Like many other fields, the marketing industry has experienced a major shift in the last few years. Besides implementing new and exciting advertising and promotional tactics, marketing brands have become much more reliant on software and automation for their daily tasks.
If you just take a look at all the intriguing functions that AI generators provide, you’ll quickly realize the extent of these changes. In fact, don’t be surprised if the content creation and graphic design professions completely change in the next decade.
In this article, we’ll talk about this category of software and how your business can benefit from it.
What is Martech?
It doesn’t take a genius to understand the martech meaning. The word is created by combining “marketing” and “technology” and pertains to all the tools that help marketing agencies and teams perform their daily tasks. In other words, it is a joint term that refers to content, emailing, SEO, SMM, PPC, AI generation software, and other digital solutions.
Martech has become an integral part of any marketing process. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a successful company in 2023 that doesn’t use at least a few of these tools. Besides streamlining your processes, these platforms are fantastic for optimization, maximizing ROI, and reducing human error.
Most importantly, Martech eliminates the guessing game from your daily processes.
Main Types of Martech Solutions
Generally speaking, there’s a lot of intertwining between different marketing platforms. Some of them are labeled as content optimization tools, yet they provide analytics and AI generation. Others are primarily used for keyword research yet provide various analytical insights.
Whatever the case, this is the most general classification of martech software:
- Analytics
The first thing we think of when we mention marketing software is analytics suites. Tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Ads, SEMRush, and Sprout Social are just a few big names in this niche. As the name implies, we use these platforms to extrapolate various marketing data for different promotional tasks.
- Content Management and Optimization
Whether we’re talking about marketing for tech companies or some other organizations, content is front and center of every process. Articles and other blog pieces are critical for the success of any marketing campaign, as they serve as landing pages for search engine optimization, social media, and paid channels.
Because of that, businesses have to use programs like WordPress to allow website content creation. Aside from this software, companies nowadays use martech platforms like SurferSEO for article optimization and Grammarly for fixing various text errors.
- Communication and Collaboration
One thing that’s common for modern marketing teams is that they often consist of individuals from different countries. As they often work in different time zones, they need fantastic communication and collaboration martech that would streamline daily tasks. Trello and Slack are probably the two most popular solutions from this niche.
- Outreach
Outreach is vital for any promotional and sales activity. We use it for boosting article performance, building relationships, selling products and services, and building awareness. The most common martech from this group is emailing tools like Mailchimp.
3 Digital Marketing Technology Trends
Martech’s enormous growth and profitability potential are constantly driving the industry forward. The adoption speed in this niche is second to none, with many platforms improving their features every few months. In the last year or so, these were the biggest trends within the field:
1. AI solutions
When we talk about AI tools, the first thing that comes to mind is text and image generators. However, other martech platforms also rely on artificial intelligence and deep learning to perform basic functions. For example, Google Analytics has recently added a feature that allows users to predict the results of their paid campaigns.
Basically, companies are increasingly looking to add this technology to their solutions and provide users with something new and exciting.
2. All-in-one platforms
Upscaling and cross-scaling are present in just about any industry and niche, including martech. Service providers are continuously adding new nifty features and tools to their platforms, trying to snatch a part of the market share from other brands. Nowadays, many martech have at least some sort of analytics suite, combined with numerous basic and added functionalities.
3. API focus
With that being said, it isn’t really shocking that many companies nowadays provide API for their platforms. There’s an increased need for integration, where a company could mix several tools into one powerful platform. That way, even if a Martech doesn’t have wide usage, you can increase its functionality by combining it with other software.
How to Improve Your B2C and B2B Tech Marketing?
For the most part, improving your B2C and B2B tech marketing has to do with your choice of software. Unfortunately, as the field is constantly changing, it’s hard to determine which platform is the best at the given moment. Luckily, we have a few solutions that will help you out!
Find optimal functions
First, you need to find the optimal software and functionalities for your business. Using an analytical SEO suite is fantastic if you’re focusing on search engine optimization, but it will be of little value if you’re targeting social media. Similarly, you might want to reroute money into specialized software for your industry.
In theory, you should use as much artech as possible, but in practice, this can put a major financial toll on your business. So, start by assessing which platforms move the needle for your brand and which ones are unnecessary.
Take advantage of free plans
It’s common for SaaS to come with free plans that allow you to test the program in action. Some of them have excellent free functionality, and you probably don’t even have to get a paid version. This is something you should always consider when creating a go-to martech stack.
Test the cheapest version
If you’re still uncertain about a tool’s functionality, buy the cheapest plan and try it out for a month. While there’s usually a difference between plans based on pricing, this will give you an approximation of how a platform could work for your brand. Moreover, a basic paid plan might unlock some features unavailable with a free plan.
Check martech platforms’ new features
As mentioned, the Martech industry is constantly changing, and certain platforms might get significantly better over time. Even if you didn’t like the software initially, you might consider buying it at a later date if it gets better. Follow the web chatter and track how a tool changed over time.
Pay for martech services
Of course, all of these things aren’t important if you eventually decide to hire a managed service provider or MSP. These brands already have their own marketing methodology focused on automation and best software. Although a bit more expensive than in-house marketing, external agencies have expertise and experience and, thus, can provide instant results.
How to Find a Martech Solution?
As we said above, to make your search easier, you should reach out to top MSP marketing companies. Here are a few tricks to figure out who is the best:
- Industry knowledge
Like with other marketing niches, industry knowledge is vital for an MSP marketing agency. They need to have a good understanding of your field and goals to find an optimal solution for your business.
For the most part, the customized approach will vary based on recommended marketing channels and approaches but also tools being used. Keep in mind that the suggested software might be different for your brand than some other company working in the field.
- Software knowledge
To get the most out of Martech, an agency should be current on popular software. They need to have a testing process in place that would allow them to continuously try out different solutions. That way, when an old tool rolls out a new update, they can immediately assess its value for potential clients.
- Martech consulting
Before hiring an agency in the long term, it is common to have a web call. During this time, you can learn more about a provider’s methodology and the software they use. Among others, you can analyze their behavior, professionalism, and other character traits.
If you wish to take things even further, we suggest you schedule a martech consulting. While this service might be costly, it’s a perfect way to eliminate some of the agencies on your list. It can serve as a type of A/B testing where you can compare performances to make a better hiring decision.
- Past performance
We also need to say a few words about agencies’ track records and user reviews. Ideally, you should find someone who has flawless scores and satisfaction rates. However, even elite marketing agencies can fail if they’re getting too much work.
So, the best course of action is to find a quality provider that knows its business but isn’t swamped. Look for up-and-coming agencies that are on the brink of making a breakthrough. They would be highly motivated to provide a flawless service.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an elite marketing agency or a startup looking to improve its marketing, you need to have a good understanding of available tools. In the end, there’s a major difference between Martech platforms and what they can do for your brand. With this guide, we have hopefully answered some of your most burning questions and set you on the right course!
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