I was lucky enough to recently attend the B2B Marketing Ignite event over a period of 3 days, attending various sessions on topics including ABM, branding, data insights and the Martech stack.
One session that stuck out for me was a presentation by Kirsty Dawe, CEO at Webeo, who is a marketer turned vendor. Her presentation titled ‘The 2020 Martech Stack’, shared some fantastic insights in what marketers should really be considering when choosing their own Martech stack for the year. With 1000’s of suppliers to choose from (you only need to look at the Martech 5000 to understand how many), it can be hard to narrow down which supplier is the best fit for your company.
CMO’s currently spend 26% of their budget on their Martech stack, but with only 58% using it to their full potential, the right choices need to be made to ensure you not only get the best match for your company but that you also choose the technology that you are able to use to its full capabilities.
Here are the 6 top things you should consider when choosing your Martech stack:
Decide What is the Most Important
It’s important to map out what you are looking to achieve. For example, are webinars going to be a big focus? If yes, then you need to make sure you invest in a good webinar software. Is marketing automation a focus, or is it actually just email marketing you are looking to do? Make sure you understand the differences between a full marketing automation platform like Marketo, compared to Mailchimp which is all you would need for email marketing.
Use Specialists to Your Advantage
When choosing the technologies/platforms for your Martech stack, you should ensure you choose the platform that has the right specialist to help you. Take time to understand how the specialists can help, although you will want to learn the system, a good specialist will help train your team, while also taking responsibility for the most important parts. This is a great advantage into getting your system up and running quickly.
The Biggest Suppliers aren’t Always the Best
Although it can be easy to pick the biggest suppliers, that doesn’t always mean it is best for you. It’s important to remember what is the problem you are looking to solve? Ask yourself who can solve this best? Often companies will go for the biggest supplier, but then will find 3 months down the line they aren’t the best fit. Find out which suppliers have proven success with clients like yourself, and make sure they understand what you are looking to achieve.
Do you Have the Time to Commit?
Suppliers often believe that for companies to be successful, and get the platform up and running efficiently, they need to be able to commit to the first 45 days. Don’t choose a platform that you don’t have the time to invest in. Why spend the money, if you have to stop onboarding halfway through due to other priorities? Technology in your Martech stack can provide fantastic results, but only if you invest the time to get it working properly.
Always Have a Back-Up Technology Owner
You should always have more than one person in your team who understands how to work the technology. This will avoid any awkward situations, such as if a person leaves to move on to a new job, opening the potential risk of the system going unsued for several weeks or months, while someone new gets up to speed. Ensure you have a team big enough to include a ‘back-up’; someone who knows enough to carry on the job and help avoid your company waste money on an unused platform.
Use Agencies to Your Advantage
Agencies can be great allies when dealing with suppliers. Look to choose a supplier that will be happy to work with your agency. This will be hugely beneficial to your company, as it will ensure that stuff gets done and can help take tasks off your plate when you get to busy.
