Imagine taking a new marketing role and trying to grasp what all the MarTech tools do for the organization. (You may not even need to use your imagination for this.)
The average number of jobs employees hold in their lifetimes has skyrocketed compared to previous generations. Not to mention the explosion of MarTech over the past decade.
That’s probably why I often hear the following questions from my clients:
What do all of these tools do?
Do we need all of this?
After taking a closer look, you might find that several tools are being used for one or two tasks, while other tools are underutilized — or no longer needed.
Uncover the why
There are many reasons a MarTech stack can get messy and expensive. To untangle your current stack, it’s important to determine why different technologies were implemented in the first place. Below are some of the most common reasons:
- Functionality: All too often, a slick new tool comes out with a specific functionality the marketing team cannot live without. In the world of fast-paced, competitive marketing, a cutting-edge tool can make a quick impact. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet and Shiny Object Syndrome can create more headaches in the long run.
- Platform integration: Most marketing organizations are using some form of Marketing Automation platform. These Marketing Automation vendors have developed native integrations with many MarTech tools that make integrating new tools easy. Many marketers implement these tools based on ease of implementation — not whether they’re the right tools for the job.
- Previous owners: The career path of a marketer can have many twists and turns. As people move from job to job, they leave behind the technology they brought with them. To make matters worse, there is often limited documentation about the purpose of the technology, whether it exists at all. This can become quite costly for a company.
Perform a MarTech assessment
This is why regularly performing an assessment of your MarTech stack is essential, especially when new leadership arrives to the marketing department.
There are four main areas to consider:
- Impact: What impact does the tool have on meeting your marketing objectives? Does the value it provides align with the expense?
- Usage: Who is using the tool? How is the tool being used against marketing goals and objectives? Are there other tools in the stack that can provide the same functionality?
- Adoption: How fully have people adopted the technology? Is it considered important to the team? Do they consider the tool to be vital to their mission?
- Integration: How well does the tool integrate with mission-critical applications? Do you need to spend time maintaining custom integrations?
These assessments are relatively inexpensive to perform, but can save thousands of dollars on technology that may or may not be a good fit for the company. For a more detailed look into how to assess your MarTech stack, take a look at DemandGen CEO David Lewis’ blog post.
Struggling to make sense of all your existing tools? Taking the time to assess your stack is the vital first step. At DemandGen, we have a long history of performing MarTech Stack assessments for our clients. Our experienced consultants can help you figure out what each piece of technology does and then decide which tools to keep, which tools to sunset, and which tools to migrate.
Patti Ammann, a Client Engagement Manager at DemandGen, works with clients of all sizes to understand their objectives, needs, and challenges and build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across the organization. She has over 15 years’ experience in project management, strategic account management, marketing operations, high-tech marketing and sales, and implementation and execution of campaigns supported by marketing automation platforms.
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