How Can Brands Reduce Martech Waste?
Although martech investments continue to rise, martech utilisation is in the swamps. Read what experts have to say about maximising investments while reducing waste.
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Tech investments are increasingly a priority for CMOs, yet research shows that marketers utilise just 42% of their martech stack capabilities. The misselection of tools in one place affects the resources in other crucial locations.
Your martech stack could very well be stuffed with CDPs and CRMs, but if they are isolated across units, they will send your marketing efforts down the drain. Silos in martech tools can be a huge source of waste, ultimately affecting your martech budget and assets.
Martechvibe spoke to experts about making the best of martech investments and aligning complementary technologies to step forward towards digital intelligence.
Maximising martech investments
Martech tools available in the market continue to expand exponentially, and the vast array of options can be confusing. In an attempt to have the best of all, marketers often end up with a humongous martech stack, with the majority of resources sitting unutilised.
“It’s tempting for companies to adopt multiple point solutions that target specific needs; however, this fragmented approach often leads to data silos, disconnected workflows, and bloated tech stacks,” said Mohamad Rabih Itani, Partner in Residential Sales and Marketing Projects at Knight Frank.
He said that the key is to consolidate and integrate martech tools into a unified ecosystem. For example, auditing the current tech stack and identifying overlapping functionalities or gaps, prioritising tools with bi-directional data sharing, single sign-on capabilities, and pre-built connectors, and integrating your CRM and email service provider so contact data, behavioural insights and campaign metrics flow freely between systems.
Yousuf Jamjoom, Founder and CEO of Juleb, said benchmarking acquisition costs against industry comparables gives an indication of where you stand. “It’s very important not to be complacent and always strive to be creative; otherwise, you can quickly fall behind,” he added.
Align technologies to minimise martech waste
Itami said that before implementing new tools, businesses must clearly define the map of the key performance indicators (KPIs) like revenue, lead generation and customer engagement. Every solution should be tied back to measurable business outcomes.
Hossam Swailam, Marketing Director at Schneider Electric, listed down a step-by-step process to focus on technologies for reducing martech waste;
- Conduct a technology audit to know where you are and where you want to go
- Identify key technologies that need to be seamlessly integrated and prioritise them
- Invest in scalable solutions where you can start immediately and scale and amend as you go
- Evaluate the return on investment as you progress
“Marketers should assess their existing martech stacks to identify redundant or underutilised tools, then determine which technologies are essential and align with the brand’s objectives and consider retiring or consolidating others,” said Merhan El Massry, Chief Marketing Officer KSA at FAS Hospitality – Fawaz Al Hokair Group.
She added that in order to avoid duplication of functionality, businesses should identify integration points, data flows, and interoperability needs.
Combine tools and processes for greater digital intelligence
Marketers can get easily overwhelmed because of the quick changes happening in the market these days, said Swailam. To find a way through this puzzle, Itani emphasises fostering a test-and-learn culture.
The way to start is by clearly defining the goals and metrics important to your marketing strategy, said El Massry. “This will help you determine the specific insights you need to gather from your digital activities,” she added. This should be followed by utilising analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics to track and measure website traffic, user behaviour, conversions, and other relevant metrics.
Advanced marketing platforms can provide an intelligent, personalised marketing experience to improve engagement and customer support like never before, said Fatmah Baothman, Founder & Board President and Associate Professor at AI Society, King Abdulaziz University.
The root of gaining a comprehensive understanding of customer behaviour, said Baothman, “lies in integrating data sources such as CRM systems and CDPs using, for example, APIs and data connectors.” She also suggested applying advanced AI technologies with no-code platforms, such as conversational AI or digital chatbots, to uncover hidden customer trends and support decision-makers using appropriate machine learning techniques.
In the end, your martech utilisation comes down to mapping your needs with outcomes. “Do a reversed outlook and examine the results,” concluded Jamjoon, saying that if the results are competitive with benchmarks, that’s a good start.
Itani, Jamjoom, Swailam, El Massry and Baothman will take the stage at Vibe Martech Fest, Saudi Arabia, at Crowne Plaza Riyadh Al Waha, Saudi Arabia, on 8 November 2023. For more information, visit Vibe Martech Fest, Saudi Arabia.
