People and processes are just as important as the platforms you invest in
As a marketing leader, you know how important it is to have the right platforms in place to be successful. But what many people don’t talk about enough is that having the right people and processes associated with those platforms is just as essential for marketing success. From setting up automation strategies to creating content, understanding how workflow background information works can help you make sure everything runs smoothly. In this post, we'll explore why it's so important to consider all parts of a marketing technology stack—including the personnel and process part—when building yours.
What is a marketing technology stack and why it matters
A marketing technology stack is an important concept to understand when building any successful marketing team and can define a company’s approach. It is made up of the people, processes, and platforms that work together to ensure effective organization of essential marketing data – helping teams make better decisions and drive consistent results. The power of a martech stack lies in its ability to build streamlined campaigns based on automation, predictive analytics, personalization and more. Without it, companies can find themselves overwhelmed with data manipulation tasks while missing key opportunities in their customer journey management. Ultimately, investing in a martech stack helps bring together all aspects of a business under one cohesive umbrella – allowing for informed decision-making with the ultimate goal of achieving objectives faster.
The importance of people and processes in building an effective stack
Building a successful marketing technology stack requires more than just picking the right platforms; people and processes are essential components of an effective martech stack. Developing user-friendly, adaptable systems is critical, but ensuring everyone contributing to the stack understands how it works and how their roles interact with it is what turns potential into meaningful results. Without clearly defined roles, responsibilities, communication protocols and decision-making processes, any martech stack is destined for failure. Identifying the people and process components and aligning them with technological solutions helps create an environment where project goals can be achieved with maximum efficiency.
Strategies to ensure you have the right team in place
Building the right team is key when constructing a successful marketing technology stack. It is essential to have a well-rounded group of individuals who possess specialized skillsets and can leverage the different platforms within the stack. To ensure success, you should think of your team as an ecosystem where each individual occupies their best fit role and collaborates with one another when more than one indicator is necessary to achieve goals. In addition, collaboration between teams is essential—clear expectations for all stakeholders should be identified and understood prior to any project launch or deployment. Moreover, ensure that team members are educated on how to customize the stack for your specific needs. With the proper planning and care taken in building out an ideal team, you will see measurable progress towards increased efficiency in marketing operations.
How to define success metrics and develop processes accordingly
Attaining success in growth marketing is dependent on understanding relevant metrics and developing processes accordingly. When building a marketing technology stack, identifying the right metrics allows teams to establish visibility into the performance of campaigns and strategies, allowing them to make data-driven decisions. In addition to selecting the right tools and platforms, it’s important to involve team members in creating clearly defined guidelines and processes—factors that are just as critical for success as the technology itself. With established workflow steps, cross-functional teams can work together more effectively by setting expectations, adhering to productivity standards, and preventing roadblocks from impeding progress.
How to measure progress and make adjustments on the fly
Measuring progress and making adjustments on the fly when building a marketing technology stack is an essential part of optimizing your workflow. It's important to have dedicated people assigned to this job, who are able to assess which components are performing well and adjust others accordingly. Processes also need to be put in place that ensure any changes or modifications result in faster, more efficient results. The visual illustration of your marketing technology stack can help provide a direct explanation into where lapses may exist, as well as how those issues can be solved quickly and efficiently. Ultimately, it's the blend of people and processes working together that will create a successful workflow for any marketing technology stack.
Tips for leveraging data-driven insights to optimize your stack
Data-driven insights are essential to achieving success with your marketing technology stack. Leverage all available data intelligently to create the most efficient workflow possible. Start by ensuring the right people and processes are in place — such as a dedicated executive-level champion to oversee the entire stack, adequate resources and training for users, as well as flexible and transparent processes that encourage innovation. Going beyond simple tracking of KPIs, use predictive modeling to better understand customer behaviors across channels. Identify opportunities for improvement and scale initiatives that work well, integrating intelligence into all areas of your operations for greater optimization. By leveraging data-driven insights throughout your stack, you’ll be able to ensure maximum efficiency and results with every effort.
Ultimately, when it comes to building an effective marketing technology stack, people and processes come first. The success of your stack can depend on having the right team in place that is knowledgeable about the platforms you choose and how those platforms work together to achieve your goals. It is also necessary to define success metrics and develop processes accordingly which can ensure that your stack is optimized for the most efficient workflow. Finally, measurement of progress and making adjustments on the fly are essential for ensuring that your systems are working optimally to drive results at all times. With knowledge, planning, and dedication it is possible to build a powerful marketing technology stack that works seamlessly towards reaching both short-term and long-term objectives.