How to Build the Right MarTech Stack
Spoiler alert: There is no one-size-fits all MarTech stack.
Every company is different—you've got your own priorities, budget, existing tech, and team skills. All these things factor into choosing the right marketing tools. But if you're just starting out, here are a few things to think about.
Know Your Customer Journeys
If you’ve already segmented your customers and documented their journeys, give yourself a gold star and skip ahead to the next consideration.
If not, it's time to gather what you know. Pull together data from your website traffic, social media, and email analytics. Chat with your sales and customer service teams to get their insights. Most importantly, talk to your customers.
The main idea is to figure out what makes your customers different from each other (your segments) and what questions they have as they go from "I need something" to "This is the perfect product for me." What info do they need? When and where do they look for it? What makes them decide to buy? That’s their customer journey.
Set Meaningful Business Goals
Once you understand your customer journeys, you can set some meaningful business goals. For example, maybe you've learned that your customers love a good discount. A great goal could be to grow your rewards program by 20%.
To do that, you'll need tools that can separate rewards members from non-members, send promos to the non-members, and track who signs up.
Assess Your Current Stack Against Those Goals
Let's stick with the rewards program example from above.
Can your current tools send targeted emails or personalize your website content? Can they track when someone joins the program and update their customer profile? Can they automate all the welcome messages and other communications once someone joins? And do they help create a great experience that makes members want to stick around?
If you answered "no" to any of these, you've just found a requirement for your new MarTech stack. Now you can make a list of your needs and start searching for the right platform to help you hit your goals.
Choosing Your Stack is Just the Start
No matter which MarTech platforms you choose, the real work begins after you've made your selection. You'll need a solid content plan that speaks to all your different customer segments and where they are in their journey. You'll have to create all those messages, update your tracking to measure your goals, and then watch your campaigns to see what's working and what's not.
And one last thing: stay flexible! Customer needs, your competition, and new tech will always be changing. This just means new chances to serve your customers even better.
