The latest stats to guide your marketing technology approach
Each year, Scott Brinker, the master of MarTech, releases the latest landscape of marketing technologies. Last week he revealed ther 2019 findings: today, over 7,000 firms now occupy the current MarTech landscape. Check out the downloadable pdf here. It's truly an amazing, comprehensive piece of work.
So what to make from the current MarTech landscape? Here are some key stats:
The current count is 7,040 in 2019, up just 3%, from 6,800 in 2018.
That means MarTech may be slowing or 'peaking', but Brinker admits that the fast evolution of the space is difficult to keep up with: nine people took 4 months to compile this year's map!
MarTech now eats up nearly a third of the marketing budget, according to a separate report released yesterday by Gartner.
There is a clear trend toward 'Marketing Platform Ecosystems' which are spawning their own MarTech apps via open APIs and official support. Some of the major platforms include:
Salesforce
Adobe
Oracle
HubSpot
Shopify
Microsoft
G Suite
Each ecosystem can have its own set of apps, plug-ins and services. Consider Wordpress which now has over 54,000 plug-ins!
So what does this mean for you? A few suggestions come to mind.
First, the job of keeping track of MarTech continues to be a challenge. You need to put in place the right process, approach and resources, especially if you are spending a significant amount in these areas. Consider these ten tips, for example.
Second, it's more important than ever to go with the tried and true. While experimentation is fine (and a portion of your budget should be 'test and learn'), largely stay away from newbies and focus on the established players (ie the list above). The industry is fraught with 'smoke and mirrors' as recently reported by the Financial Review.
Third, follow what others are doing. As part of the Brinker's MarTech conference last week, 48 companies sent in their MarTech stack on a single slide. Competing for 'The Stackie Awards', these companies showcased their portfolio of technologies they use. One of the favorites was Airstream for it's simplicity but also it's on-brand graphic.
It's fascinating to view not only the individual solutions but also how each company organizes (ie views) the MarTech universe. Study several of these and determine which ones might be closest to your business.
Finally, one thing's for sure - this rapidly evolving world won't be the same next month, let alone next year. Hang on for the ride.