Designing marketing technology that will give you competitive edge takes time, money, patience, talent and labor. It is not that easy!!!
This article is all about helping you save you time, money and resources on this path. Wasting your time will take you back in time while your competition will be way ahead, and it might be impossible for you to catch the competition as things move very fast these days.
I am writing this article in June,2023 where we have just met exciting features of Chat GPT. I am pretty sure Chat GPT will automate some of the the marketing tools and will make our lives easier, but we still need a systematic approach to integrating technology solutions into your overall marketing strategy.
I am sorry to let you know that, just buying some tools and implement them randomly will do more harm than good for your organization. I have seen this over and over. In some cases I could fix the situation, but in other cases situation was too broken to fix it in the short term.
What to Know Before Designing Marketing Technology
1-The Biggest Marketing Technology MYTH Caused by Senior Management
Let's clear the MYTH first. Before designing any marketing technology solution, lets keep in mind the most important MYTH, that is usually caused by senior management who has no experience in the field.
I will just buy some software, install them and they will automate everything without need for talented teams.
I wish this was actually true as good talent in this area is scarce, but until AI is integrated by mar tech companies significantly, we need smart and talented people to plan, implement, maintain and run these tools and we need a PLAN and systematic approach to integrating technology solutions into your overall marketing strategy.
2-Business and IT has to collaborate in every step of the project
Choosing and implementing marketing tools has to be hybrid affect, this I can't emphasize enough. It is a collaborative effort between business/marketing and engineering teams. In some companies business is stronger, so they lead the project. In other companies IT is stronger, and they lead the project. I have seen IT departments to buy tools without even asking business and I have seen business teams to buy software without checking with IT.
All leads to disaster.
DON'T DO IT, MAKE THEM WORK TOGETHER
3-Knowing and Understanding Your Organization's Resources and Reality
Many companies buy software, in some cases software comes from TOP to BOTTOM, without really evaluating company's talent resource and development power, resources and road maps.
Some executives have dreamy ideas but these dreamy ideas need to be evaluated with company's realities.
1-For instance do you have enough engineering resource to do implementation? Do you know your road map?
2-Do you have talent who knows these software, if not, do you have budget for consultants?
3-Do you really need that many software, who will implement it, who will maintain it, who will use it?
Main Steps to Design Marketing Technology
This is a frame work you can use based on your needs.
Define your marketing goals: Start by identifying your marketing objectives and goals. Determine what you want to achieve through your marketing efforts, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, driving conversions, or improving customer engagement.
Hire a mar tech consultant at least with 10 years of experience who has done this many times if you have a budget. This will save you lots of time and resources.
Understand your target audience: Gain a deep understanding of your target audience's demographics, behaviors, preferences, and needs. This information will help you select the right marketing technologies and tailor your campaigns effectively.
Conduct a technology audit: Evaluate your current marketing technology stack and assess its effectiveness in meeting your goals. Identify any gaps or areas that need improvement. Consider factors like data management, analytics, automation, customer relationship management (CRM), content management, social media management, and advertising platforms.
Research and select the right technologies: Explore the available marketing technology options that align with your goals and audience. Consider solutions such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation platforms, content management systems (CMS), data analytics tools, social media management platforms, email marketing software, and advertising platforms. Assess their features, integration capabilities, scalability, cost, and customer support. This is one of the stages where you can really benefit working with an experienced consultant. I have written an article as a guide to choose marketing technology software. Click here to read it.
Develop an implementation plan: Create a roadmap for implementing your chosen marketing technologies. Consider factors like budget, resource allocation, timeline, and dependencies. Determine which technologies will be implemented first and how they will integrate with existing systems or platforms.
Develop a plan to build a team: Your implementation plan should also exist human resources. You need to define roles and start hiring for those roles. If you can hire earlier, the better. Your new team can learn during implementation and after implementation is done, you can have a talented team to take this thing beyond.
Integration and data management: Ensure that your marketing technologies can integrate with each other and your existing systems. Establish a seamless flow of data across different platforms to enable efficient campaign management, personalization, and measurement. Implement data governance and privacy practices to comply with relevant regulations and protect customer information.
Implement tracking and analytics: Set up tracking mechanisms to capture relevant data and measure the performance of your marketing campaigns. Use analytics tools to gain insights, optimize strategies, and make data-driven decisions. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with your goals, such as conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, and return on investment (ROI).
Test, iterate, and optimize: Continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your marketing technology stack. A/B test different elements of your campaigns, experiment with new tools and strategies, and make data-backed adjustments to improve results. Leverage real-time analytics to identify trends and respond quickly to changing market dynamics.
Stay updated and adapt: The marketing technology landscape is constantly evolving. Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices. Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing technologies and make adjustments as needed to keep up with the evolving needs of your business and customers.
Training and support: Provide training and support to your marketing team to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use the marketing technologies. Encourage ongoing learning and offer support channels for troubleshooting or addressing any technology-related challenges.
Remember that designing marketing technology is an iterative process. Continuously monitor and refine your strategies to stay ahead of the curve and drive meaningful results.
Second article in these series talk about how to collect digital data. Please click here to reach that article.
Sibel Akcekaya
You can reach out to me on Linkedin for my services
