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Crack the Stack: Optimizing your Marketing Technology


Crack the Stack: 4 keys to optimizing your marketing technology

Gartner’s survey estimates the 29% of the overall marketing budget goes fund the marketing stack (up from 22% in 2017) and is now the single biggest component for many companies.  More than just cost, a well-executed stack provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace and ensures the company meets its sales and retention goals. It’s such a focus in some companies, there’s even annual awards, the stackies!  This article provides a working definition, describes why its so hard to get stacks right, and provides 4 steps you can take to get the most out of your investment.

A marketing technology stack is a grouping of technologies used to conduct and improve marketing activities. “Martech” automates processes and data flows to improve efficiencies and increase the ability to engage customers and win in the marketplace. 

The stack typically includes critical components of marketing execution, including:
       Content Management System (CMS): serves web and blog content
       Advertising Technology: includes display, SEM, retargeting, adtracking & attribution)
       Engagement Channels: social, email, webinar, sms, call center, form pages,...
       Reporting & Analytics: provide dashboards and insights
       Customer Relationship Management (CRM): tracks and shares customer behavior
       Search Engine Optimization (SEO): track and maximize organic search results
       Data Orchestration and Architecture: manage data flows, tagging, and platform integration



Here’s a helpful breakdown on why it’s important to optimize your marketing stack.



Despite all the attention stacks get, they are incredibly hard to get right. Five factors are major contributors to this challenge:
       No “one size fits all” model: Most stacks are unique due to industry specific requirements and the build-up of legacy processes and systems
       Constant change: Rapid evolution of technology, platform ecosystems, regulations, and business models
       Misalignment between skills and capabilities: The optimal marketing stack structure evolves as organizations grow in scale and mature in their integrated marketing capabilities
       Redundancies, interoperability limitations and data gaps: Many organizations have built stacks without a centralized platform selection and integration governance
       Data orchestration and architecture are an afterthought: Most organizations fail to prioritize data management in their stack capability and skill development, increasing workarounds and reducing functionality and ROI

All of these reasons drive the need for ongoing active management, selection, and integration.  Further, companies must invest in a defined data enablement strategy to unlock the value of their platforms and customer data.

4 Keys to optimizing your marketing technology stack:

1. Understand your stack
A clear understanding of all the systems and data flows is the first step.  This may sound simple, but often the reality is siloed between functions and channel teams and requires effort to ensure the level of detailed needed.  I use the following steps to accomplish this:
                                i.            Inventory current systems & recognize duplicates & conflicts
                               ii.            Map data flows and frameworks
                             iii.            Quantify the headcount needed to support core functions
                             iv.            Identify security & compliance challenges
                               v.            Identify pain points and process bottlenecks
2. Match your stack to current and future business needs

OK, so you know what’s in your stack and how the data flows within it.  Next, its important to align the current stack with the business strategy, sales and marketing plan, and budget.  This step helps to “right-size” the platforms and data use cases over time and combat the inevitable “shiny object syndrome” to which execs can sometimes fall prey. 
The below framework applies a generic stack over the capability maturity progression.  Note that some functions and tools start to play a role only in the later stages of maturity. 

3. Integrate your platforms and data
 One of the most common gaps I see with clients is the lack of attention they pay to data orchestration, architecture and reporting.  Think of data as the fuel required to drive the value of the marketing stack.  While rarely an end-in-itself, the disciplined capture, tagging, storage, and retrieval of data is a core requirement. 
Of the many challenges, a big part is the need to integrate disparate or legacy systems. Often different functions insist on best-in-class platforms that perform well in isolation but don’t share data well.  Target Marketing’s 2018 survey suggests integrating the existing stack is the #1 focus area to improve customer experience.
Another challenge is the platform vendors themselves, who’s promises of seamless integrations set a false expectation of what’s really required to make this stuff work.  Even add-on’s to your central Salesforce, Oracle or Adobe product-set are themselves a patchwork of acquisitions and far from natively integrated.
The below image tries to capture the significant role that data plays in the stack puzzle and why it needs to be a priority, especially when you need to integrate diverse systems. 

4. Ongoing management and improvement
In a recent Korn Ferry survey, 27% of CMO’s were concerned with staying ahead and taking advantage of digital tech trends.  Another 22% admitted they struggled managing their current technology.  More than just staying ahead, many companies struggle to effectively manage the patchwork of legacy systems they have.  The best companies apply the following tactics to ensure the get the most out of their technology investment:
                       i.   Oversight: Encourage a technology oversight committee to review the existing stack, address gaps, conflicts and redundancies and review relevant new technology partners.
                      ii.   Make Data a priority:  Invest in a data orchestration and architecture to better integrate and access key data elements and support diverse solutions.  Then mine the data for insights and strategies.
                    iii.   Align your stack needs with organizational skills and resources:  Invest in people and training where necessary and watch out for outsourcing core competencies 
                    iv.   Continue to improve and innovate around the business strategy and leverage new tools to unlock customer value and operational efficiencies

Marketing stacks are a critical component of your go-to-market strategy and can make the difference in attracting and keep customers. Complex and evolving, effective stacks require constant assessment and improvement in partnership with a deliberate data enablement strategy . 
There’s no one right stack and no one expert.  Share your thoughts and comments…

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