The UK’s leading conference on all things martech, Martechopia, is fast approaching. So, with that in mind, we wanted to give you a taste of some of the actionable insights you’ll get. Here are some highlights from Toni Allen’s fireside chat.
The IET’s transformation journey
Toni is executive director of international, strategic marketing and engagement at the IET. She looks after international operations in China and India, as well as strategic marketing teams and corporate communications. This encompasses D&I, public affairs, digital, brand and impact. But it doesn’t stop there.
Toni joined the IET mid-pandemic, entering phase three (design and discovery) of a £12 million CRM transformation. The end objective? A 360 customer view that would benefit the entire organisation, but also allow data and insight for the next best action or next best product for the market.
“When I came in, the first thing I had to do was bust a myth,” Toni adds. “If we continue in the trajectory we’re heading in, by the end of this programme we won’t have that 360 customer view.”
By aligning transformation with overall business objectives, Toni was able to get to the core of what the IET needs and what needs to be put in place to reach that end goal.
Why martech isn’t just a ‘marketing thing’
Forget the mar in martech – from ROI to increased customer knowledge, it involves and benefits your entire organisation.
“At Martechopia, I’ll talk more about how a martech challenge isn’t just a marketing challenge – it’s a business challenge,” Toni continues. “You have to be able to put the right martech, the right systems in place to benefit the whole business and really understand the benefit to it otherwise it just sits in the weeds.”
“You don’t know good until you’ve got it”
As Toni outlines, one of the major challenges in the IET’s transformation programme was educating people on what ‘good’ means. Don’t get comfortable with mediocrity. Go beyond settling for what you have now.
Don’t be afraid to look outside of your organisation to learn what ‘good’ looks like. “We’re all learning as marketers all the time,” she adds. “It’s not about being the expert, but having people around you who are experts.”
Enter Martechopia. “I went a couple of years ago and it’s amazing to hear about the foundations that need to be put in place, people’s journeys and what’s happened, the positive, the negative, the mistakes people have made so that you don’t make the same mistakes. Having that education that you can bring into the business is crucial,” Toni elaborates.
“One of the good trends over the last few years is that there’s a deeper willingness amongst peers to share knowledge and this recognition that we can’t do it on our own,” host Shane Redding agrees. “I remember Niel Berry from Atos standing on stage last year saying that what he learnt at Martechopia made him rip up his martech strategy and start again!”
Want to learn more about the IET’s transformation journey? How to define excellence? The importance of storytelling? Well, we’ll see you at Martechopia!
