Are you feeling a bit like a kid in a candy store when you consider all of the available marketing technologies? Marketing technologies have been evolving at a rapid pace; it now include. According to Statista, evaluating the state of marketing technology (MarTech), over 14.1 thousand MarTech solutions are available to industry professionals. You may know some of these technologies by their three-letter acronyms, such as CRM (customer relationship management), DAM/MAM (digital asset or marketing asset management), MOM (marketing operations management), MAP (marketing automation platforms), and MRM (marketing resource management). They include everything from platforms and tools to support Campaign Management, Digital and Online Marketing, Social Media platforms, Marketing Analytics, workflow, Performance Management, and reporting. With so many choices, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. But Marketing technology and all that it entails is here to stay.

Keeping up with and selecting the right Marketing technology and tools has become an almost impossible challenge. There are hundreds of people offering to help you. Why? The technologies and tools you choose, how you implement them, and the processes and skills you need to properly use them will greatly impact your capabilities and how well the technologies serve you in improving and proving the value of Marketing.

When you select and leverage the right mix of technologies, you and your company will be able to use these tools:

As a source of competitive advantage
To automate/streamline, measure, and enhance your capabilities

Make Sure You Have the Skills and the Basic Tools First

This brings to mind some sound advice from my father. I loved going to the local hardware store with him (yes I just dated myself, no Home Depots or Lowes back then) and marveling at all the tools. I would often come upon some tool that caught my attention. I remember early on finding a sander and dragging him over to see it and saying something like, “Daddy, look at this amazing tool. We should add it to our workshop to help with our wood projects.” I recall my father saying something like, “That is a cool tool. But here’s something important to remember about every power tool. If you don’t have the skills to do what it does manually, then using the tool will only result in doing damage faster.” What he meant was if I didn’t know which sandpaper to use when on which wood, then having a sander could just destroy the wood.

Over time we built my toolbox. We started with the basics: a measuring tape, a hammer and nails, screwdrivers and screws, pliers, and a wrench. Money permitting, I would purchase other tools, some for specific tasks, others to make a process faster. In each instance, he would then carefully instruct me how to use it safely and properly. This is the operative concept – carefully instruct me on how to use the tool properly.

New tools are arriving at a fast pace, especially AI tools. How do you make sure you don’t end up chasing the next shiny toy? To get the most from your tools, you need to have the skills to use them. If you don’t it’s important to find someone who can help you learn the skills. Otherwise, you may end up in the wise words of my father, “doing more damage faster.”

Purchase Your Assessment

Answer These 6 Questions Before You Invest in Your Next Marketing Technology Tool

We’re not going to try to tell you which tool to buy. Rather, I hope you’ll keep the advice my father gave as we made subsequent visits to the hardware store, where there was always a new shiny tool that I coveted for my growing toolbox- a drill, a vise grip, a saw, a chisel, etc. As I would reach for a tool, he would ask these questions:

Do you know the purpose of that tool and what problem it solves?
Is it a general-purpose tool or something that is designed to solve a specific problem?
Do you already have all your general-purpose tools?
How likely and how frequently will you face that specific problem and really need the special-purpose tool?
How does it fit in with the tools you already have?
Do you know what it takes to use it and do you have a plan to learn how to use it properly?

It seems like my dad’s advice serves marketers well. Here are four of his most useful tips that apply to marketers selecting Marketing technology.

Develop your requirements and selection criteria
Create your road map, so you have a plan for what tools you need to add, for what purpose, and when. If the situation changes, modify your road map.
Take into account what you will need to make the tool work (data, processes, and skills) and build this into your timing and investment.
Have a plan for usage and adoption; otherwise, the tool will just look pretty in the toolbox.

Learn more about Marketing Technology: The Power Tools for Optimizing Performance and Agility. Better yet, give us a call once you have your tools to make sure they enable you to excel.

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)

Q1: Why do marketers feel overwhelmed by MarTech today?
A: The ecosystem has exploded. Statista cites over 14.1K MarTech solutions, spanning campaign management, digital marketing, social platforms, analytics, workflow, performance management, and reporting—making selection and prioritization difficult.

Q2: What kinds of tools fall under the MarTech umbrella?
A: Everything from CRM, DAM/MAM, MOM, MAP, and MRM to platforms that support automation, measurement, reporting, and operational execution across the marketing function.

Q3: Why do MarTech choices matter so much?
A: The tools you select, how you implement them, and the processes and skills required to use them directly shape your marketing capabilities—and whether technology actually helps you improve and prove Marketing’s value.

Q4: What is the core principle for making MarTech investments pay off?
A: Ensure you have the skills and the basic tools first. Otherwise, technology accelerates mistakes—“doing more damage faster.”

Q5: What does the “hardware store” analogy teach marketers about shiny new tools (including AI)?
A: If you cannot do the work manually (or do not understand the fundamentals), a power tool will not fix the problem—it will amplify it. Skills, safe usage, and proper instruction must come before tool accumulation.

Q6: What 6 questions should you answer before buying your next MarTech tool?
A: (1) What problem does it solve? (2) Is it general-purpose or special-purpose? (3) Do you already have the general-purpose tools? (4) How frequently will you face the problem? (5) How does it fit with existing tools? (6) Do you have the skills—and a plan to learn—to use it properly?

Q7: What are four practical tips for selecting the right MarTech mix?
A: Develop requirements and selection criteria; create and maintain a roadmap; account for what makes the tool work (data, process, skills) in timing and investment; and build a usage/adoption plan so the tool does not sit idle.

Q8: What is the strategic payoff of selecting and using the right MarTech mix?
A: Properly chosen and adopted tools can become a source of competitive advantage—automating and streamlining work, improving measurement, and enhancing marketing capabilities in ways that translate into business impact.