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Looking to invest in Marketing Technology to drive your business goals? Every day, we see companies making three common mistakes that can lead to overspending, organizational challenges, and wasted time and resources. So, before you buy that Ferrari, you need to know if all that horsepower is actually what you need. And think about how you’re going to get the kids to school and pick up the groceries. Pragmatism might not be sexy, but it’s necessary.
We know how attractive a product pitch can be. Software and platform providers show you how powerful their marketing automation or CRM systems are and how much you can do with them. They rev their technology’s engines and show you best-case scenarios with happy flows. But if you buy the tech without knowing clearly what you’re aiming for, you’re likely going to buy a bunch of bells and whistles you don’t know how to use, and don’t even need. There are three ways to optimize your MarTech spend, and I’ll explain them here.
Quite often, companies make a major investment in technology and then engage with VML to help them manage and optimize it. We have great relationships with many major vendors and we are happy to do that for you. But if you engage with us before you make a major MarTech purchase, we can help you explore what you really need, and how to streamline the process for both time and cost efficiency. In many cases where the cart is put before the horse, we have to inform clients that they may have bought more tech than they needed. There’s always an opportunity to use that tech eventually as your strategy evolves, but in terms of initial costs, you may spend more if you buy the tech first and ask questions later.
It would be great if you could just plug in a major MarTech solution and let it run, and it would solve all your marketing needs automatically. But it just doesn’t work that way. Even if some vendors tell you it will. The truth is, a Ferrari is never self-driving. If you’re truly aiming for cost reduction and increased efficiency, you need to do the legwork first. The more you plan and strategize before you make any purchases, the better your decision will be.
That means connecting your Marketing and IT teams to ensure what one wants will actually serve the needs of the other. It means defining KPIs and ensuring organizational alignment. Making sure you have the manpower and data to make it all run. Starting out small, with just a few initiatives, to ensure your team is ready to execute. Yes, it’s an investment of time and money. But that investment will pay off royally in the end.
Do a simple Google search and you’ll find tons of information about the benefits of best-in-suite and best-in-breed software options. And lots of articles about why one is superior to the other. But the real answer likely lies somewhere in the middle. We can help you determine which products and platforms can actually help you serve your customers better and make your teams more effective and efficient. And that might involve a blend of products that is best-of-need: what your company needs to solve your real challenges today, and the challenges you anticipate tomorrow.
And here’s a hint: the answer may not be the latest, greatest, flashiest option on the market. It may be a Volvo instead of a Ferrari. A reliable system that fits your existing architecture and serves you well in the next few years, until you’re ready to take a bigger leap in your marketing efforts. It may seem more satisfying to buy a single solution and plan to keep it in place for the next 10 to 15 years, but technology and commerce are moving much too fast to decide that now. A deep exploration of your company, capabilities, and ambitions will be needed to select the tech that drives real results.
VML specializes in taking a pragmatic approach to consultancy in this domain. We start with the needs of your customers and the capabilities you already have. We ask pragmatic questions to uncover which tech solutions are not only reasonable for your plans, but also feasible in your current architecture, usable for your teams, and adaptable to your future ambitions. We help you make decisions that have both short-term benefits and longer-term sustainability.
Even more important, we not only help you utilize the tech optimally, but also optimize your processes. Instead of just focusing on click-through rates and conversions, we can help you analyze how you produce campaigns. We’ll help you design a more efficient production process that is more cost-efficient and effective. We explore the needs and limitations of each of your markets, the availability of your products, and the roadblocks standing in your way, and help you develop a strategy that enables you to take steps toward optimal operation, without spending a fortune on unnecessary extras. We’ll do it for you, do it with you, and then show you how to do it yourself, so that your teams can make optimal use of the new technology and their own capabilities.
Before you make a single MarTech purchasing decision, take the steps to choose most wisely. Define your system architecture scenarios, explore your current MarTech stack, and develop guiding principles for your future state. Then, define your data and technology enablers, from Marketing and Commerce value cases to omnichannel and scalability requirements. Explore your organization and the skills and capabilities you have in house. And of course, clearly state your privacy and consent requirements. Only then can you begin to make a list of potential vendors who can meet your needs.
It isn’t sexy to talk about all this planning and sensible thinking. But you’re not in business to be sexy. You’re in business to make money. It’s very tempting to just jump in the Ferrari, drive off, and hope for the best. But before you make a major MarTech purchase, take the time to strategize effectively. Only then can you optimize every euro that you spend on MarTech, and reap the rewards on the other side.
