MarTech Data Lab | #4 - Simplifying MarTech, State of Marketing, & 2023 Predictions
Reducing complexity, wrangling chaos, and what the future may hold
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The newsletter theme for this week is simplicity. Reducing complexity in your marketing technology stack. Thinking about what your ops functions will look like in 2023. And diving into the current state of marketing for 2022. Let’s get started.
🏗️ 60-Second MarTech: 9,932+ Marketing Tech Tools
At last count (2022) there are about ~10K+ martech tools out there. This introduces you to a tool you may not have heard of, chosen randomly from the Martech Map or beyond.
What is it?: Tidio, “a powerful, all-in-one customer service platform that levels up your customer support and helps to generate more sales”
What does it do?: “Tidio is a platform a powerful, all-in-one customer service tool that Tidio combines live chat and chatbot tools to help you connect with your customers and generate more sales with outstanding instant support.” It features automated, live chat, ticketing features, and aims to be a sales-driven customer success tool.
Why would I need it?: Instead of having your two most common customer touch points, through sales and customer success/support, use separate platforms, Tidio tries to close the gap between sales and CX using the same unified customer base and data. Uses cases described include using Live Chat to help close eCommerce sales and provide an additional support option for sales reps, using automated chatbots to answer ‘40%’ of typical customer service requests, and integrating into many common tools used on a variety of websites.
Can you tell how much it costs easily from their website?: Free to $240/per user/mo depending on features needed (automated vs. live chat, plus other options)
📚 Marketing Research
Connecting the academic world with the practical, this section picks finds an interesting research study and connects it to real-world applications
Title of the Study: The State of Marketing 2022 | Link
‘Tweet’ Summary: In Salesforce’s 8th Annual Marketing Research report, the top three priorities for marketers are to “improve the use of tools and technology, experiment with new marketing strategies and tactics, and modernize tools and technologies.” Marketers, going into 2023, are asking to do a lot more with less and need to continue to prove their ROI by also making smart, strategic investments in the ‘right’ tools and technologies to get there. A major issue is having the talent or knowledge of what those tools and technologies are and how they fit.
MTDL’s Take: While Salesforce would likely come to the conclusion of what marketers are grappling with; tools, technology, and getting more value out of products that Salesforce no doubt offers solutions for (shocking), this does put front and center also what Scott Brinker sees what happens as martech stacks are getting way, way too complex.
Another scary data point that even if we take it directionally is that from 2020 to 2022, the percentage of marketing technology 'capabilities’ being used is going down.
This could be due to the fact that tools are adding new functionality all the time, martech stacks are getting bigger, marketers have smaller teams and need to do more with less, and any number of other potential factors.
Brian Halligan, HubSpot’s co-founder and executive chairman, has often said, “Companies are more likely to die of overeating than starvation. They tend to do too many things.” This absolutely applies to martech capabilities.
Complexity gives the appearance of hiding foundational vulnerabilities that often get papered over with our obsession for more. We believe that more is the answer to most things and that our martech stack is missing that one thing, that one piece, that can finally bring things together or add unlock the value that is typically promised. Don’t fall for this trap. Complexity isn’t inherently a bad thing. But it can distract you from the goals you need to achieve and create additional tech debt. If you stop and think about your short, medium, and long-term vision of what your tool helps solve, it will be one step closer to aligning your technology with your goals.
📰 Stack Notes: Industry News & Updates
Interesting and noteworthy reports, surveys, and big industry news
Top 10 MarTech Trends of 2023. From TechFunnel, some of the top noted trends predicted for 2023 include the rise of zero-party data gathering, low or no-code accelerating (In Gartner’s study, by 2025, 70% of newly built enterprise apps will employ low-code or no-code technology), a continued blurring of the lines between DSPs (Demand Side Platforms) and SSPs (Supply Side Platforms) in advertising
The A-Z of Web3: From LXA, cut through the noise and learn a bit more about what Web3 means with this handy glossary
HotJar Acquires UX Platform: Hotjar, a product that helps you understand how users interact with your website or product through heatmaps and recordings, has acquired PingPong, a user testing platform. It aims to further close the gap between quantitative and qualitative insights and a signal of increased consolidation of CX platforms aiming to provide a more holistic view of your customers
Corporate Comms for the Startup Soul: The past few weeks at Twitter have made us all appreciate the value of corporate communications a bit more. In this TechCrunch podcast episode, the speakers discuss comms at companies both internally and externally, and why it deserves a seat at the decision-making table
Getting Started with Google Analytics 4: Did you know that Google Analytics 3 is going to sunset this summer (barring any additional delays) and Google Analytics 4 is going to be the new evolution of analytics for your website? You didn’t? Don’t get caught off guard. Here is a Q&A with the Director of Google Analytics on how to get started with GA4
Quick programming note. MTDL be off this week to relax and recharge with family. I will be back the following week!
Keep stackin’ your curiosity,
Sam