Decluttering Your MarTech Stack for Quick Wins & a Scalable CX Future
The Compounding Challenges of a Cluttered B2C MarTech Stack
The Surprising Power of Decluttered, Dynamic MarTech Stacks
Is There a Simple Solution to MarTech Stack Complexity?
Ready to Get Started with B2C MarTech Stack Decluttering?
The Compounding Challenges of a Cluttered B2C MarTech Stack
In 2023, there were more than 11,000 tools available in the MarTech space alone. Companies with marketing needs tend to buy in, which has resulted in an average of 91 tools purchased per organization.
Now, if each of those tools was utilized to its fullest extent to add value to your company, that wouldn’t be a problem. But it doesn’t seem that this is the case.
Instead, cluttered MarTech stacks tend to add up to:
- Siloed processes, siloed data use, and siloed productivity
- Disconnected customer experiences
- Team inefficiency, which leads to unhappy employees
- Spiraling costs
Ultimately, only about one-third of MarTech stacks tend to get used. This indicates a fundamental disconnect in resource utilization. It also makes the challenges of executives managing these tech stacks more significant. As industry leaders attempt to address compliance and security risks, reduce time to market, and improve operational metrics, having more solutions that don’t perform as expected gets in their way.
Decluttering the MarTech stack of redundant, underused solutions and opting instead for a cohesive, lean strategy can save executives and their teams a lot of time.
The Surprising Power of Decluttered, Dynamic MarTech Stacks
When you isolate the marketing tools you’re actually using, figure out how to maximize their use, and ditch the rest, you unlock a world of benefits.
These include:
- Improved ROI: If each tool in your MarTech stack serves a specific purpose without overlap, the amount you’re spending on marketing tools will probably be lower and include less waste. A precision-targeted, no-redundancy stack also allows teams to focus on using each platform to its fullest extent.
- Better data integration: Simplified MarTech stacks facilitate smoother data integration across platforms. When fewer, more relevant tools are in use, each can be more easily configured to share data, leading to a unified view into customer interactions and behaviors. This integration enhances the ability to analyze and act on data, making marketing efforts more cohesive and personalized to the audience.
- More team cohesion: Reducing the complexity of your MarTech stack reduces learning curves for both new and old team members, fostering a more easily collaborative environment. Having fewer systems to become proficient in also means teams can work together more efficiently.
- Enhanced customer experiences: A streamlined MarTech stack can even fuel more personalized, timely customer interactions. When your data is better integrated and your team is more focused, you can align CX efforts more closely with customer needs and preferences. The result? More engaging, relevant content is delivered to customers, improving their overall experience with your brand.
However, achieving these benefits can be challenging without a clear strategy and understanding of how to effectively consolidate and utilize your marketing technology.
Is There a Simple Solution to MarTech Stack Complexity?
If the thought of sitting down and evaluating more than 90 MarTech subscriptions seems completely overwhelming, we get it. You don’t have time for that right now.
You need quick wins, more efficiency, and less on your to-do list—not more.
If increased focus and simplification are your goal, let’s start with that now. As you work toward a decluttered MarTech stack, what are the highest-impact steps that will get you where you need to be?
Here's What You Need in a True Decluttering Solution
Simplifying and decluttering your MarTech stack will require a strategic audit of your current tools to identify overlaps, of course.
But here’s the thing: You bought those tools for a reason. You wanted more efficiency and efficacy from your teams. Decluttering your stack is only a part of the problem. You need a way to boost team cohesion and operational efficiency, too. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself on the market for new solutions before long.
To move forward with B2C MarTech stack simplification, consider focusing on:
Activating your customer data–getting your data out of siloes and into the hands of all of your teams, so they can use it to drive consistent and personalized CX
Scaling your creative production– figuring out tenable ways to boost the rate of content creation, so creative production can grow with your business needs
Tightening up your data management–implementing strong governance to maintain data privacy and integrity, even as more of your teams use data more comprehensively to speak more directly to specific customers
Building easy-to-grok data analytics reports into your processes—so you’re better able to use data-driven insights to make decisions about what’s working well (and what isn’t)
Integrating your existing systems—finding ways to make your tools work together instead of having a series of disconnected tools in your tech stack
Setting yourself up for flexibility—realizing that you’re going to need to be able to pivot strategies based on the real-time data you’ll be able to collect and pulling together systems that will allow you to be agile
And, of course, throughout this whole process, you’ll need to prioritize cost efficiencies, too.
This may sound like a lot to tackle. (It is.)
Two aims to prioritize include finding best-fit solutions and activating your customer data. The IDC Executive CIO Quick Poll: Focus On CX (May 2023) reports that when determining strategic CX investments, you should focus on secure tech that fits into your existing stack and truly enhances both CX and team operations. In other words, before you consider adding another element to your tech stack, make sure it’ll really work for your team and integrate seamlessly with what you already have.
The other quick-win priority is activating your customer data. While this may not seem like a relevant task to tackle, it’s a hefty value add that will make achieving your goals much, much easier.
Enhance customer experiences using constantly updating customer data to provide what your customers need with unprecedented precision.
Break down silos for an integrated customer view and more efficient use of resources within your organization.
Benefit from real-time insights so you can react swiftly when your market changes.
Uncover new revenue opportunities by leveraging data to identify untapped markets or customer needs.
Leverage insights for informed product or service development, which can help you know that your innovations are guided by concrete data rather than assumptions, increasing the likelihood of market success.
Support sustainable scaling by making informed decisions that drive efficiency and effectiveness, allowing your business to grow without compromising on quality or customer satisfaction.
Currently, a significant challenge organizations face is ensuring that valuable data is not only collected but also made actionable across the board. Yet, according to the IDC Executive CIO Quick Poll: Focus on CX (May 2023), less than a quarter of polled industry leaders have implemented effective processes or governance to ensure good data use.
This means that you have an opportunity to differentiate yourself and add value for your team and your target demographic. Activate your data, use it to streamline your processes and tech stack, and, ultimately, deliver more personalized, effective CX. You’ll spend less, and you’ll see your ROI soar.
Ready to Get Started with B2C MarTech Stack Decluttering?
If it’s time for you and your company to realize the benefits of a streamlined tech stack, here are your next steps:
- Assess what you currently have to identify underused, redundant, or strategically misaligned tools.
- Define your objectives for decluttering and data activation efforts.
- Activate your data and make it safely and seamlessly accessible to fuel improved decision-making and personalized customer experiences.
- Prioritize data integration for a unified operational view.
- Embrace agility, flexibility, and iterative improvements in your decluttering and data activation strategies.
Tackling these tasks will help you lay the foundation for significant growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Whether you’re looking to declutter your tech stack or activate your data, Innervate offers plug-and-play solutions and mega projects that evolve with your needs. We’re here to help you access a portfolio of customer experience cases that leverage your data through processes tailored specifically for your organization.
