How to Build a MarTech Stack That’ll Boost Your Marketing Efforts
Technology has revolutionized marketing by making campaigns more personalized than ever before. Whether it’s creating new, integrated ecosystems or transforming the interface between brands and customers, tech has changed the entire landscape of what we know about marketing as a whole. To survive in this new, cutthroat environment, businesses must adapt to this new technology, using it to their own advantage.
What Is MarTech?
The phrase “marketing technology” or “martech” refers to marketing teams’ software and technology to entice and keep customers. These tools save time since they frequently automate and streamline operations. They also aid marketers in evaluating the effectiveness of their initiatives.
Moreover, MarTech can be used by any type of marketer — even non-digital marketers. Typically, one MarTech tool is applied to various marketing disciplines.
How to Build a MarTech Stack: 6 Essential Steps
1. Factor In Your Existing Technology
Before you invest a lot of money in something new, you should be aware of the platforms, software, and apps your team is using and each product’s features. It’s never wise to spend money on a tool that you already own or one that doesn’t compliment your existing tools.
Your martech stack’s technologies will frequently interact with one another to improve your data and carry out your requests. The last thing you need is a major headache caused by tools that don’t work well together or ones that break frequently.
2. Identify Your Needs
Nowadays, there are a near-infinite number of marketing technologies available, each catering to different needs and purposes. Consider what you want from your marketing tech stack in order to avoid being paralyzed by the seemingly limitless possibilities available.
For starters, try outlining your company’s goals and the digital marketing tactics you want to use to achieve them. Lo and behold, you’ve already ruled out a ton of possibilities that wouldn’t be worthwhile by simply having goals and a plan in place.
3. Figure Out Your Budget
The cost of marketing technology varies. Depending on your use case, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars- annually. That sort of money does not come cheap.
Know your budget for each tool before scheduling meetings with the representatives of the respective software being pursued. This prevents you from spending all of your money on one piece of your martech stack only to find that you subsequently cannot afford the other two tools required to reach your objectives.
4. Research Different Solutions
Get your game face on because at this stage; you’ll probably going be having meetings with sales reps from different companies.
A classic way to start off your research is to Google it. Search for corporate websites and take note of any that stick out. Review websites like G2 offer a wealth of useful information about each business.
Make every conscious effort to try and gain as much knowledge as you can about each marketing technology. Look up tutorials, tips and tricks, and any other useful documents. If it’s difficult for you to obtain sufficient information on how to use a certain technology, you should reconsider investing in it.
After all, you’ll need all the help you can get to put the tools you choose into practice and make the most of them. It’s also crucial to remember that your team’s skill level should also be factored into your decision. For instance, software that is too complicated won’t ease up work-it’ll have the opposite effect instead of dragging it into the slumps.
5. Choose What Works Best For You
Take your time when making your decision. Take into account all of your possibilities, and don’t forget to consider how much work will be involved in configuring your tool. If it helps, you could create a list of pros and cons to simplify the decision.
Make sure that you share your research with everyone in charge of managing your marketing stack. They should feel just as confident in your choice as you do.
6. Implementation
Finally, once you’ve signed contracts and obtained access to your brand-new tools, you’re ready to integrate them into your martech stack or start one from scratch if you don’t already have one. Depending on the technologies you’ve invested in, and how much of your marketing data you need to process or export, this might be a quite complicated, technical procedure. It might be the most difficult aspect of everything.
Some companies may help with the setup of your martech stack, whether that’s included in your investment or as an extra fee. Having your new tools set up by professionals is a great option, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience or time to devote to your setup.
On an ending note, don’t forget to evaluate your tools on a routine basis. If your marketing technology doesn’t work as promised, or you don’t like it as much as you thought, look at your options and consider switching to a different tech. The numbers of platforms out there are neigh limitless!
Top 5 Tools To Include In Your MarTech Stack
Every company’s martech stack is bound to be unique since every company’s size and marketing strategy varies. However, these basic building blocks are a common feature in most martech stacks.
1. Content Creation & Automation Tool: Desygner Enterprise
Desygner should be your go-to solution for creating visual content, offering numerous tools to create or design images for your business. Desygner allows you to implement content localization, brand compliance, DAM (Digital Asset Management), and more.
Whether you want to improve task approval or ensure your web content meets your marketing strategy’s needs, Desygner’s got you covered!
2. Analytics Tool: Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the most popular web analytics tools – and for a good reason. This free Google-powered tool offers both prescriptive and predictive analytics in equal measure.
However, to utilize Google Analytics effectively, you’ll need to follow a tutorial, as sometimes it can be challenging to analyze the data without any prior knowledge of how it functions. With Google Analytics, observing trends and identifying user flows is like a walk in the park!
3. Customer Relationship Management: Salesforce
Salesforce services allow businesses to use cloud technology to better connect with partners, customers, and potential customers. With the Salesforce CRM, companies can track customer activity, market to customers, and carry out many more services. You can also maximize your Salesforce investment with help from other salesforce services and integrations, such as Salesforce time tracking that can create custom fields or automate manual processes to increase sales team efficiency.
A CRM platform enables you to dig deeper into all of your metrics and data; with Salesforce, you can also create a dashboard that visually displays your data. CRM software solution enhances your sales team’s outreach efforts or customer service’s capacity to assist clients, which is a huge added benefit.
4. Project Management Software: Jira
Jira is a robust work management platform for various types of use cases, varying from agile software development to requirements and test case management.
Jira Software can be tailored to fit any project. Teams have the option of starting with a pre-existing project template, or they may opt for a custom template. Furthermore, administrators can choose who can view what and take what actions by using customizable permissions, and reports can be generated using the project information. This allows you to monitor productivity, track advancement, and make sure nothing is overlooked.
5. SEO Tools: Semrush
SEMrush is software that is used by businesses to run digital marketing strategies, like SEO campaigns. This all-in-one digital marketing program allows you to run SEO, pay-per-click (PPC), and content marketing campaigns.
Using SEMrush, identifying trends that occur within your industry segment becomes a breeze. Moreover, it evaluates your on-page SEO and aids in page improvement. You may use this to better understand your page and SEO-optimize it for improved lead creation.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the benefits of employing a martech stack are limitless. Increased productivity and better identification of customer trends are just the tip of the iceberg-and it only gets better from here! Take reign of your marketing campaigns and integrate Desygner into your martech stack today!
