Marketing Procurement

Beyond the Guessing Game: The Real Benefits of Martech

Seat at the Top Table

It’s vital CMOs have a seat at the board room table, but so long as their contributions are perceived as subjective, that will elude them. Being able to employ technology for data-driven decision making, and clearly articulate the impact of marketing efforts on overall business goals, will put CMOs and their teams in a more powerful position.

Marketing has always been about finding the right message for the right customer at the right time. But with rapid innovation and the proliferation and growth of new media channels, it’s getting harder and harder to meet customers where they are. Without the right technology, it’s impossible.

Every week, it seems like there are a dozen new solutions launching, each one promising to be the key that will unlock unprecedented marketing success. It’s important to be clear-eyed and deliberate when evaluating these new technologies.

Take generative AI. It has provoked a conversation across all sectors, including ours. GenAI’s proliferation has certainly driven increased interest in martech, as people become more curious about the immediate impact it can have. But what does the technology actually unlock for marketers? How can they bend it to their needs?

Just as organizations revisit corporate strategy annually, it’s essential they assess technology priorities, too. Some of the consumerisation of GenAI has already seeped into the B2B world, creating conversations around its enormous potential.

There is enormous potential now for martech (and, specifically, GenAI-powered solutions) to bring marketers closer to solving some of their enduring challenges. Let’s take a closer look.

Challenges unlocked

The challenges that martech can address are threefold.

First, marketers need help getting out of the guessing game. It’s vital CMOs have a seat at the board room table, but so long as their contributions are perceived as subjective, that will elude them. Being able to employ technology for data-driven decision making, and clearly articulate the impact of marketing efforts on overall business goals, will put CMOs and their teams in a more powerful position.

Next is the MVP in the marketer’s toolkit – the single source of truth. The more you can rally the organisation around single sources of truth, the better able marketers are to wield data to tell a cohesive brand narrative internally and evangelize it externally.

At Stagwell Marketing Cloud, we have developed a solution called QuestBrand, an always-on brand health tracker, that segments customers by more than 50 psychographic, behavioural, and demographic traits, allowing marketing teams to understand, plan and target more effectively.

It also collects the same information on your competitors. As a result, the organization has an always-on, centralized source of truth on their brand and their competitors’ awareness, consideration, and so on.

Finally, we may be talking about martech but, in essence, it’s all about the people. If your workplace is not open to exploring AI, not diving into it with an eagerness for experimentation, your team is losing out. In a so-called ‘war for talent’, your people see mastery of these technologies as essential to their professional futures. They are looking to work with organizations that are ready to invest in upskilling them accordingly.

Look to the cloud

It’s only natural that people look to experts for guidance. But in the world of martech, which is evolving so rapidly, can any singular source really be called an ‘expert’? It’s like asking for a TikTok guru with 20 years’ experience on the platform. Such a thing just doesn’t exist.

This is the essential difference between cloud providers such as Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC) and less robust, single-point solutions. SMC is focused specifically on building marketing technologies and infusing them with the critical capabilities we have around research, communications, and media.

We are constantly talking to our agency partners across the Stagwell network and to our customers to better understand their needs and build accordingly.  And so, compared to a single-point solution provider, we are working closely with teams and customers worldwide who give us a comprehensive view of the market.

Is there room for our solutions to be expanded upon? Of course. No cloud partner covers 100% of what any given end user is looking for. But SMC is in the unique position of being able to triangulate between what’s going on in the market, our technology roadmap, and client needs, so that we can build world-class technology that drives outcomes. That basis in global client experience and information gathering, and the ability to translate it into future-ready insights, is what we bring to the martech space.

‘Buyer beware’ is certainly heightened when marketers, CTOs, and finance teams are confronted with a Lumascape 9,000-providers strong and growing. The fear of making the wrong choice, or a choice that limits future innovation, is very real.

That’s why, whatever the provider, connectivity is key.

A seamless marketing organization is one that can tie its various applications together and have them speak to each other in meaningful ways. Stagwell Marketing Cloud will offer its clients this synergy, with a single sign-in and single view that enables teams to solve for their countless use cases.

All hands on deck

Effective marketing organizations are the byproduct of cross-C-suite collaboration. No one silo has the pen on a business’ consumers, but when linking insights across internal silos and fusing expertise, you are able to perform at a higher, more efficient level.

In summation, bring a sense of urgency coupled with an appetite to experiment to this collaborative process. The marketing world is moving rapidly—are you?

About the author

Elspeth Rollert is CEO, Stagwell Marketing Cloud