Gartner says in 2023, CMOs invested over a quarter of their marketing budgets on technology. But even though 25.4% of their marketing budgets were allocated to these tools, the utilisation of their organisation’s overall martech stack’s capability dropped to just 33% this year, marking a third consecutive year of decline (42% in 2022 and 58% in 2020).
Experts aver such under-utilisation of the martech stack is taking a toll on organisations’ overall ROI. “Without well-defined goals, it’s challenging to use these tools to their full potential. Also, integrating new martech tools with existing systems can be a significant challenge. If the integration is not seamless, it can lead to under-utilisation,” says Santosh Singh, SVP and global head, marketing, business excellence & innovation, Tata Technologies.
Resource constraints, both in terms of budget and skilled personnel, may further hinder the full exploration of these tools’ capabilities, especially for smaller companies, adds Rakesh Yadav, founder and CEO, Adglobal360.One way to cut through the clutter is to check the urge to keep up with the Joneses. Singh says there’s a growing emphasis on tools that can integrate seamlessly with existing systems and offer all-in-one solutions, reducing the need for multiple, disjointed tools. Tools that use AI and provide advanced analytics and data interpretation capabilities are in high demand as they enable marketers to make more informed, data-driven decisions.
Dhaval Gupta, managing director at Cyber Media Research & Services, advises organisations to take a stepped approach to ensure a steady improvement in its marketing maturity. Involving teams that are most likely to use these tools in the decision-making process can prove to be make or break.
The trick is not only knowing which tool is best for your organisation but also making these tools talk to each other for the best results. And for this firms must have capable in-house expertise or an outside hand-holding partner — or both, if the budgets permit.
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