Did you know that there are nearly 10,000 software solutions in the MarTech space alone?
With the average MarTech stack being more than 90 applications tall (and many of those applications going consistently unused), it’s clear that many organizations could stand to benefit from a decluttering session.
But how can you make sure that each tool in your MarTech stack is truly a building block for you and your marketing success? Here’s a guide to evaluating and streamlining your
MarTech stack so you can enjoy the efficiency and effectiveness your business goals deserve.
Start by Assessing Your Current Tools – Here's How
Ready to go through your existing MarTech stack to identify redundancies and underutilized tools?
Here’s where we recommend starting.
First, conduct a MarTech audit.
Conducting a thorough audit entails the following steps:
- Start by jotting down every tool in your arsenal. Understanding their functions and categorizing them will help you see the forest for the trees.
- Then, evaluate each tool according to the following key criteria:
- Impact: Does the tool drive your marketing goals?
- Usage: How frequently is it being used?
- Adoption: Is your team fully leveraging its capabilities?
- Integration: Does it play well with other tools in your stack?
- Investment: How much of your budget is it consuming?
3. Once you have a clearer idea of which tools you’re actually using and how much value you’re getting from them, you have a step remaining before you can start canceling subscriptions.
Identify any gaps in your MarTech stack.
Your goal is to avoid having to sign up for more MarTech tools after you’ve completed this audit—so, before you streamline too much, consider what you want out of your MarTech stack.
You may be able to identify new ways to integrate and use your existing tools, which will help you avoid expensive experimentation after you have your simplified tool kit.
Ready to see if there’s anything you’re missing? Check for gaps in your tech stack by:
- Conducting a functional analysis: Map out the capabilities of your current tools against the needs of your marketing strategy. See if you can identify any areas where you’re missing needed support.
- Asking your team for feedback: Your team's on-the-ground experience can uncover practical insights into where your stack might be falling short.
- Doing market research: Stay informed about emerging tools and technologies. They may offer new functionalities that fill existing gaps in your stack, driving you closer to your marketing goals.
Set clear marketing goals.
You need to know what you’re working toward—and you need to be able to share your goals with your team. One good way to set clearly achievable, clearly communicated goals is to adopt specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals that can help you align your efforts.
For example, you could set a SMART goal of increasing your website traffic by 30 percent within six months. After six months, you’ll know whether you hit that target or not, which can help you assess whether the tools you’re using are as effective as they need to be.
Finally, implement your streamlined MarTech Stack.
To avoid unnecessary obstacles, consider these steps to make transitioning to a smaller tech stack smoother:
- Gradually phase out tools that are no longer needed, allowing your team time to adjust to changes in workflows and processes.
- For remaining or new tools, invest in training and adoption strategies to ensure your team can fully leverage their capabilities. One of those adoption strategies should involve extending your newly vetted tech stack components to teams in your organization that didn’t previously have access but could definitely benefit from it.
- Encourage regular communication between marketing, sales, IT, and other relevant departments when implementing new tools or changes to your stack.
- Stay informed about the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in marketing so you can stay current and update your MarTech stack as your business evolves.
Ready, Set, Declutter! Let's Streamline Your MarTech Stack
Optimizing your MarTech stack is an opportunity for far more than just reducing the number of tools you use (and recouping a piggy bank full of subscription fees—although, admittedly, that is nice). Rather, by taking the steps needed to declutter your stack and align your team, you’re setting your team up for powerful cross-departmental collaboration and lean, effective use of tools that work hard for you.
Interested in streamlining your tool kit and helping your team accomplish far more with far less? Reach out to Innervate today to learn more about decluttering your MarTech stack, creative ways to scale, and more.
