There’s a wealth of martech out there – 6829 products (and probably more by the time you’ve read this), according to Scott Brinker’s colossal supergraphic. So it’s forgivable if you’re feeling daunted when looking to purchase a new platform.
The complex tech language and pricing models mean you need to do your research and go into any purchase with a bank of questions ready to ask. We asked some experts to help you with just that.
“If you haven’t asked critical questions for investing then there’s no case for investing,” says Kieron McCann, director of marketing and strategy at Cognifide. Quite often companies will feel pressure to invest in tech because their competitors are. Kieron recommends first asking what strategic outcome you’re trying to achieve.
“That requires going down quite a few levels,” he says. “People say the reason for investing in tech is to grow revenue, but how? The answer to those questions will shape what capabilities you need as a business.”
Dan Sands, chief strategy officer at Agent3, agrees. “The number one question people often miss is what problem they’re trying to solve.” He suggests building a criterion of exactly what you want. From there you can evaluate the tech against your criteria as you conduct your research.
Step 1: Assess the current landscape
Researching potential platforms to add to your stack should act as a prompt to consider what you already have. This should help prevent problems with integration after you’ve signed on the line.
What tech do we already have? Do a light audit of the technology you already have available. This is particularly important if you’re new to the management role and eager to make changes. Your existing technology may be able to do what you want to achieve by investing – your company just may not have leveraged it yet. If this is the case, congratulations, you’ve saved yourself some cash. It’s also a good idea to know what technology you need your new investment to complement.
Why do you need to change? If you’re deciding to replace your existing tech, ask why your business outcomes can’t be achieved with your existing martech. “You need to be sure the problem lies with the tech and is not a symptom of something else, such as your skills, data, or method of usage,” says Kieron.
Will your new martech platform fit with your existing tech? It’ll be a problem if you buy a product and lock yourself into a contract, only to learn that it doesn’t fully integrate with the rest of your stack. Use the intel you accumulated from your audit to ensure compatibility with your potential investments. Often this is more complicated that it first looks so do your due diligence, including speaking with other peers and martech users. “You want to make sure you don’t spend a whole load of [additional] money to make sure these things are integrated,” says Kieron. “In some cases you may find specialist tech that does things your existing tech doesn’t, in which case integrating them may pay dividends.”
Will the tech suit your future needs? Have an idea of what your tech needs are going to be in the future. These don’t need to be set in stone but it will be helpful in choosing a technology that can adapt with your company – especially if you’re looking to sign a long term contract. “Understand what those needs are likely to be but without overstating them,” says Dan. “Otherwise you’re just going to buy the biggest most expensive system and it may sit on the shelf.”
Step 2: Assess the cost
No one enjoys discussing cost but it’s the most important conversation you’ll have in regards to your martech investment. It’s good to have this conversation early-on so you can set expectations and know exactly how much you plan to spend.
Where does the budget come from? It’s probably the main question to cause tension between departments but it’s important to make a decision on this from the start. The term martech leads other departments to assume the cost will be covered by marketing, but if you think the tech will be used and benefit multiple departments you should speak up.
Tim Matthews, CMO at Exabeam, says: “We’ve had situations where tools we thought were being covered by the sales team were coming out of our budget. Typically Salesforce is covered by sales but beyond that you need to be specific. Quite often marketing is used as a bank because we have discretionary funds, so a lot of other teams think they can take advantage.”
What portion of your budget will be used for the investment? Outline how much of your marketing budget you’re prepared to invest in new technology, while still funding other marketing spend. This benchmark may help streamline your research. “You don’t want to invest in something that’s going to preclude you from doing other things that you’ll want to do further down the line,” warns Dan.
How long is the contract? Consider how long you want commit to using the product you’re investing in – particularly if it’s different to anything you’ve used previously. “Failing fast is no bad thing. Don’t get tied in,” says Dan. “Often vendors will offer a 5-10% reduction if you sign up for three years. But is that tool going to be the needed in three years?”
How is it licensed? Read the fine print when it comes to licensing. Sometimes as your database or web traffic increases, so will your payments. “It be a double-edged sword depending on how much you grow. The tool can get you more customers but it will also begin to cost you more,” says Tim. There may be ways around incurring extra costs the vendor won’t tell you about. Talk to current customers and discover if there are any way to cut costs.
What are the risks if this goes wrong? A predominant reason marketers wait so long to pull the plug on a failing piece of tech is because they’re scared of the potential risks. Outline the dangers of failure up front so you know what to prepare for in advance – but the level of due diligence should be proportionate to the risk, Dan advises.
Step 3: Assess your internal capability and culture
Bringing a new piece of tech to the office is a bit like bringing a new baby home. There needs to be preparation before its arrival to ensure it grows up healthily. Make sure you have the right team, approach and resources in place to get the most out of your investment. Kieron says looking at your internal culture is critical, but often overlooked. “Companies often go into a technical evaluation of vendors but they need to have an articulated plan of how they’re going to set themselves up to succeed.”
Do you have the right skills within your team? You’ll need staff with the skills to use the tech you’re investing in. If you don’t, you’ll be paying for a technology you’re not leveraging fully. Without the skills you’re likely to blame the tech, and get into a vicious cycle of flitting between vendors. “I’ve yet to see a SaaS solution with any real power that doesn’t require at least as much time and money spent on the people using it as the tech itself,” says Dan.
Are you paying for a consultant? If you don’t have the skills you need within your team, you may need to hire a consultant or agency, which’ll need to be accounted for in the budget.
Do you have the resources to make your tech work? Alongside people power, you’ll need to consider what other input your new investment may require. “A lot of marketing tools need content. What content do you have? What do you need to create that content? Do you have the budget for that?” asks Dan.
What will change in terms of business process? If you’re trying to fix a problem through tech investment, you’ll also need to change the way you work. “If you’re replacing an existing piece of tech but not changing how you work, that’s a red flag,” says Kieron.
How will success be measured? You need to agree what success looks like at the start. Decide which metrics will be used to measure your new tech and align with your KPIs. Kieron warns against just using revenue as this won’t give the board an accurate picture of success. “Planning and installation can take multiple years, and pay back can take years. If you try to do it just off revenue you’ve got a very long time before you see the results,” he explains.
Does the tech align to the organisation’s strategy? You may see tech that can bring really good benefits to your company, but will that fit with what your company is trying to achieve? Tim cautions: “We discontinued a martech tool last year. It was interesting but didn’t use it on a regular basis because no one’s objectives were tied to it.”
Are other departments on board? It’s important to have the backing of other teams at the start of the investment process. If you hope to share the cost, you’ll obviously need their buy-in. And if the new tech requires other departments to do something – such as input data – you’ll want to make sure they’re proactive in doing so. If they’re not aligned or you haven’t briefed them, you’re setting yourself up for failure, says Dan.
Step 4: Challenge the vendors
Asking the vendor is a good opportunity to understand how they can help fix your problem, but also what extra support they can provide – and whether this incurs any extra fees.
How will the vendor deliver? Ask the vendor how they can meet the criteria you’ve set out. This will show you how they understand what you’re trying to achieve. “They will try to dazzle you with speeds, feeds and features but keep them focused on the problem you’re trying to solve,” says Dan.
Are there any catches to be aware of? Don’t get distracted by offers of discounts if the product doesn’t meet your needs.
What will support look like? Decide what support you want from your vendor that’ll suit your way of working. Some may charge extra for access to the customer success team.
What other tools is the tech commonly used with? With thousands of martech platforms out there, it’s good to know what sort of martech stack the tool is used in to understand if it’s common or not, says Tim.
Apart from the vendor, who else have you spoken to? Ask to speak to clients who can give you an understanding of the practicalities of the tech. Tim also recommends talking to other customers, which you could do by asking your LinkedIn network. That way you can ask what the vendor might not be telling you.
How much customisation will there be? Ask the vendor to outline what you’ll receive after signing a contract for the tech. This will reveal any hidden costs or extra work that may be needed to get the tech to work for you. “I know one vendor with tech that does what it says, but what they don’t tell you is that you have to spend an extraordinary amount of money configuring and setting it up. You need to be realistic about how much effort is required,” says Kieron.
Top tech tips
- Don’t just focus on the tech. Be clear on business outcomes, how you’d use the tool effectively, and measure progress against it. – Kieron McCann
- Ask for the vendor’s view of the martech landscape. See if you can get their perspective and if it justifies their place in the landscape. I like to work with vendors that give me an honest perspective. – Tim Matthews
- Build a criterion to evaluate against. Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions, there’s no such thing. If a vendor doesn’t give you a straight answer, be suspicious. – Dan Sands
