Strategy or Tools? How to Navigate the Right Marketing Technology Solution(s)
As we wrap up our series on revenue operations, it’s time for a conversation about a driving force behind the expansion and problem-solving for businesses: marketing technology. The number of MarTech companies has exploded during the last decade, and they serve a critical function in business models today. But how can you use them properly? Tune in to this episode of Aligned for the answers.
Why is marketing technology (MarTech) important?
- In 2011 there were only about 150 MarTech companies. As of now, there’s an estimated 7000-8000 MarTech companies (AKA a growth explosion.)
- This explosion of new tech options can make it challenging to determine which tools are right for your business. How do you evaluate them?
- Before you start scheduling demos, creating trials, or talking to any other company, you first need to determine which category your problem (and thus solution) falls in.
The Seven Business Categories of MarTech:
- Advertising and Promotion
- Content Creation and Enhancement
- User Experience Journey Mapping
- Sales Enablement
- E-commerce
- Business Intelligence and Reporting
- Internal communication
- For an in-depth look at what these categories represent, check out our blog.
How do you know which tools to utilize?
- Determine which buckets are most important to your business, and then look for companies that solve those overarching problems.
- Pro tip: Search comparative technologies and look at crowd-sourced tools to figure out if one is good
- If you have one tech that fulfills multiple responsibilities, that’s great. Fewer accounts and systems can make things less complicated.
Finding a system that works for you:
- Different businesses have different needs. In some cases, you might want to utilize multiple platforms that each specialize in a specific component.
- For other people, they might want one giant platform that integrates everything. Some businesses might even need a custom platform that is created purely for them.
- Each strategy has its pros and cons, and one method isn’t inherently better than another. Whether it’s usability, communication between interfaces, security, you need to identify what is most important for your business.
The tools-centered approach is the wrong approach.
- Finding a balance within those seven categories is integral to your success.
- Before you start booking platform demos, develop a strategy to determine what problems most affect your business and solve those challenges.
- Upwards of 80% of marketing-generated leads are wasted because of a lack of communication between sales and marketing.
- Sean and Will recommend starting with a strategic focus on your tech, decide which problems within the seven categories you need to solve, and conduct a MarTech audit.
- Marketing and marketers all talk about wanting data. 73% of people a year ago needed integrated data points. This year, that number rose to 90%.
The key takeaway - Not every solution is your company’s solution. Strategy can drive your business - search for answers to your problems rather than problems with a great solution you might not need.
- Check out Sean’s book Shift to learn how to develop your marketing strategy and skills.
- Aligned is a podcast for executives of emerging middle-market companies, executives of rapidly growing businesses, and executives pursuing growth and looking for new levers to pull. FitzMartin is a sales-first company driven by those things, and we want to pursue those things, and we know that you do, too.
- To connect with Sean Doyle, find him on LinkedIn, or learn more about FitzMartin on the company web page.
You can also connect with Will Riley on LinkedIn.