MarTech Stack is an integral part of digital marketing. However, it is not easy to implement due to its complexity and the lack of knowledge many businesses have about the technologies.
The goal for any business should be twofold: first, they need to know which technology will work best for their campaign to be successful. Second, there needs to be an understanding among the team about how this software actually works. So that they cannot blame bad results on lack of knowledge or ignorance.
But, after all, why do you need to use this concept in your business and what are the benefits of this method? That's what we're going to talk about in this article!
What is MarTech Stack?
MarTech Stack refers to a stack of technologies for marketing . Basically, it's the set of tools that marketing professionals use to manage, execute, measure, and improve their marketing efforts.
Unlike enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or human resources (HR) systems, which are typically a single integrated technology package from one vendor, a MarTech Stack is composed of multiple point solutions, addressing a specific challenge or objective.
How is the MarTech Stack used in Marketing?
This technique is used by marketing professionals to execute their marketing campaigns. For example, marketers use software to automate marketing tasks and collect data so they can gain insights related to campaign activity and its impact on customers.
For example, let's say your team spends a significant amount of time sending emails to clients. The action seems repetitive and is distracting people from more urgent tasks. You might choose to use email automation software so that less time is spent sending emails.
In short, marketers use technology to facilitate their work and understand their success levels. This front that marketers use in their campaigns is known as the marketing technology stack.
We know that each business has its problems and needs, but some points are common. Basically, they need:
- Collect and analyze customer data;
- Creation of personas consistent with your target audience;
- Communicating with customers assertively;
- Scheduling and distribution of content on digital media;
- Lead identification and nurturing;
- Monitoring and customer service, providing feedback;
- Monitoring the return on campaigns and the need for changes.
How important is it and how can you use it for your business?
The conventional thinking is that marketing tools can be a practical solution to a company's problems. However, this has proven false, as, more often than not, they lead businesses down a path that takes years to recover.
This refers to businesses purchasing software packages with high expectations and largely because these programs have increased their teams' time requirements or even the skills needed to make things run smoothly.
The fact that different employees are using platforms and must learn how to use these tools individually without any guidance can make planning difficult to execute.
Furthermore, the marketing technology stack is used directly or indirectly by various different organizations and functions throughout the enterprise. Essentially, it's present in the following processes:
Customer acquisition teams
Teams responsible for customer acquisition leverage various components of the MarTech Stack to manage and execute digital marketing, affiliate and partner marketing, events, app and website optimization, and much more.
Branding
Brand marketing and communications professionals use tools within the MarTech Stack to manage their brand presence and marketing strategy across social media, as well as PR agencies and traditional mass media such as broadcast TV and radio, as well as print media.
Marketing operations
Marketing operations teams (an increasingly important function in most modern companies) use the MarTech Stack to manage and monitor marketing campaign performance, gather insights from customer data and other marketing data, and support the extended marketing team in making optimal strategic and execution decisions when it comes to deploying and improving marketing efforts.
High performance sales
Sales teams use the data captured in the MarTech Stack to better understand the wants and needs of potential customers. This is relevant in both B2C and B2B marketing.
Where the sales rep can use insights into customers' interests, behaviors, the offers they respond to, the communication channels they prefer, and past purchase history to recommend the next best products and services as part of a more likely offer to win the sale.
Customer service
Modern marketers are increasingly tasked with increasing customer loyalty and implementing initiatives to reduce customer churn. Customer service interactions are often where loyal customers are gained or lost, and early signs of churn can be identified.
Furthermore, service interactions can also market new offers to customers, especially when those offers are personalized based on past behaviors and interactions. This is why more and more service and support processes are being integrated into the MarTech Stack, so that key customer data and insights can be passed between them and implemented.
Product marketing
The team that develops new products plays a crucial role, especially when marketing complex or sophisticated products, such as financial services offerings or advanced technology.
These professionals use the MarTech Stack to manage and deploy content marketing techniques that educate potential buyers about the usefulness and value of their products. They also use technology to monitor and manage coverage and sentiment among the press, analysts, and other influencers related to their product offerings.
Steps to create a MarTech Stack and solve your business pain points
Follow the next steps to build your marketing technology stack:
- Understand your needs;
- Identify the technology you already have;
- Score competing tools according to your requirements;
- Carry out a budget analysis;
- Check the integration possibilities;
- Experiment before committing.
For the MarTech Stack concept to be truly relevant and efficient for your business, it must provide some essential points:
Systems integration
The integration between tools can be crucial to the success of your business. This will ensure that the business obtains all possible information and functionalities, which in turn will lead to greater efficiency, as well as more agile workflows for the teams involved.
Centralized data source
One of the most important things about a database is that it should have only one copy, avoiding any duplication or confusion. Besides being simpler for data mining purposes , this will also help extract the best information, bringing more intelligence to the business.
Real-time information
The information age has brought a new type of consumer. The modern businessman demands immediate responses and feedback, not only from his customers, but also within the business itself. They want to always be up to date with what is happening. And have constant communication in this environment, where anything can happen.
Issuing detailed reports
In order for ROI, ROAS or other marketing KPIs to be monitored, it is necessary to provide comprehensive and easy-to-understand reports.
Range capacity
To communicate with a large part of your target audience, your business needs to make sure that the tools are capable of reaching them across your various channels.
Some Basic Tools for the MarTech Stack
The success of some technologies used by MarTechs is almost directly linked to the quality of the technology stack used. To get started, your business will need at least these tools:
Web Technologies
Web Technologies is one of the first solutions acquired when starting a MarTech Stack. It performs an identification and verification process for all users who access your website, as well as understanding what interests them, verifying information such as location or navigation within that web page.
CMS
Websites and landing pages should be easily customizable to meet your business needs. A CMS (Content Management System) acts as an easy-to-use central control station for publishing content, without requiring any complicated coding knowledge or design skills.
CRM
Customer relationships are no longer static; today they are dynamic and depend on direct and frequent contact. To plan these interactions with consumers, it is essential that your business uses a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool to properly account for all your customer information.
E-mail Marketing
Email marketing is still an important part of modern business, and with the right technology it can be effective. Even though many companies use outdated tools like basic email templates for their campaigns.
These tactics work because they are part of larger strategies that focus more on storytelling than anything else; this style tends to resonate better in today's connected world, where product information often comes first from media feeds.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool for business, but it can be difficult to keep up. A solution that aggregates all information in one place makes managing multiple accounts much more efficient.
Signing Off
We hope this content has been helpful in giving you a general overview of the MarTech Stack concept. And if you want to understand more about MarTech and how these new agencies can boost and elevate your business to another level, talk to our team.
Looking to structure your business's MarTech Stack? Talk to us.
