A martech stack, short for marketing technology stack, is a group of tools that marketers use to execute marketing tasks. This includes technology to manage, execute, and measure marketing operations. The martech stack acts as a central command for marketing efforts. A well-built martech stack allows marketers to work more efficiently and create engaging messaging while reducing manual effort.
The tools in a martech stack are varied. They can range from legacy software to cloud-based software as a service (SaaS), and might include digital asset management systems, website analytics, a customer data platform, and social media tracking systems. As disparate as these tools can be, they’re also used together to accomplish common goals such as optimizing content or making workflows more efficient.
What Should Be Included?
The type of tools in a martech stack is of course partly dependent on your business type and needs. For example, B2B and B2C businesses may require different tools because they sell their products to different audiences.
There are some components of a martech stack, though, that are common across many companies. These tools are most powerful when used in combination, and should seamlessly integrate with each other so that you can communicate with customers across multiple channels in a holistic manner.
- Email marketing: Email remains a crucial part of any marketing effort. Email can sometimes come paired with a marketing automation software that makes it easy to send out personalized, targeted messages. You might use an email marketing platform that doubles as your automation software or one that can integrate with your CRM and automation software.
- Mobile marketing: Customers engage with brands via their smartphones multiple times a day, so it’s crucial to use technology that helps you engage with them there. Your mobile marketing solution should include the capability to engage with users via push notifications, SMS marketing, and in-app messaging.
- Social media: Technology to monitor your social media channels and track your campaigns. Within this category, you might have analytics, scheduling tools, and tools to help you create visual elements for your social pages.
- Website analytics: Tools that help you track who your marketing content is attracting, how many people it’s attracting, where they’re coming from, and what type of content is performing best.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Most marketers use paid and organic methods for customer acquisition. SEO helps your website and content rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. Content that ranks higher translates to more organic traffic and transactions. SEO tools in a martech stack can help with keyword research, backlinking, and to optimize content.
What are the Benefits of a MarTech Stack?
A well-designed martech stack should make your marketing efforts easier to manage. The tools included in your stack enable you to track your marketing operations through every phase of the customer lifecycle, and help you break down silos. With a well-integrated martech stack, you can get a 360-degree view of each customer without exporting data from multiple sources.
Efficiency is one major benefit of a martech stack. Automation tools are incredible time-savers for otherwise previously laborious manual tasks such as pulling data and finding assets. That leaves more time for marketers to optimize and innovate.
Martech stacks are also a major boon for internal communication. Putting everyone on the same page (i.e. platform) improves project tracking and progress toward goals. They also are beneficial to communication with customers as well. A martech stack houses all the information you need to have informed interactions with your customers such as records of past interactions and subscription information.
Finally, customer data and insights are key to creating better performing marketing content. When you can turn data into insights, that can give you a competitive edge.
Iterable is a key component of the modern marketer’s tech stack because it can help you centralize your marketing data from the multiple interactions your customers have with your brand. You can gain valuable data from each customer interaction through email, your app, your e-commerce platform, and more. These individual pieces of data become much more valuable when connected through a centralized marketing platform. Iterable gives you that 360-degree view of all your marketing data in context and ensures you can integrate all the individual pieces of your martech stack.
Employing the right tool is the key to the modern marketer’s tech stack. A high-quality cross-channel marketing software system like Iterable can pull all of your data from various sources to inform and trigger real-time personalized marketing messages for your visitors and customers. You’ll capture data such as information from your customer relationship management system, e-commerce data, web forms filled out by your visitors, email marketing lists and actions, social media activity, and various website interactions.
Iterable also offers the flexibility to reach your customers across all channels, connecting with them on their preferred devices and platforms. You can set automated campaigns to trigger upon specific user behavior, such as sending a welcome campaign immediately when a user signs up for updates – and you can send it via email, SMS, and push notifications depending on your customer’s previous actions.
You might not build the optimal martech stack right off the bat. Crafting one that works best for your business is a process and it should evolve with time to meet technology changes and changes to your business and customer needs. The idea is to start building your stack and then add integrated pieces over time—but incorporating a best-in-class cross-channel marketing solution like Iterable will help you build a strategy that you can scale effortlessly.
To learn how Iterable can be integrated into your martech stack, schedule a demo today.Â
