Preparing Your MarTech Stack for 2023

At Howl, we fully understand that businesses are constantly evolving. In fact, over the last few years, we’ve experienced immense growth and positive change ourselves (yay, us!). Now it’s time to turn the focus on you and your plans. Start with these questions:

Have you taken the time to reflect on how your business will grow or need to optimize in months and years to come?
Do you envision hiring more employees and filling out your marketing team?
Are you looking to automate and streamline your sales and marketing processes?

If you haven’t, there’s no need to panic. We’re here to help you plan so that you’re prepared for the changes that lie ahead. In essence, this is what marketing technology (martech) is.

What is marketing technology (martech)?

Martech is defined as “the software, platforms, and technology tools that assist your marketing team to attract and retain customers as it aligns with your goals and objectives”.

We want to see you win and achieve your revenue goals. So, we’ve got you covered. To attract and retain customers cost effectively, it is essential that we lean on the many wonders of technology. Simply put; in marketing, we use technology to automate marketing activities all with the aim at maximizing conversions culminating in a purchase. By automating all your marketing campaigns the technology is also being used to collect and track important data that we use to make vital decisions. For instance, how do you know what kind of emails are working and leading to conversion? How many emails would you guess you send on a yearly basis? How do you know what kind of emails are working and leading to conversion? Technology systems provide email automation and accurate data on things like email open and click through rates to help guide your marketing decisions. If a certain type of headline is giving you great results, then do more of that.

Now that we’ve established what martech is and explained the role of technology in marketing, it’s time for us to help you establish your martech stack (trust us, this will be fun). Here’s another Howl definition for you.

A marketing stack is a list of the tools that you’ll use to make your marketing activities a success.

This can include everything from search engine optimization (SEO) to lead generation tools. However, before we continue, there’s one more important distinction that needs to be made. Do you know the difference between a marketing tool and a marketing discipline? Search engine optimization is a marketing discipline. An example of a tool used for that discipline would be SEM Rush – a platform with tools for SEO, content marketing, competitor research, pay-per-click (PPC) and social media marketing. Let’s go over one other example to hammer it home. Social media marketing is an example of a popular marketing discipline. A marketing tool would be anything that can be used to execute this discipline such as HubSpot. Okay, now that you’re equipped with all the information you need, let’s look at some things you should keep in mind when building your martech stack for 2023. We’ve broken this down into 5 easy-to-follow steps for you to execute:

Step 1: Form Your Marketing Strategy

Step 2: Establish A Budget

Step 3: Review & Compile Your Data

Step 4: Document Everything (yes, everything!)

Step 5: Train Your Team

Step 6: Subscription Blog

Step 1: Form Your Marketing Strategy

This is always step 1. Take some time to figure out your strategy and decide what you want to focus on. Here’s some advice to make this easier:

Identify your current marketing disciplines. This includes activities such as Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing and more
Analyze these disciplines and see what needs the most work to reach your goals
Use data to ensure that you’re making the right decisions

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Step 2: Establish A Budget

Once you have a strategy in place, it’s essential that you’re honest with yourself and establish a budget. After all, if you can’t afford the tools you want, then you need to reconsider your entire strategy. Remember, there are always things you can do to save money. We advise that you take advantage of a trial version of software when possible for as long as you can. Additionally, don’t overpay for features you don’t need. Marketing tools usually come in different versions. There’s no need to destroy your budget for features you won’t ever use.

Step 3: Review & Compile Your Data

No matter how advanced the software and technology is that you use, it will only work if the data and information you input is accurate. Take some time to compile and analyze the data that you’ll transfer into your marketing tools. If you’re an established company, audit your existing data in your sales and marketing platforms and make sure you have all the information you need. Data can be overwhelming. Do yourself a favor, divide and conquer to make this a full team project.

Step 4: Document Everything (yes, everything!)

When it comes to building your martech stack, documentation is key. As your company grows, so will your database. In order for you to streamline processes and keep everything running smoothly, it will be essential for you to clearly document everything in your shared systems. This will allow team members to effectively work together toward company goals. Can you imagine how frustrating it will be to assign a project to a team member where it’s impossible to find the files needed to complete it? You can make documentation more effective by:

Storing related documents together
Creating digital copies of important paper documents
Devise a consistent method for naming files and folders
Delete files you don’t need

Step 5: Train Your Team

Make sure you train your team members on all that they need to know regarding your new martech stack. While automation and technology is amazing, your company will only go as far as the people you trust take it. At Howl, we are firmly in the people business. Invest in your team more than anything and you’ll take your business to the next level.

Now that you have all the insight and advice needed to build your martech stack for 2023, are you excited for the new year? Remember that your marketing stack and goals should be unique to you and your company. We want you to feel confident about the marketing tools you choose, comfortable with your budget, and optimistic about the positive growth that awaits. At Howl, we believe that you have immense potential and the possibilities are endless. We hope that this information helps you take the steps toward your most successful year yet.

Step 6: Subscription Blog

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