By Richard Branson has said “Everyone needs something to aim for. You can call it a challenge, or you can call it a goal. It is what makes us human. It was challenges that took us from being cavemen to reaching for the stars.”
There's no doubt that running a business comes with both goals and challenges. And let's face it, of all the squeaky wheels in marketing, digital marketing maturity is often the loudest.
Fortunately, marketing technology, or “martech,” is evolving how businesses operate and providing the tools decision-makers need to streamline operations and develop more mature strategies.
Martech contributes to organizations' overall digital marketing maturity growth and development. By building a solid, well-defined martech stack, organizations can quickly scale their lead generation, content marketing, and revenue operations.
Building a martech stack involves organizational and technical evaluation processes to find tailor-fit marketing technology. In this article, we'll explain how to get started and set up your martech for groundbreaking marketing results.
What Is Marketing Technology?
Marketing technology, commonly known as martech, is an organization's management software toolkit to manage, analyze, and optimize marketing efforts. These tools can range from simple email marketing software and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to complex marketing automation platforms that incorporate solutions for multiple parts of the organization, such as sales, customer service, and data analysis.
In today's digital landscape, martech plays a crucial role in an organization's overall maturity. This is because effective marketing requires a deep understanding of customer behavior and the ability to deliver personalized experiences at scale. Martech tools provide organizations with the data and insights to understand their customers and create targeted marketing campaigns that drive engagement, conversions, and qualified leads.
The market for marketing technology is enormous, as the present global martech market is estimated to be worth $345 billion, and the average business devotes 26% of its marketing budget to technology. Now, considering how crucial the function of marketing is, what part does martech play in an organization's overall digital marketing maturity?
Role Of Marketing Technology In An Organization's Overall Maturity
Martech helps marketers not only automate repetitive tasks but also gather data to analyze campaign activity and its effects on customers. In addition to improving efficiency and effectiveness, martech can help organizations create more personalized customer experiences.
Some martech tools, such as AI-powered chatbots, use customer data and machine learning algorithms to deliver real-time personalized content and recommendations. This not only improves customer engagement and satisfaction but also helps organizations build stronger relationships with their customers. The simplicity and ROI of using these tools contribute to their increasing popularity among marketing teams.
Marketing technology is significant because it considers an organization's needs for marketing execution from beginning to end and how it integrates with other departments. It makes it possible for marketers to scale their campaigns holistically. Martech enhances company collaboration and communication with employees, partners, and customers.
How Organizations Can Improve Their Marketing Technology Stack
A martech stack comprises all the technologies — from lead generation and email marketing to social media management and search engine optimization — that marketers employ to carry out various marketing operations. There are countless strategies businesses may use to enhance their marketing tech stack.
Examine the marketing plan
Organizations should use marketing technologies to carry out tasks that will aid in implementing marketing strategies. This means that every technology they purchase should be able to contribute to the success of their plan. To ensure this alignment, clearly state all of the technological requirements for your company and the objectives you may achieve with each.
Create a structure for your ideal marketing stack
The best way to create a structure or framework for your marketing tech stack is to start with a visual representation. Many organizations use tools like Lucid Chart or Figma, while others prefer Google Slides or Microsoft Excel.
By mapping out how marketing helps achieve your corporate objectives, you can then structure your tech stack to create a solid foundation that will fuel success for many years to come.
Once you’ve identified the marketing categories you wish to include in your stack, they should be mapped and built around an efficient software flow.
Choose the program of your choice
After the corporate and marketing objectives are clearly outlined, you can map out the applications that fit the different needs within your marketing technology stack. Regarding marketing tools, there are too many possibilities for one team to evaluate. Here’s a guide from HubSpot to get you started.
Achieve Digital Marketing Maturity
With your marketing tech stack under control, you are one step closer to understanding your company's digital marketing maturity and developing strategies that drive repeatable outcomes.
Need help laying the foundations for a more mature marketing department? Contact Relequint to learn more.
