Understanding the Ins and Outs
MarTech – we throw around the term as if it’s universally understood, but plenty of people aren’t entirely sure what it is, exactly.
Don’t panic. That’s normal.
We don’t have to tell you that technology is playing an increasingly larger role in all businesses, and MarTech (Marketing Technology) is simply an extension of that — it’s a catch-all term referring to any piece of software designed to make marketing easier.
Here are some quick examples:
- Software tracking promotional use of coupons
- Automated email campaign software
- Social media automation
The answer to “What is MarTech?” essentially boils down to this: MarTech is any piece of software that executes a marketing process so you don’t have to.
The Progression of MarTech
Think of the progression in the same way we experienced the evolution of apps for our smartphones. What started as a few hokey, low function tools exploded into everything from day trading platforms to photographic check deposits and real-time delivery tracking.
In much the same way, MarTech has boomed and currently offers a precise solution for nearly every need of the modern marketer.
MarTech’s Role Today and Tomorrow
A hallmark characteristic of the most successful marketer is their willingness to embrace and utilize new technology.
Smart marketers embraced MarTech early, and since its inception, MarTech solutions have become an absolute industry standard. These types of MarTech have typically been focused on a few core functionalities, like automating emails and processing the data into easily digestible reports.
While many MarTech tools, like MailChimp or Hootsuite, have asserted themselves as a consistent presence in the marketer’s toolbox, a new era of MarTech is on the horizon. Technological enhancements, like AI and machine learning, are honing the cutting edge of MarTech capabilities.
This incorporation of advanced tech means powerful new tools, like AI-fueled CX marketing, more adaptive lifecycle marketing solutions, better conversational marketing, and more precise data-driven marketing. These are all tools to market like never before, redefining what it means to be a marketing professional and deeply, inseparably linking our jobs with MarTech.
Exploring Our Options
One advantage of modern times is the seemingly limitless options we are presented every day, whether that be shopping on Amazon or unlimited streaming packages. We’re simply spoiled by choice, and MarTech is no different.
Over a diverse range of needs, like CRM MarTech, Web Analytics MarTech or SEO MarTech, there are literally thousands of (7,040 to be exact) MarTech solutions geared towards each and every niche of the marketing spectrum.
There are so many options, it can even be a little intimidating.
To simplify our choices, we can look at this handy Periodic Table of MarTech. It outlines 24 main subcategories of MarTech software and services providers within those categories. So, if you’re trying to decide what MarTech is right for you, this is a great place to start.
Benefits of MarTech
The primary reason MarTech has become an industry standard is simple: MarTech gets results.
Let’s look at an Ascend2 report on MarTech’s performance in the workplace.
Ascend2’s surveys suggest that 87 percent of marketers believe that MarTech is improving performance in their organization. In the same report, 67 percent of marketers thought that their organization could benefit from introducing more MarTech. This shows that MarTech is an advancement welcome across the board and the level of integration into the day-to-day workflow will only increase.
What’s Right for Me?
The simple answer is that your demands will dictate the right MarTech for you — identify useful tools and ignore ones without obvious practical application.
What is really important — and what we want to stress here — is what not to buy, and that is anything that does not have a proven functionality within your organization. MarTech can be expensive and with so many good options available, there’s no reason not to invest in anything less than ideal solutions.
That said, there is something out there that’s right for you — MarTech is one of the most exciting things to happen to business in a long time, it’s proven and it’s here to stay.
The only question is how you’ll embrace it.
Are you interested in creating or adding to your existing MarTech stack? Contact us to see if our cloud-based MarCom solutions are the right fit for you.
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