups and public companies across multiple industries as part of a broader strategy to brace for what many believe to be the start of a long-term economic downturn.

Will marketing tech budgets grow in 2023?

If what’s past is prologue, marketing budgets will likely contract further in the coming year, despite a new survey saying 70% of U.S. marketers expect their tech budgets to grow. Although budget dollars appear to have flowed freely during the height of the pandemic, those marketers might be in for a bit of a rude awakening. 

Dig deeper: B2B marketing budgets stalled out in 2022

The consensus of senior leadership in many companies is that if buying slows, advertising and marketing spending are the first places to cut. After all, the marketing cost center is pure overhead, they say. Where’s Don Draper when you need him?

Martech: More complex than a black hole

That same survey also notes that more than 60% of B2B marketers say their martech stack is too complex, with one in five saying it’s “more complex than a black hole.” Kudos to the 60% for being honest about it. 

The 93% publicly sharing that replacing, updating or consolidating tools would help fix that problem isn’t just shocking — it’s proof what I’ve been saying for years is true. Marketers are not product managers.

Assembling dozens of martech point solutions and platforms from disparate vendors to create a practical, effective and efficient marketing technology ecosystem has been a massive challenge for marketers. 

Why is it such a problem? One reason is when marketers use the “best-of-breed” approach to build their martech stack, they are forced to focus on product management instead of marketing. In my decades in technology and marketing, I haven’t met many CMOs who were excellent product managers (or CIOs who were great marketers).

Break free from the need to buy

The question I’m hearing from clients, prospects, colleagues, vendors and others is: “Will 2023 get measurably better, or are we in for another year (or more) of tumultuous change and business and marketing headwinds? How can my marketing organization prepare, survive and thrive?”

Borrowing from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, these are very, very serious things we’re discussing here. You can indeed dismiss them as political rhetoric or scare tactics. But it’s far more prudent to take a position somewhere in the middle where we expect the unsustainable “binge and purge” labor frenzy to calm down, consumer wallets to tighten and budgets to do the same.

To begin to answer the question “How can my marketing organization prepare, survive and thrive?” is first to understand that the strategy seemingly preferred by most marketers, according to the above survey, makes no sense. 

A Forbes article earlier this year said that per McKinsey, BCG, KPMG and Bain & Co., the failure rate of digital transformation projects is between 70% and 95%. Do we believe those projects would have had better success if they’d only purchased more technology? The same applies to your martech stack. You don’t realize a reduction in complexity by implementing more of a complex thing.

Further, the research confirms that most marketing leaders recognize they don’t have the people to operate these complex black hole martech stacks. More technology without intelligent, skilled resources to develop requirements, implement, manage and use the technology is a fool’s errand.

Dig deeper: 5 steps to martech stack success

Avoid the martech black hole and ride the crest of change

To unlock the power of your marketing technology while creating a foundation to futureproof your martech stack:

• Start by getting your team’s collective brain wrapped around your current-state martech stack.
• Define, prioritize and align your business, marketing, customer experience and technology goals before replacing, updating, or consolidating anything.
• Put the checkbook or credit card away and cancel those martech vendor demos.

Please.

Despite potential lousy weather ahead, here’s some advice to help you and your marketing organization weather the storm and ride the crest of change instead of being swamped by it. 

Back to basics: Start with a plan

Since we’re swimming in stats, 41% of marketing leaders don’t have a plan for building a useful marketing technology stack, a survey from GetApp found.

I’m not advocating a “make the plan, work the plan” approach. Stuff does happen, so agility is critical in today’s dynamic business, marketing and technology environments. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create a plan to choose, implement, use, manage and optimize your martech stack before making any purchases.

You create the plan knowing it’s going to change. As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This is similar to the old saying, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Slowing down to do the needful before plunging headlong into what might be shallow water is the approach that’ll produce the best results. 

We know the most about a project when it’s completed. Unfortunately, there’s just no way to know it all when planning the building or optimization of your martech stack. Once you get started, you’ll learn more from every step. Your plan (and organization) must consider this and be flexible enough to adjust as you go.

Perform a martech stack inventory

You should carefully and effectively inventory the specific platforms and point solutions that make up your stack. The inventory exercise will help provide visibility into your martech investments and help you uncover gaps between your martech ecosystem components and the proficiencies needed to care for and feed them. You may have to dig a little to find it, but don’t forget to include “shadow martech.”

Shadow martech emerges when silos and internal blockers force marketing teams to develop “creative” solutions, like procuring or building tools beyond the purview of corporate compliance and security. Some studies have estimated shadow IT in organizations at 30-50%. While I haven’t seen specific numbers related to shadow martech, it’s likely much bigger than a breadbox but smaller than an elephant. 

Do an implementation review

Once you’ve completed the inventory and have a reliable artifact of your efforts, the next step is to review the implementation history of every platform and point solution. If you haven’t already, you should sit down with the team and document the end-to-end implementation experience from start to finish of every platform or point solution in your stack, including the outcome(s). 

I know, it sounds counter-intuitive. You’ve already completed the implementation. In my work with clients, software vendors and partners, I’ve found that besides the martech selection process, the implementation of marketing technology is the most crucial contributor to the success (including subsequent utilization and ROI) of your martech stack. Besides, you can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. 

My unscientific research suggests that over 75% of martech implementations fail for various reasons, not the least of which is a lack of business, marketing, customer experience and technology requirements or other selection criteria. 

In far too many cases, implementations result in the client saying something like, “That’s great, but it’s not what we wanted or expected,” or worse yet, “We can’t use it.” If you’ve read this far, I can confidently (and with empathy) say you’ve most likely experienced at least one martech implementation #FAIL. 

Document all integrations

Whether or not you’ve gone down the integration road, integration is essential when building and optimizing your marketing stack. Unfortunately, while many marketing leaders say integration is required, for most marketing organizations, martech integration is treated as a “would like to have” rather than a “must-have.” 

Start with a plan for how you’ll use your martech stack and evolve that plan to include integrations using APIs and other methods to connect your platforms and point solutions into a holistic ecosystem. You’ll be much closer to a 360-degree view of your marketing efforts and, with the right data management strategy, your customers, too.

Remember that martech integration is complex work requiring considerable technical skills and a culture of experimentation. These things are at the core of successful integration initiatives.

Understand investment, utilization and ROI

“[T]he utilization of marketing technology capabilities has fallen substantially, despite consistently high investment,” according to the Gartner 2022 Marketing Technology Survey. Further, Gartner reports that marketers utilize just 42% of their martech stack capabilities today, compared to 58% in 2020.

Wait, What? Remember the 93% of marketing leaders I mentioned above who shared that replacing, updating, or consolidating martech tools would help reduce the complexity of their martech stacks?

They want to invest in more marketing technology platforms and point solutions despite saying their martech stack is so complex it’s like a black hole. Still, they only use 42% of the features and functions they’re currently paying for. 

You’re not alone if you’re as confused as a goat on an astroturf right now. Part of this mess is due to the plethora of choices out there in the marketing technology space. There’s a tool for everything. If not, wait a couple of days because one will pop up. 

Another contributing factor is starting with the technology instead of your business, marketing, customer experience, technology objectives and the problems you’re trying to solve. This Harvard Business Review article said it best:

“The number of vendors offering marketing tech is exploding, but too many companies take a “bottom-up” approach to purchasing it: Rather than starting with the objective of solving a problem, they begin with what is being sold to them. As a result, they waste money on hoarding data they don’t need and on “shiny new objects” — tools that seem dazzling but don’t provide real insights or work with a firm’s other technologies.”

Skin in the game

Time and money will become more precious as we advance toward and through possible bad weather. Like savvy customers have been asking for some time, ask yourself and your martech vendors, “For every dollar I invest in this platform or point solution, how much will I get back?” 

You’re on the hook to do the math, get the answer and make the business case, but you can and should enlist the vendor’s help to assist and hold them accountable for results through performance-based contractual agreements. There’s nothing wrong with everyone having a little skin in the game.

Dig deeper: The formula for calculating martech ROI

There’s a lot to unpack

Despite the sobering stats I’ve shared, I don’t necessarily think the sky is falling just yet. There are tremendous opportunities for marketers to engage more deeply, convert and retain customers by creating and delivering remarkable customer experiences. 

The fact is, those experiences are supported in large part by the marketing technology stack and the people who make it go. Like the foundation of a structure, building a solid footing for the people, processes and technology needed for activation is the difference between success and failure. 

I hope you’ll go back through the article, take some notes and use what you think is vital to your cause to help you make intelligent decisions and improve the success quotient of your marketing technology stack build or optimization. If you want to continue the conversation, please get in touch. I welcome any inquiries via my profile on Linkedin.

The post How to avoid the martech black hole and ride the crest of change appeared first on MarTech.

In any case, I think you’ll agree that in nearly every instance, the main reasons for any of those ventures failing were:

• No capital.
• Bad hires.
• No plan.
• Terrible execution.

These mistakes also apply to my forays into entrepreneurship. We had excellent plans and great teams, but the lack of capital obliterated any chance of success the business might have had.

If this sounds familiar, you might be among the many marketers who’ve experienced similar pain when trying to build a marketing technology stack. In a rush to find a solution to whatever blockers you may face, you forge ahead and hurry to buy what’s being sold to you.

It’s not magic, it’s martech

The problems start when there’s no real plan to optimally select, implement and use a martech solution or integrate it into your existing ecosystem. Add to that the issue of not knowing what human capital is required to launch, run and maintain the point solution or platform, along with no formal training for those resources. Then, after several months, you blame the vendor or your team when the magic martech you’ve purchased doesn’t deliver what you needed or expected.

As Eric Brown, DSc, the CIO of Sundial Capital Research, said: 

“I’m sure you can find a hundred or so martech vendors selling some version of a platform that will do what you need it to do. Do you take the time to run a thorough selection process, or do you find the first one that fits your ‘right now’ need and your budget and push ‘buy’? Based on my experience, people do the latter and pick the first one they find that does what they need to do. They find a solution to the problem they have today with little to no thought about how that platform will integrate into their broader organization’s ecosystem and whether the solution will solve their problem tomorrow.”

The secret sauce

While blaming the plethora of vendors hungry to inflict their wares on unsuspecting marketers is easy, there is a practical solution. There’s a secret sauce to successfully selecting and implementing a martech stack that’ll work every time — and may even deliver some return on your investment.

B2B martech spending will reach $6.6 billion by the end of this year and exceed $8.5 billion by 2024. A separate study estimates that the overall martech industry worldwide was worth about $345 billion in 2021. Clearly, there’s no shortage of vendors with proposed solutions to the marketing problem du jour. And, of course, that’s part of the challenge — there’s way too much choice out there.

Dig deeper: Three ways to organize your martech stack

It starts with a plan

The first step is to develop a solid plan for whatever marketing technology you think you need to connect, convert and retain customers. It’s not another tool or platform, it’s a plan. So put the checkbook away and cancel any martech vendor appointments.

A robust plan requires you to document and align your short- and long-term business, marketing, customer experience and technology goals. That work can be as simple as pulling the right people together for a whiteboard session for a couple of hours. At a minimum, you’ll want the heads of marketing, IT and sales in the room, along with their number ones. There should be no more than six to seven people. Anyone else you include must be someone who will deliver measurable value to the process.

Collaboration is necessary

Once the working group is selected, it’s time to articulate the problems and desired outcomes. Please note that I didn’t say solutions. I said desired outcomes. By documenting your challenges and what you expect to happen as an outcome of the selection, implementation, integration and use of any specific martech tool or platform, your goals become more tangible.

Gather stakeholders from other business units to discuss and document the people and processes that make the business go, along with the content they create for prospects and customers and use themselves. While this is happening, a small, focused team of marketing and technology resources should run a full audit of your current marketing technology stack, including the efficacy of deployments, integrations and utilization. 

Dig deeper: Why martech integration needs more than technical skills

Shape a strategy and roadmap to martech success

The team should document and review any gaps along with the total cost of ownership (TCO) of all components of the martech stack. This analysis will provide you with the projected benefits of the decision to increase (or decrease) the footprint of your martech stack.

This is also an excellent time to inventory all platforms, services and tools collecting and storing first-party data and determine its structure, qualitative precision and usefulness as a tool to deepen engagement and drive conversion.

At this point, armed with more data and insights than you had before starting this journey, you can effectively shape a strategy and roadmap to martech success. This work includes determining the right resources, developing an appropriate budget and creating a proper execution plan. 

It’s complicated, but not impossible

Building a martech stack is a complex undertaking. While I’ve tried to provide a simplified approach to successfully implementing or optimizing your martech stack, your mileage may vary. Some leaders will choose to go it alone, while others might prefer to hire a martech sage to guide them. 

To ensure the success (and ROI) of your martech investments, you’ll need a plan to optimally select, implement, integrate and use any martech solution. You’ll also need a realistic budget, a savvy team who can roll up their sleeves and get things done and an execution plan to activate your martech strategy. Whatever approach suits your circumstances, the approach I’ve shared here has worked for organizations large and small and it will work for you. 

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