The marketing technology landscape is overwhelming.
There are more than 1,870 vendors in the space, specializing in 43 different channel categories, including CMS, email, social, and marketing automation.
Where is a marketer even supposed to begin? Here are three things to look for when investing in marketing technology.
1. Integrations
Chances are, you already use a number of different applications and systems to manage your marketing. These systems may include social channels, email platforms, and analytics systems.
But as the number of different systems you use grows, valuable insights risk getting locked inside tools, messaging becomes fragmented, and efficiency lags as you struggle to maintain the various applications.
Make sure your marketing technology investments integrate and “talk to” one another. That way, you can manage and analyze your marketing with confidence that you’re not missing a beat.
Make sure your marketing technology investments integrate and “talk to” one another.
2. Adoptability
If no one is using the very expensive marketing technology you’ve invested in, you’ve wasted your budget.
Make sure the technology is good in practice, as well as theory. Understand how it will fit into your workflows, how it will integrate with your existing IT, how each member of your team will benefit from it, and how it supports your strategic marketing roadmap.
Make sure the technology is good in practice, as well as theory.
3. Customer Support
A lot of vendors, once they sell to you, hand you the kingdom but not the keys.
A great marketing technology company will offer you continued support to help you onboard new users, get your processes in place, and get the most value out of the system on a regular basis. Experts should be on hand to answer questions and provide trainings.
Don’t settle for anemic support. Customer services should be a big part of your marketing technology vendor analysis.
Customer services should be a big part of your marketing technology vendor analysis.
Want more tips to be prepared for the rapidly evolving marketing technology landscape? Check out our new whitepaper, The Future of Marketing Technology.