What's your process for choosing and integrating marketing technology tools?

One method of assessing the needs that helped me in the past: 1. Start with creating a user journey without any constraints of availability of tools. Yes, user journey doesn't need to be linear, that is why focus on certain events. Eg. In my case, it was on these lines (this is a very simplified version): User discovery through ads > Landing Page > Retargeting Ads > Landing Page > Collecting user info > Email drip + Custom ads > Conversion 2. Post-defining the journey, explore tools for each touchpoint, e.g., ABM ad platforms, Google AdWords, social media ads for user discovery. Assess through competitor analysis, customer and expert insights. Ensure they align with your budget and expertise or plan to develop necessary skills.

Begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of your marketing needs and goals first. Determine what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts, whether it's lead generation, customer engagement, data analysis, or other objectives. This will help you to develop a roadmap that outlines the technologies and tools you currently use, along with any gaps in your marketing stack. Then you need to identify the specific functionalities you require and prioritize them based on your goals.

Be tech agnostic from the get go and focus on business needs first. I found that being tied to the outcome is more important than being tied to the tech. By starting off your journey by first clearly articulating and defining the end use case and output, you avoid bringing on shiny tech that won’t solve your core need. You know exactly what you need the end product to look like and then it becomes a matter of finding the right lego pieces of tech to make it happen.

The incorporation of marketing technology within the workplace represents a strategic advancement aimed at augmenting operational efficiency. Through the utilization of these technological tools, businesses can attain higher levels of productivity within lesser timeframes. Moreover, this integration serves to mitigate the occurrence of human errors, thereby fostering precision and accuracy in tasks. Particularly noteworthy is the advantage derived from automating repetitive responsibilities, thereby freeing up valuable time that can be channeled towards activities of elevated quality and strategic significance. This harmonious amalgamation of human expertise and cutting-edge automation cultivates a more refined and efficacious work milieu.

I also like to look at where we're losing efficiency, and ultimately marketing dollars. 1. Is your funnel leaking? 2. Are you spending more then you should in a certain area? 3. Do you have manual, resource consuming processes? Putting a dollar value on the problem helps you tell the story to executives for why you want to solve it. It also makes it easier to prove ROI.

Scalability is such a vital step that's often overlooked or not emphasized. There's lot of great tech out there, but without tech that can "speak" to each other, it's nearly impossible to ever experience true velocity among the org.

Fun part begins! Number of Martech software applications is growing rapidly. The Marketing Technology Landscape 2023 edition, published by Scott Brinker lists more than 11,000 Martech applications in 49 categories. Time to research and consider factors such as cost, scalability, ease of integration, and compatibility with your existing systems. Create a shortlist of potential vendors and evaluate their offerings in detail. Request product demos, check customer reviews, and contact their sales or support teams for clarification.

Breakdown your evaluation into a few parts: 1. Spreadsheet/Gsheet with a column for each competitive tool you're demoing with, at a minimum: feature, functionality, compatibility, scalability, pricing, support, reviews, reputation, and alignment of company values. Start narrowing your focus to the top 2-3 tools based on this assessment. 2. Conduct customer reference checks. I recommend at least 3 per tool, with at least one of these checks involving a non-tool-provided reference. This is where leveraging your community is most important! Look for the gotchas and focus on support and remediation. 3. Now you have the information you need to disqualify to weigh your options; if it's a toss-up, let customer support be the deciding factor.

Once the needs are clear, I embark on a journey of research and evaluation. I explore different marketing technology tools available in the market that align with the identified needs. This phase involves understanding the features, pricing structures, and compatibility of these tools with the platforms the business is already using. This diligent research helps me narrow down the options and identify the most promising tools for further consideration.

Double check that the marketing tools you choose have robust integration capabilities. They should seamlessly integrate with your existing systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM), content management systems (CMS), and other marketing platforms. Make sure that the tools you select can handle data effectively, this includes data collection, storage, analysis, and compliance with data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Before committing to a full-scale implementation, conduct pilot tests with your team of the selected tools. This allows you to identify any potential issues or challenges and make necessary adjustments.

For small businesses, I recommend starting small. Introducing a limited set of tools initially prevents overwhelm and allows the team to familiarize themselves with the new technology without feeling inundated. This measured approach also helps keep costs manageable, which is often a significant concern for small businesses in their growth phase.

Majority of our time as shared prior - we will try and leverage current providers based on functionality providing us majority of what outcome we desire. In this instances, we then usually have a production sandbox to test/try functionalities and API integrations to ensure that when the module or solution is enabled - it has been tested as much as possible before putting into a full production environment. In the instances where it is a new vendor, one of the main evaluation criteria are endorsements from our current tech stack providers as well as in some instances having current providers technologies embedded in the core platforms.

Before evaluating a tool, clearly define your objectives. For instance, consider assessing aspects such as performance, scalability, user management, and compatibility with your current CRM or ERP systems. Additionally, evaluate the learning curve, especially important for larger marketing teams. Once you have established these objectives, determine the timeframe you'll dedicate to testing. Reflect on your most challenging past projects and consider whether you could replicate them to test the limits of these tools. This approach and planning will help you finalise the right tool after the trial period. Moreover, always be mindful of local and international data laws, particularly if your business operates internationally.

Don't skip this part. Have a set of criteria that you test each tool on your shortlist on and have a variety of users who represent different groups in your organization. This is not just an IT thing, although they should be included. Make the testing process easy enough for junior users across departments to pitch in.

If you are transitioning from existing tools to new ones, plan and execute data migration carefully to avoid data loss or corruption. Provide training and workshops for your marketing team and other relevant stakeholders on how to use the new tools effectively. Ensure everyone understands the value and capabilities of the technology. Plan steps, timeline, and responsibilities for integrating the new marketing technologies with your existing systems. Consider involving IT professionals or consultants if needed.

I would stress how crucial it is to make sure the Marketing team and all other end users are properly trained before rolling out to the rest of the company. Training is a critical aspect of the success or failure of your MarTech implementation and launch. Make sure the Marketing team can answer basic questions in terms of what the tools are intended to solve before presenting the new tech to the rest of the organization. Even if leadership is clear about the vision and the new tech's intended use, if the Marketing team and key stakeholders are not properly trained, the adoption and benefits of the tool will be lost in the rollout and it will become just another expensive tool in the Marketing OpEx.

A crucial but often overlooked workstream is the creation & feed of data & attributes that are not part of the Out of the Box solution. Close the gaps to create the 360 degree view of customer that should be the backbone of a comms strategy. Build smart summaries of your customer transaction data. Ensure historic product purchasing data is accessible to targeting engines.

Given that many businesses in Kenya begin their community-building journey on platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok, I prioritize tools that seamlessly integrate with these platforms. Integration simplifies processes, streamlines workflows, and saves precious time that can be better spent on creating compelling content and engaging with the audience. It's important to remember that not everyone has a technical background. That's why I prioritize tools that offer a user-friendly interface. These tools should be easy to learn and navigate, ensuring that the team can quickly adapt and start using them effectively without the need for extensive training.

This is a crucial step, and most companies go wrong here. While implementing a tool proper training of the whole team is very important and necessary. If a tool is being used at even its 90% potential you will have enough data to map out an accurate Customer Journey.

Continuously monitor the performance of the integrated marketing technology stack. Use analytics and KPIs to assess its impact on your marketing campaigns. Ensure that the chosen technologies are scalable and can adapt to future changes in your marketing strategy and business needs. Maintain compliance with data privacy and security regulations.

I like to measure and optimize the actual efficiency of the tools. You might install a tool to generate for data enriched leads, which provides more MQLs. You measure MQLs, as you should. But also have KPIs for the tools themselves. Is the data enrichment tool making too many API calls? Is it enriching dead leads? Keep an eye on the underlying performance of the tool itself.

As small businesses grow, their needs evolve as well. That's why scalability is a crucial consideration when choosing marketing technology tools. The tools selected should have the capacity to accommodate the business's growth trajectory, saving the hassle of having to switch tools frequently as the business expands. Integration is just the beginning. To ensure the chosen tools are delivering the desired outcomes, I work with the business to set up clear metrics for success. Regularly measuring and analyzing the impact of these tools on the business's goals allows us to make informed decisions and adjustments as needed.

A reputable and good company will always update their product according to the latest trends and developments. e.g. integration of AI in more and more tools.

In my experience, a review of the tool's performance every 3 to 6 months is effective. The report should highlight any issues encountered with the tool, and analyse user data to gauge ease of use. If there are numerous user-related issues, discussing these with team members can be beneficial. Additionally, assess how the tool has impacted your marketing KPIs. These reviews may also reveal new updates or tools that could be of interest. Lastly, for significant updates, evaluate the changes they will bring and their compatibility with other tools you use. Delaying updates might be advisable if other tools in your system aren't ready for the change yet.

La documentación y la organización interna de la plataforma se tiene que tener lo más clara posible desde el primer momento. Esto va a permitir una integración más fluida de nuevos miembros del equipo y la comprensión de los contenidos de las campa?as para futuras evaluaciones YoY, por ejemplo.

Whenever I come across a tool that I absolutely love, I would not shy away from giving it a shoutout on LinkedIn or Reddit. We might think nobody listens, but companies absolutely love it when people love their product and for smaller companies, it means everything!

Share the tool potential within your team and company as their ongoing support is paramount and your team will be recognized forward thinking. Externally, share your experience on your LinkedIn Feed, Reddit and all relevant communities you are part of. Don't forget to let the company behind the tool you're using know of your enthusiasm. They might use your feedback as reference and you will have a channel of communication open for sharing future insights. Also, it will let them know that their work is being supported by you!

The first thing first in our process to integrate Marketing Technology Tools, not yet mentioned in this collaborative article (of which i was invited to add my expertise) ?????? is to see our own positioning first. - If we were in the "EARLY" of Marketing Operations Stage (MOS): we should seek technology tools that help us for omnichannel deploying easeness - If were in the ongoing/ "MIDDLE" of MOS : we will start focusing on the tools that help us automating tasks & measuring the performance, with wide & various kpi to be informed of. - If were in the "MATURE" of MOS : our focus is better to join marketing-tools related communities ?????? to help us finding better tools in advancing our MO. - This is my Pride Marketing way of sharing.

I like the decision matrix approach: plot the new platforms and technologies in graph with the X axis showing the benefits of adoption, while Y axis shows the amount of effort required. This graph can help team visualize the pros and cons as well as the tradeoffs involved.

Remember! There's no one-size-fits-all in the MarTech stack (or even any technology). Choose the tool(s) that align perfectly with your specific needs and goals. While working with the tools try focusing on data-driven decision making. Use analytics to track your progress and optimize your MarTech investments. Lastly, technology and marketing trends evolve quickly, so be prepared to adjust your stack as needed. Be flexible and adaptable!

In this age of videos, don't base your assumptions solely on YouTube review videos, Instagram Reels, Tiktok, or any other platform where it's more likely for people to promote their tools. Look at review platforms where everyone shares the same authority of voice, like discord or Reddit. While you'll still come across subtle promotions or affiliates, you'll be able to access genuine experiences as well, just because of how the algorithm works.

The biggest bit of the success of tech implementation depends on how well your end user has adopted the tool. Being able to consistently share best practices, new feature walk through and office hours are great to make sure the tech indeed serves the purpose it was bought for. At the end of the day, even if all the tech implementation and onboarding goes well, if people arent using the tool as it was intended to, you fail to achieve the RoI for the tool