New technologies and automation processes play an increasingly important role in modern marketing. In order for companies to be able to successfully influence the customer journey in all phases, reliable and comprehensive marketing technologies are required. You can find out what is important in this article in this article. The number of marketing technology (martech) tools has grown exponentially in recent years, increasingly integrating new categories within this landscape – including, for example, applications for data governance and data privacy compliance. This multitude of solutions can be intimidating or overwhelming and poses new challenges for marketers in particular and companies in general since the insights from these tools are often not or not sufficiently linked. It is therefore not surprising that, according to a survey by the Marketing Tech Monitor in Germany, only five percent of the entire marketing budget is spent on technology.
For many companies, MarTech means arming themselves with tools on any channel or platform, creating dashboards, and being able to track results. MarTech is not synonymous with DIY technology. In conjunction with independent advice, it can achieve much more than pure DIY approaches and, above all, can be aligned much more holistically than this to the entire company. MarTech tools help to understand the customer journeys much better and ultimately to have marketing activities specifically geared towards them.
Stop thinking in silos and start with Mar-Tech solutions
Especially in large companies, it is still difficult to establish a connection between all departments and activities. This is certainly due to the high complexity of modern marketing with its countless internal and external interfaces. Therefore, the decision for individual tools is often made at the departmental level. It is not uncommon for decisions to be made here based on aspects that are too strongly driven by the interests of the respective department or unit, and not on the bottom-line result that can ultimately be achieved for the entire company.
An example of this silo thinking is when a decision is made in favor of quick, at first glance “simple” solutions such as Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA). They promise a lot, and deliver attractive dashboards, but are limited to isolated aspects of marketing and only focus on short-term results. However, companies can only be successful as a whole if they say goodbye to this silo mentality and consider the various touchpoints in their entire interaction.
A look at the European Marketing Agenda reveals that establishing a consistent customer experience along all touchpoints plays a key role in companies. And this is exactly where the holistic MarTech solutions come into play. A look at the European Marketing Agenda reveals that establishing a consistent customer experience along all touchpoints plays a key role in companies. And this is exactly where the holistic MarTech solutions come into play. A look at the European Marketing Agenda reveals that establishing a consistent customer experience along all touchpoints plays a key role in companies. And this is exactly where the holistic MarTech solutions come into play.
A holistic model combines all data at this point and creates a superordinate world model of the company. After all, what good does it do for the company if campaigns are successful in acquiring new customers, but regular customers leave and business literally goes down the drain? However, if all stakeholders are involved in the development of the model and are sitting around a table, the questions that are crucial for the success of the entire company can be created together and which should be answered with the help of a corresponding MarTech solution. These include, for example, “How do the touchpoints work in the customer journey both individually and in interaction with each other and how can they be further optimized?”, “How can touchpoints be optimized for individual customer segments”, “How do digital and non-digital touchpoints work together?”, “Which touchpoints are better for short-term campaigns suitable and which ones for long-term brand building?”.
Support through the interplay of experience, knowledge, and artificial intelligence
In addition to silo thinking, the human factor also plays a role: everyone has prejudices, unconsciously reacts emotionally and at some point reaches the limits of their capacities. Broken down to marketing, this means that decision-makers often work with certain assumptions, images, or segments of customers. After all, not only is each individual decision-maker extremely complex, but also marketing and all associated aspects, such as the mass of data that could be analyzed. The consequence of this is that individuals simplify things and develop heuristics that help them deal with complexity better.
When supported by independent advice, MarTech solutions can uncover previously undetected connections. In this context, they then serve as a radar or measuring instrument for decision-makers to check the above-mentioned heuristics and break them down if necessary. They make assumptions measurable, decisions comprehensible, and also verifiable through data-supported results.
The increasing complexity of marketing often brings with it the fear of wrong decisions, which lead to a loss of sales and which may not be recognized in time. With appropriate solutions, such misjudgments can be uncovered and avoided for the future, measures can be quantified and successes can be measured. At this level, it is also possible to say goodbye to outdated processes that have become established and have often only been changed marginally over the years.
Consistent approach through the combination with additional products and solutions
As already mentioned, the analysis as part of the holistic approach can take various forms and ideally be supported by additional products and solutions. In this way, A/B tests can check a strategic approach or explore new offers in test markets. Live modeling also enables a much faster evaluation, which companies can then use to react quickly and granularly to market developments.
Backing these results with data and “external” or higher-level analysis can drive a much higher level of acceptance of the decision-making process in the company – for example, when it comes to budget allocations. In this way, all relevant areas are included in the process and given equal consideration.
The associated change management is an important but unfortunately too often neglected factor when a holistic MarTech approach, for example in the form of a measurement program, is to be successfully implemented in a company. And not only to create this holistic picture of the results, but also to involve all stakeholders in entering and evaluating the data and to make them heard. Looking again at the European Marketing Agenda, it can be seen that companies recognize the urgency and are actively striving for change management. Change management should affect changes in the existing organization in terms of working methods and the use of IT applications.
Opportunities for your own change management
A lot has changed at an enormous speed in marketing and also in the infrastructure. As a result, companies today are in very different places when it comes to digital transformation and customer relationship management and therefore use different solutions. So there is no established script as to how these challenges can best be mastered – after all, a model has to fit the respective company. This is the only way to efficiently implement the desired transformation.
It is often wrongly assumed that the challenge in implementing or successfully using these MarTech solutions lies at the technological level. In fact, however, the organizational level and especially the human factor also play a very important role. Getting the different departments and teams to agree on specific tools or even just one solution and agree on how the generated data is evaluated and used is sometimes a mammoth task. In the past, the division of tasks within a company was often seen as a recipe for success for growth. However, in the course of change management, it is now necessary to reconnect these teams. As a result, companies should be able to develop a holistic customer journey with the help of a holistic MarTech solution. This makes the consumer’s purchasing decision as easy as possible for the customer – from strategy to creation to user experience.
Tracking a user and showing their exact journey is simply impossible – not only because of the new e-privacy guidelines. With the help of a company-oriented model, however, marketing can be optimally aligned to customer needs and continuously optimized.
