Great Eagle Holdings

“What is the hottest MarTech and AdTech right now?”

“What are the latest innovations and disruptions in technology for marketers?”

These are great questions that marketers often ask.

But these are the WRONG questions.

As marketers evolve into data and digital experts, we often fall into the role of being an organization’s explorer, innovator, and disruptor. Consciously or unconsciously, we are pressured to think “outside of the box” or to come up with the “next big thing”.

But are we really bringing value to our organization? Or are we bringing in technology for the sake of bringing in technology?

The key is to go back to the basics and ask the most fundamental questions - Why, Who, What, and How. We often jump straight to the Tech which is actually the ‘How’, so why not go back 3 steps and start properly from the ‘Why’.

WHY - Really ask yourself this question

Think deep about the real purpose of bringing in marketing technology. Is it a short-term goal such as business profit? Or is it a longer-term goal such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to become a more conscious business? Whatever the objective is, it should lead to some form of outcome and KPI. It should tie with a key corporate strategy, which leads to a tangible KPI that you can achieve by bringing in this technology (e.g. marketing cloud). This validates and justifies the resources required for this, and enables you to verify the outcome and value after the fact. For instance, if the corporate objective is to create new revenue channels, then the objective is customer acquisition, thus bringing in a marketing cloud platform enables more effective lead nurturing and conversion.

WHO - Build a 360 degree picture of your audience

Really figure out who your target audience is. Understand their pain points, needs, wants, and desires. It is important to keep in mind that this is not a one-way channel. It is a holistic multi-channel two-way communication with your audience. Focus on the interaction, emotion and journey. Understand what they feel and react to that.

Then determine whether the technology is the right fit to interact with this audience. Trust your gut, but trust real research and data even more to qualify and quantify your customer understanding. For instance, if your target audience is not digital savvy, then a marketing cloud solution may not work.

WHAT - Validate your proposition. Do it quick & dirty

Whether you are introducing a new product or service, make sure you have a solid pitch to the customer. If you only have 1 minute with an absolute stranger to explain what your offering is and make them want to have it, what will you say?

"As marketers evolve into data and digital experts, we often fall into the role of being an organization’s explorer, innovator, and disruptor."

Write that down. Test it. Validate it.

One important thing to keep in mind is that Distinctiveness does not equate to Appeal. We spend a lot of time coming up with things that are new and never been done in the market. But that does not mean people will pay for it. There are many situations where a product idea is “cool” and “creative”, but customers are still not paying for it.

The best way to figure this out is to simply talk to your customers. Don’t spend millions of dollars planning a 6 month research. A quick and dirty approach works just fine. Leverage simple tools in the market such as GoogleForms or SurveyMonkey, and you can do a decent survey in 2 weeks at a low cost. In this day and age, speed matters more than anything. Companies that are able to research, validate, and finalize their pitches quicker are the ones that win.

HOW –only now we get to the actual technology part

Once you have all the strategic foundations above in place, you are ready to put together the right resources and timelines to execute and deliver. Research the technology, talk to peers, and look into reviews. There is a wealth of information about the various tools such as Salesforce, Adobe, or other marketing cloud solutions. Just go ahead and do it, get some insights, try out the technology, and make the decision.

In closing, marketing technology is of course shiny, fun, and exciting.

Before you rush into anything, step back, take a breath, and have a think. Ensure you have a solid Why/Who/What/How Strategy.

Once you have it, go forward in full speed.