Navigating the MarTech Labyrinth

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While marketing technology is now fundamental to modern marketers’ toolbox, it cannot replace strategy completely. When we get down to the base level, marketing is ultimately about messaging, and sales is all about the execution on that message into a sale. Business management, fellow workers, and of course “the boss” must comprehend Martech for themselves, which is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a successful marketer.

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Year on year business marketing budgets have increased substantially to cater to those big Martech investments, and the modern marketer must be very accustomed and aware of how exactly Martech and its related tools operate.

But you can’t play with the toys till you stop listening to the noise. In reality, there are a multitude of competing noises that further complicate the ability to make a sound decision on the choice and where precisely a marketer needs to pay the most attention.

The abundance of vendors offering the whole shebang from social media communication tools to CRM and its automation is where we are all spoilt for choice and makes that simple decision on a choice even more difficult.

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A customer’s brain is designed to ignore us when we start confusing them with our messages, and the same applies to any modern marketers’ brain when the noise gets too loud.

Marketing’s basic and fundamental foundation is all about whether we package it in different boxes or wrap it in a coloured paper doesn’t matter. Successful research depends on the integrity of the data that can be gathered, interpreted and then the action taken from that information. Martech provides marketers with the ability to provide the best data and research to build up the most relevant marketing message to drive those wanted repeat sales.

However, research is nothing without a strategy for how we are going to use it. 

For many years, a great tool is SOSTAC, a planning framework that can be used in both business and in your personal life. For one example, the SOSTAC planning framework can be used to design your digital marketing plan and the structure will also include the development of your digital communications strategy, tactics, and actions. 

SOSATC is widely used by KPMG, LinkedIn and is endorsed by the CIM – Chartered Institute of Marketing.

1.  Situation Analysis – Where are we now?
2.  Objectives – Where are we going?
3.  Strategy – How do we get there?
4.  Tactics – How exactly do we get there? Details of Strategy
5.  Actions – Details of the tactics
6.  Control – How do we measure performance?

Technology can and will contribute to every single aspect of a successful SOSTAC plan. They will most notably supply the research for latest and relevant data to assist in breaking down the planned strategy into tactics and then actions. These tactics and actions can then be activated and assist you with your choice from a Martech stack’s numerous options.