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A comprehensive set of digital marketing technologies is now essential for almost every business with an online presence. The more you evaluate the nature of an end-to-end customer journey, it becomes apparent that you may need more than one piece of tech. This is the basis of your marketing stack.
Having the right technology matching your business need can be a make-or-break factor in achieving marketing success. And with a dizzying array of marketing technology products on the market, each promising to revolutionize your operations, the process of selecting the right tools can be daunting. It’s no longer enough to search for “Best xyz for…”. That’s because “best” is subjective based on your specific business.
This article will describe a framework for an end-to-end marketing stack. Your business may not need all of these features but we believe it is useful to understand some of the available capabilities you may use in the future.
A marketing technology stack, also known as a MarTech stack, is a collection of technologies marketers use to streamline and enhance their marketing activities. It’s like a toolbox filled with different tools, each performing a unique function but working together to build a compelling marketing program.
As a marketer, business, or stakeholder, it’s crucial to understand more about marketing technology systems and their pivotal role in your digital marketing success.
These tools use digital innovations to augment your marketing strategies. They can streamline processes, analyze vast amounts of data, facilitate deeper customer engagement, make decisions based on contact behaviors, and much more. As you will see, many applications fall into the category of marketing technology systems. You probably have at least one and as your business needs grow, that stack may become larger and more sophisticated.
These systems help businesses manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. CRM tools like Zoho, Salesforce, ActiveCampaign, and Hubspot seek to improve customer service relationships and increase customer retention, driving sales growth. Truthfully, these products are far more than a CRM.
The definition of CRM has changed substantially over the past ten years. In the past, the CRM was the central repository of data about business customers and prospects. CRMs, such as those mentioned above, increasingly have additional capabilities to deliver marketing campaigns and automate complex business processes.
These systems, and many others, such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact, allow businesses to send out email campaigns to a list of subscribers. They provide tools for designing email templates, automating the sending process, and analyzing campaign performance. There are many nuances in how each of these platforms operates, the technical skill needed to manage, and the overall levels of functionality.
For example, ActiveCampaign, Zoho Campaigns, GetResponse, and Drip each have their own “best business fit.” Some are best for small companies, others favor businesses with limited technical expertise, and others might be best for heavy e-commerce sites. Functions vary widely, with many under this category having extensive capabilities beyond email.
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Systems like Hootsuite and Buffer allow businesses to schedule social media posts in advance and monitor their social media presence. They often provide analytics tools to measure the engagement and effectiveness of your social posts.
If you’re using or planning to use social media, having one of these tools can be a substantial time saver. Hootsuite has been around for many years, as has Buffer. Buffer is a good choice if you’re starting out because it’s easy to use and inexpensive.
Tools such as Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics help businesses track and understand website traffic patterns and user behavior. Google’s product is free and simple to install. Once you have an account, you will receive data to inform your marketing strategies to improve engagement and conversion rates.
Adobe Analytics is more suited to a large company. They don’t publish prices on their website.
These tools, like aHREFS, Moz, and SEMRush, assist businesses in improving their online visibility. They provide insights into keyword performance, backlink profiles, and potential technical improvements for your website. These tools are considered the best and have premium pricing. All three provide extensive help and training programs. If your team is responsible for increasing search visibility, one of these tools could be valuable part of your marketing technology stack.
These platforms automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as emails, social media posting, texting, surveys, and campaign tracking. They go a long way to improving efficiency and reducing the possibility of human error.
Products like ActiveCampaign, Hubspot, Braze, and Insider, fall into this category. They allow marketers to nurture leads with highly personalized, applicable content that helps convert prospects to customers. Pricing varies widely and usually depends upon the number of contacts maintained in the application.
A call tracking system can be an invaluable tool if you have a call center such as a sales group or customer service team. These systems offer insights that can drive strategic decisions, optimize campaigns, and improve customer relationships.
A call tracking system maintains a detailed record of calling activity and can identify the caller ID, location, duration, and if configured, the source when used in marketing campaigns. In a sales implementation, you may have multiple campaigns, each associated with a specific phone number. The tracking system will provide performance results for each of the campaigns.
Whatconverts is our recommended solution for call centers because of its extensive options and excellent customer support.
From customer relationship management (CRM) tools to analytics platforms, content management systems, social media scheduling tools, and more, your choices with your marketing technology stack directly impact your business and marketing operations.
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