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Modern Marketers e-Guide To MarTech Maturity
Contents
Technology is today forcing organisations to rethink their business models, organisation structures, processes and the Marketing function is no different. Undoubtedly, modern marketing leaders must rewire themselves to a new way of thinking. Headwinds over the last one year have fast-tracked and ensured that the next battle ground for the modern marketer is about customer-first, data-driven brand and experience management.
One of the key enablers of this approach will be Marketing Technology. Global technology companies have been at the forefront of driving innovation and upping the game in the context of enabling omni-channel, hyper personalized, hyper localised, real-time customer connect. All this to drive sales and customer experience. The challenge is huge. The modern marketer is under tremendous pressure to demonstrate a great understanding of the customer and deliver Marketing ROI.
Getting the MarTech stack right is strategic to business success. With a plethora of tools available, how does one embark on this journey or course correct or stay ahead of the curve? There are no easy answers.
The Modern Marketers e-Guide to MarTech Maturity is an insight packed, action-based playbook. It is based on more than 14 years of experience that Hansa Cequity has in the real world of helping large organisations across industries build a data driven marketing practice and implementing large MarTech projects for conglomerates, large organisations and digital-first brands. The e-Guide also takes into account the current state of MarTech in India through an extensive survey conducted in the months of April and May 2021.
MarTech projects are difficult to execute, they require absolute clarity in what is being attempted to accomplish, need CXO commitment and a collaborative mindset to succeed.
It is also about building an organisational culture of experimentation and agile processes.
The Modern Marketers e-Guide to Marketing Maturity not only highlights the framework required to evaluate the role of tools at different stages of evolution but also emphasises on the need to get the business strategy and organizational alignment right for success. It also suggests governance mechanisms that need to be put in place to ensure continued success. Some of the best minds at Hansa Cequity and the MMA MarTech Council have actively contributed to put this playbook together. I am sure you will find a lot of answers and practical solutions that you are looking for in this e-Guide.
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Best Regards.
Neeraj Pratap Sangani
Chief Operating Officer
Hansa Cequity
The Modern Marketers e-Guide to MarTech Maturity is an initiative by our AMMP community represented by the MarTech council .
We at MMA are keen to own the charter of building Winning Marketing Organisations (WMO). As per an extensive study done by MMA globally, WMO is primarily a function of 3 things –
| • | Right structure |
| • | Roles and responsibility of marketing |
| • | Marketing capabilities of an organisation |
Our study suggests upping the game in marketing capabilities leads to 2.5X sales growth and 2.35% increase in market value . This is based on a MarCaps Readiness Assessment which factors in 7 elements that matter the most of which a score of 6 or more classify winning marketing organisations.
Even before the pandemic, technology had begun to play a transformational role in marketing programs of brands across segments. With the rise of digitisation, marketing and technology have fused together to create MarTech - the newest kid on the marketing strategies block, and it has become quite the favourite.
So whilst MarTech is becoming very powerful, organisations are far from ready and are at varied stages of MarTech maturity.
As per the survey we conducted to understand MarTech adoption.
| • | Today over 40% of the organisations are at a nascent stage in the MarTech capabilities, while 30% are at an emerging level where enterprise level coordination is happening, and standards are being put in place. |
| • | Categories like BFSI and E-Commerce show signs of an emerging level. |
| • | The silver lining being 87 % expect their spending on MarTech to increase over the next 5 years. |
| • | 32% said that they measure revenue/profitability using MarTech stacks. |
These are good indicators reflecting that many organisations in India have kick started their MarTech journey.
According to a NASSCOM report, brands are investing large percentage of marketing budgets to technology, and 52% of enterprises plan to continue increasing their MarTech expenditure in 2021.
Hence the role of CMO is morphed beyond the obvious one around marketing to a much more complex web of challenges, i.e., driving sustainability agenda, delivering sustainable growth, devising highly personalised customer experiences, instigating advanced marketing innovation, new business model and driving behavioural shift and change management within the organisation.
With customers interacting with brands on multiple channels and expecting a seamless experience, it has become more critical for businesses to acquire the right set of customers at a low cost of acquisition, engage, retain, and maximise their lifetime value. For businesses to be able to achieve this, traditional approach towards technology investments do not suffice. They need new tools that can help navigate the complex customer journeys.
Every organization’s goals change with every campaign, every quarter and most definitely, every year. Customers too, evolve ever so dynamically in their behaviour and motivation that it has become nearly impossible to understand or predict with certainty what they will do next. MarTech helps brands remain agile and have the right specs that evolve with its customers which is crucial to the success and survival of any brand or CMO today.
There are a few critical success factors to ensure success of any MarTech investment. A good starting point is the organization strategy and leadership alignment on the same. Building the stack is not a one-time activity. It requires active management to understand the gaps, add new technologies and remove the ones not adding value. Creating a data driven culture and getting the people ready becomes key to make it omnipresent.
The MarTech Playbook
| • | Attempts to decode the changing transformation of marketing today and the increasing role played by Technology. |
| • | Showcase MarTech maturity Frameworks which is based on our study to help assist marketers in making an ongoing attempt of advancing in the MarTech journey. |
| • | Provides ways to assess MarTech stacks and select right stacks. |
| • | Helps with guidance to ensure right Governance to make sure the investments made in MarTech are effective and well utilized. |
Trust you will find the Playbook useful and apply the suggested principles and dynamics mentioned herein which can be hugely helpful to your business.
Moneka Khurana
MMA India Board Member; Country Head – MMA India