New Report: The Best Martech Stack & How to Future-proof It

New Report: The Best Martech Stack & How to Future-proof It

How does your martech stack rank against the ideal?

Want to optimize your marketing technology stack? Or maybe you think you’ve already got digital transformation under control, but you want to “future-proof” your martech, so it stays that way? You might want to crib the answers from marketing and IT leaders who manage “ideal” marketing stacks. They’re summarized in a recent Treasure Data survey of more than 400 marketing and IT pros, and two technologies are especially prominent in the martech stacks of companies that say they’ve got digital marketing under control: privacy consent management, and customer data platforms (CDPs).

The study asked each of the 427 respondents to evaluate their own companies’ martech stacks. A little more than a quarter (27%) found their martech stacks to be “ideal.” The survey found that 68% of these “ideal group” respondents found CDPs to be an essential component of their martech stacks. Almost the same number (70%) thought that privacy consent management systems were also critical.

Future-proofing and optimizing the martech stack during the accelerating digital transformation that so many businesses are undertaking isn’t easy; a special set of barriers and pain points face marketers and IT professionals alike. To understand these challenges, Treasure Data commissioned a survey to determine how marketers are future-proofing and optimizing their martech stacks. While there is no one right way to do it, the survey results show a path that marketers can take to ensure success.

Organizations with ideal martech stacks are more likely to use all sorts of tools, including:

Critical Barriers to Future-proofing and Optimizing the Martech Stack

A martech stack comprises a number of tools and technologies that all work together (in theory) to build a view of the customer and how they engage with the company. But putting together multiple disparate tools and technologies isn’t easy. With so many different tools to choose from, how do you know which ones are right for your business? Once you do decide, integrating them becomes the next challenge.

Significant organizational barriers to building a future-proof martech stack
According to the study, complexity in integrating technologies is the top barrier at 46%, with budget followed closely at 38%. Having too many tools to choose from ranks in the top four at 28%.

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Marketers face other barriers when future-proofing their stacks—a lack of data security and privacy features (31%). Increasing privacy regulations, the end of third-party cookies, and the risk of cyber threats make it a challenge to collect and secure the right data to build great experiences and support customers over the entire lifecycle.

What an Ideal Martech Stack Includes

In the study, marketers were asked how well their current martech stack meets their needs. Only 27% said their stack was ideal. But we can learn what works from this group.

How well does your current martech stack meet your needs?
In addition to CDPs and consent management, the study found that the ideal stack includes the right mix of technologies, including solutions like audience management and customer journey analytics. Ideal stacks use a combination of best-of-breed and suite solutions, while adequate or insufficient stacks lean toward suite solutions.

One interesting point is that marketing and IT don’t always agree on what an ideal stack looks like. For example, in this study, 37% of marketers thought they had an ideal stack in terms of performance, but only 30% of IT teams agreed.

The difference seems to come from expectations—IT’s goal is to make sure the stack works and the tools are appropriately integrated, while marketing’s goal focuses on how the stack works and speed to market. Both, however, agree that the top focus for an ideal stack is its ability to attract and track new customers.

How Does Your Stack ‘Stack Up’?

There’s no right way to build a martech stack, but the goals for every organization are the same—create a stack that includes the right mix of tools and technologies in a well-integrated, secure way that attracts new customers, identifies high-value customers, and retains current customers.

To learn more about how to create an ideal martech stack and ensure your technology is ready for today and tomorrow, download a complimentary copy of the new research report—The Best Martech Stack: How to Achieve, Optimize, and Future-proof It.

Get the Report

Tom Treanor
Tom Treanor
Tom Treanor was head of marketing at Treasure Data. He focuses on marketing, martech, CDPs, and digital marketing. Follow him on Twitter @RtMixMktg.
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