Techstack doesn’t have to be a dirty word. The technology you use to keep your business thriving can actually make life so much easier. If you select the right marketing technology (aka martech), you can skyrocket the effectiveness of your marketing programs without slogging through manual work that feels like a burden. In our recent webinar “How to Invest in a Winning Martech Stack,” Hussam AlMukhtar, Senior Director of Strategic Growth & Partnerships at ZoomInfo, and Andrew McCraith, VP of Partnerships & Alliances at Act-On, discuss the nuances of martech and building the best possible techstack for your business.
If you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve in today’s competitive market, you’ll want to check out these 6 key takeaways from this discussion.
Takeaway 1: Data Quality is Key
The foundation of any healthy martech stack is the quality of data you have and the insights it gives you.
In this clip, Hussam AlMukhtar explains, “The foundation of the data you have is nearly as important as your entire marketing budget.” Insights into who you are selling to, what their interests are, and how they interact with your brand are critical to success, because this data is the catalyst for your strategic marketing decisions.
Takeaway 2: Try New Things
Have you ever heard the expression “Perfection is the enemy of progress?” This is a statement that should be on a sticky note on every marketer’s laptop. The name of the game is iteration, because the perfect plan can only get you so far. In marketing, sometimes it pays to execute something imperfect and learn from it.
Andrew McCraith shares his excitement for “trying a bunch of stuff that’s good and going fast.” He advises trying a message and seeing what the reaction is without getting too caught up in perfection.
Takeaway 3: Don’t Create a Silo With Tech
There are a lot of options when it comes to technology, but not all of them will work together. It’s important to take the time to find the right mix of products that play well together, or you risk creating more problems for your company.
AlMukhtar explains, “You might see a tool and think that’s the best kind of function I could bring into my stack. But you’ve effectively created a silo.” Every piece of technology you add to your stack should add value to your overall mission, but not having it integrated means you don’t know what that full picture looks like.
Having separate technologies for things like customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning or other business functions creates data siloes, and silo, my friend IS a dirty word in marketing.
Takeaway 4: Capture Your Buyer’s Attention
A buyer’s attention is harder to come by than ever before. With so much noise in the market, it’s more important than ever to have a message that cuts through and speaks directly to your audience.
MCraith advises, “If you don’t reach out to your buyers, you’re going to miss your window of opportunity, so it’s important to find ways to engage them repeatedly so you’re present when they are in market for your product or service.” Relying on one email or one ad isn’t enough. Instead, companies should focus on multiple channels with messages coming from multiple directions. And, using marketing automation helps to link your channels together with details and data to identify the right moment to engage.
Takeaway 5: Consolidate Your Martech Stack
More tools don’t necessarily mean better outcomes. In a world where we are given a way to solve nearly everything with a SaaS tool, the list can become endless. It’s important to focus on the tools that work best for your company, and not get distracted by shiny new objects.
AlMukhtar shares, “Organizations are in a place where they need to determine how much they spend on the tools they have and what areas of focus they fit.” Consolidating your tech stack helps increase your company’s efficiency, specifically when the economic market is turbulent.
Takeaway 6: Try a New Perspective
Just like using disconnected tools for different areas of your business, digital transformation in general has a way of inadvertently creating silos within companies. Every silo you introduce into your wider data picture also introduces a potential loss in translation.
AlMukhtar warns, “What I would urge marketers to think about from a consumer buyer behavior perspective is to try and remove some of these silos to understand the behavior a little better.” It’s important to improve the cohesiveness of data across teams to ensure a streamlined approach to the buying process.
Want All the Juice on Creating a Winning Martech Strategy?
Dive a little deeper into understanding your martech stack and how to invest in a strategy that will create a successful outcome. Watch the full webinar recording to learn more from these top experts.