The combination of MarTech and AdTech (aka, “MadTech”) has been a game-changer for organizations, allowing many of them to get a deeper, more well-rounded understanding of their customers. The potential benefits are significant. Yet, many companies still find themselves “TechMad;” so focused on adopting the latest technologies that they forget to think about what’s best for the customer. Instead, the outcome is a technology stack that’s more messy than strategic. A disconnected tech stack leads to inefficiency, which negatively impacts the quality of customer experiences and ultimately creates wasted spend.
What’s driving companies to be TechMad is the number of platforms and solutions on the market. With advancements in technical capabilities, there are infinite opportunities to generate new solutions to solve age-old marketing challenges. This abundance of choice also makes it difficult for companies to make the right decision on what tech to choose. It opens up the struggle within organizations on whether the investments they are making have the best impact on their bottom line, while allowing them to keep up with customer demand.
While it’s tempting to move more towards checking out the latest “buzzworthy” technologies as more solutions are created, that’s not the right path. Companies need to focus on the customer, and what’s right for their business. A tech stack that will allow them to easily centralize and unify all of their customer data enables them to collect insights and create the best possible customer experience (CX). Here’s how companies can harness the potential of MadTech and implement it carefully, strategically and effectively.
The Benefits of MadTech
MarTech and AdTech each have their own benefit, and together they make each other stronger. Advertising technology allows companies to get in front of a customer in the moment, while marketing technology allows companies to gain a more longitudinal understanding of the customer. That includes intel like customer behavior, how it changes over time, and what customers have done in the past. Knowing all this information is important, so companies must be able to use the best of both worlds.
The combination of AdTech and MarTech began trending about 10 years ago with the realization that direct marketing and digital advertising could complement each other. The advertising world wanted to get more personalized, and marketing professionals already had a strong knowledge base of who their customers are and what appeals to specific individuals. Meanwhile, advertising tended to have higher budgets than marketing, and knew how to better get in front of the customer in the digital world. While these two worlds previously did not collaborate, now they could start connecting.
Avoid These ‘TechMad’ Roadblocks
Many barriers can get in the way of organizations getting the most out of what they invest in. Company leaders should make sure that all involved teams and departments are aligned around the same goals. They should also pay attention to how teams are structured and how the tech is set up.
To get the most out of their technology without going mad, companies need to be honest about what’s not working and why. Organizational structure is the number one impediment to moving tech projects forward. Once leaders acknowledge this, they can make the changes they need within the structure to make real progress.
Technology integrations are also becoming even more important. When companies adopt a new platform, it helps to have a system that already exists and that employees already know how to use. This can help alleviate some potential frustrations in the learning curve.
A third roadblock is the appeal of “shiny object syndrome” — in which companies are so excited about adopting the latest thing that they don’t stop to consider if they actually need it. Ultimately, satisfying the customer is (and should be) more important than having the latest technology. Company decision-makers, especially leadership executives, should make sure they don’t fall victim to the shiny object syndrome.
Practice Patience
It is vital to be realistic about how long it can take to adopt a new technology. Technology typically innovates faster than the learning curve, so employees are constantly playing catch up. Accelerating knowledge development that fast is simply impossible. With that in mind, companies should recognize the value of their employees and consider the institutional knowledge individuals have built up over time.
Internal knowledge is important, and companies must document it and make sure they’re continuing to build up that knowledge within their workforce. This is a better alternative than relying on outside agencies or contractors to do core parts of the business, even as it relates to the complexities of MadTech. Internal teams must learn from agency partners, so that when outside partners leave, internal talent can manage projects themselves.
Drawing From a Plethora of Data Sources
With so many ways to build your tech stack, it can be tempting to follow the latest trend. But adopting a new platform means seamlessly integrating it with what you already have to make it better. The right customer data platform (CDP) helps you by easily integrating martech and adtech systems—- and their data. This makes it easier for you to adopt a new platform without worrying about how everything will connect. Once you’ve adopted a CDP, understanding the customer becomes much more simple. Most companies already have enough sources of customer data across systems, even if you are not aware of it. A CDP can help you figure out where all that data is and connect it together.
Thinking about technology as a tool to help customers rather than the latest trend to explore can help organizations develop a smarter stack. Check out the link below to learn more about how Treasure Data confronts, addresses and alleviates the “mad” of MadTech.
Learn more about Treasure Data’s data management solution here.
