Choosing a Martech stack might be difficult. The optimal combination of solutions may make or break a company’s digital strategy. A company’s choice in technology is a fundamental part of its brand identity.
The right mix of solutions will empower a company to be agile, customer-centric, and data-driven. The wrong mix of solutions can hamstring a company’s ability to innovate and compete.
Here, we share our insights on how to choose a Martech stack that will help, not hurt, your company’s digital strategy.
Let’s start with a definition!
What is a Martech stack?
A Martech stack is a combination of marketing technology products and software that organizations use to automate and streamline their marketing efforts. It helps organizations keep track of their customer data, create and deliver targeted content, measure performance, and more.
Why do you need a Martech stack?
An effective Martech stack can make the difference between a successful marketing campaign and an unsuccessful one. It can help organisations save time and resources by automating repetitive tasks, freeing up staff to focus on more strategic tasks. Additionally, it can help organisations better understand their customers and create targeted content that resonates with them.
Stages in the process of selecting a Martech stack
While the scale of a Martech stack review may vary, the approach we recommend is quite standard. In selecting the best Martech stack for your needs, we propose you follow four steps:
- Determine your objectives
- Audit your existing Martech stack
- Assess and analyse
- Define your target future state.
Let’s go over each item on this list in a little more detail.
Determine your objectives for your optimal MarTech stack
The first step in choosing a Martech stack is determining your organisation’s objectives. This will help you narrow down the options and make sure that the products you select are aligned with your goals.
Some common objectives that organizations have for their marketing efforts include:
Generating awareness for a new product or serviceIncreasing website traffic
Improving conversion rates
Generating leads
Building brand loyalty
Engaging customers
Increasing customer lifetime value.
Once you’ve determined your objectives, you can begin to look at the different products on the market and how they might help you achieve your goals.
Audit your existing Martech stack
The next step is to audit your existing Martech stack. This will help you understand what’s working well and what needs to be improved. It will also give you a good starting point for assessing new products.
To conduct an audit, you’ll need to gather data on your current marketing performance. This data can come from a variety of sources, including your website analytics, marketing automation software, and CRM. Once you have this data, you can begin to analyse it to see where there are gaps in your current Martech stack. Companies that can help you in this process include Stackify, Datanyze, and G2 Crowd.
Assess and analyse your optimal choice
Once you’ve audited your existing Martech stack, you can begin to assess and analyse the different products on the market. This step is important because it will help you understand which products are the best fit for your needs.
When assessing products, you’ll want to consider a few different factors, including:
The features and functionality of the product
How well the product integrates with your existing systems
The price of the product
The vendor’s customer support
The reviews of the product.
Once you’ve considered these factors, you can begin to narrow down your options and select the products that are the best fit for your needs. Companies that can help you in this process include Capterra and TrustRadius.
Define your target future state
The final step in choosing a Martech stack is to define your target future state. This will help you understand what you need to do to get from your current state to your desired state. It will also help you set goals and milestones.
To define your target future state, you’ll need to consider a few different factors, including:
Your marketing objectives
The products in your current Martech stack
The products you’re considering adding to your stack
How well do the products integrate with each other
The resources you have available to implement and manage the stack.
Once you’ve considered these factors, you can define your target future state. This will help you understand what you need to do to get from your current state to your desired state.
The Bottom Line
Choosing a Martech stack can be a daunting task. However, by following the steps in this guide, you can make sure that you select the right products for your needs. By taking the time to assess your options and understand your objectives, you can create a stack that will help you achieve your goals.
How Four Drunk Parrots can help you audit and set up your MarTech stack
We have a team of experts that can help you assess your needs and choose the right products for your organisation. By helping you through the stages in the process of selecting a Martech stack, which are;
- Determine your objectives
- Audit your existing Martech stack
- Assess and analyse
- Define your target future state.
we can ensure that you end up with a stack that is tailored to your specific needs. We can also help you implement and manage your stack. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you choose the right Martech stack for your organisation.