Is your marketing technology making you inefficient?

Utilised in the right way, Martech has the ability to improve marketing productivity and turnaround times exponentially. The problem? Marketers are adopting so many tools that the very benefits Martech claims to offer are being impeded by having to manage multiple platforms.  Is marketing technology helping your team?

At last count, cheifmartec.com found that there was 6,829 Martech solutions in the marketplace. That?s a staggering amount of software to get your head around. It?s little wonder some marketers are juggling up to 20 tools at a time. A recent Hubspot report revealed that ?82% of salespeople and marketers lose up to an hour a day managing tools? with maintenance being their top challenge.

So why do marketers keep adding to their marketing technology stack?

No clear strategy for implementing marketing tools
Martech has been around for a while now, however many businesses are yet to fully understand how it fits in their operations model. As a result, software is being implemented on an ad hoc or need-by-need basis without any consideration for the long-term effects.

Not clearly understanding the software?s capabilities 
While some technology offers simple features, others are more complex and require dedicated research time to fully understand them. Marketers are implementing tools only to find that they don?t have all the features they require (or too many). Adopting another standalone platform seems to be the obvious solution - thus adding to their current stack.

Recommended reading: The right way to select and implement approval workflow software 

 

Looking for a quick fix
Marketers go in search for a tool that can solve an urgent issue. For example, old marketing assets are being used in campaigns and causing compliance issues, so a digital asset management (DAM) tool is implemented. Meanwhile, a better option might have been selecting a tool that offers project management, approval workflow and resource management as well as DAM to manage the full content production cycle.

The siloed approach
Different departments, divisions, branch locations and even external agencies are adopting software for their own needs without considering the cross over which potentially adds to the marketing department?s technology stack.

 

How to make Martech your friend not foe

Recognise that you have a problem
As they say, before you can fix a problem you first need to recognise that you have one. If your current Martech stack is too time-consuming to manage, it?s time to make a change.

Review your current marketing technology stack
It?s time to take a hard look at your current marketing software and decide if your tools are helping or hindering your productivity. For example:

• Ad hoc tools? are there any tools that you never or rarely use anymore? Put a question mark next to any software like this.
• Duplicate features? mark down the solutions that have some of the same features.
• Siloed tools ? these are tools being used outside of your team but no less end up on your stack. These also need a question mark next to them.
• Underutilised features? this is the complex software that has lots of features you don?t really use

It?s also important that you get feedback from your users in this review. Ask each user to rate each tool: how useful is it, how often do they use it and how necessary do they think it is?

Integration and consolidation
Once you have a clear picture of your current stack, you should be able to eliminate the software that isn?t working for you. At this stage, you might also want to consider swapping standalone solutions for a tool that can do the job of, say, five tools. For example, resource management software can manage marketing projects, approvals and resources as well as offer other beneficial features. Make sure you keep a current record of all the software you are using at any one time.

Recommended reading: Managing marketing resources with MRM software

Implement a clear strategy for implementing Martech
Now that you understand the implications of adopting new Martech, it might be time to implement a strategy for adopting new tools in the future. Remember to maintain visibility over your current stack, make sure you do the research required to fully understand the features of a new tool and get buy in from your users and stakeholders. 

Our guide to selecting the right marketing project management and approval workflow software might help you