Back in March, our Cofounder and CEO, Krista LaRiviere, wrote an article on the overwhelming abundance of marketing technology facing the industry today. We affectionately referred to this problem as The Martech Muddle. In the post, Krista outlined a quick list of the typical tools many marketers use on a regular basis. Even done as just a brief exercise, the list is exhausting.
As the Senior Marketing Manager for gShift, this is a problem I know all too well. On any given day, I log into at least 5-7 different pieces of marketing technology to do my job. In fact, there are at least three platforms I never close at all. I need to leave them open permanently, so I can continuously refer to them to accomplish my strategic daily marketing tactics. For myself, those top 3 platforms or tools are Google Drive, Sprout Social and, of course, gShift (shameless, but honest plug).
Personally, I use various platforms and tools for everything from content planning and strategy, industry and competitive research and keyword research, to content building and optimization, social post listening and ultimately monitoring and analytics reporting for SEO, content and most recently added, influencer marketing.
As a technology company, we obviously aim to eat our own dog food. Some days I feel like I have the upper hand because I am a member of my own target audience. However, that doesn’t mean I am any less impacted by “The Martech Muddle.” I know, as a digital marketer, I’m not alone.
To fully understand this challenge, Krista launched a survey from her original blog post. We then took the same survey to the MarTech Conference in San Francisco in the same month. We asked marketers to weigh in on how many pieces of digital marketing technology they use continually on a monthly basis. With over 200 respondents, we got a very clear picture. The slew of marketing technology today is overwhelming industry professionals on a whole.
Nearly 40% of digital marketers surveyed, responded they use 6-9 pieces of technology each month. 9% of respondents admitted to using more than 10.
As Krista mentioned in her post, the idea of convergence in marketing technology is not a new one. Digital marketers have been asking, many even begging, for better convergence the past few years. Just last August, Krista was a panelist in a CMSWire Tweet Jam, discussing MarTech convergence. The overall message during the chat was clear. Marketers are looking for more platforms, which will combine multiple functionalities into a single instance.
A5: Look for vendors who offer solutions to as many pain points as possible. Prioritize investments to what fits your biggest needs #cxmchat
— Krista LaRiviere (@KristaLariviere) August 27, 2015
Now, full and complete convergence will never be possible. There will never be one marketing tool to rule them all. TWEET THIS
If there were, it would be a little terrifying. However, through innovation and acquisitions, some technology companies are starting to address the problem. We have also seen a trend in the growing number of integrations; proving more and more technologies are willing to play well with each other in the same sandbox.
A4: To make the most of current tech investments, look for vendors who play well with your existing instalments. #cxmchat
— Krista LaRiviere (@KristaLariviere) August 27, 2015
If we are all going live by the promises we make to simplify the lives of digital marketers, as technology providers, these are the strategies we need to be working towards.
With any luck, Scott Brinker’s incredibly daunting 2016 Marketing Technology Landscape grid, will not get any hairier than it already is.
The latest MarTech Landscape Supergraphic for 2016 from Scott Brinker