[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/09\/marketing-tech-stack\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/09\/marketing-tech-stack\/","headline":"Marketing tech stack: The unicorn of personalization + great CX","name":"Marketing tech stack: The unicorn of personalization + great CX","description":"Personalization and engagement are key to business today. By consolidating your marketing tech stack, you create better customer experiences.","datePublished":"2021-08-09","dateModified":"2021-11-09","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/james-eardley\/#Person","name":"James Eardley","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/james-eardley\/","identifier":161,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/973f2a97f5915a88f34d646ae26d3b7428357df8e651eff46e7dc791d11ec0ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/973f2a97f5915a88f34d646ae26d3b7428357df8e651eff46e7dc791d11ec0ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marketing-tech-stack.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/marketing-tech-stack.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/09\/marketing-tech-stack\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-data\/","name":"Customer Data","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_data","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q56278300"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/intelligent-enterprise\/","name":"Intelligent Enterprise","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Intelligent_enterprise","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q6044119"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/marketing-general\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":933,"articleBody":"Be honest \u2013 how many applications, solutions, and platforms does your marketing team use to engage with customers? Is your marketing tech stack a stack, or a bunch of squiggly lines? What if there were a magical unicorn to help you pull together your tech, and drive better engagement, personalization, and customer experience? (There is.)According to Chief\/MarTec,\u00a0the average enterprise relies on at least 91 marketing cloud services. At the same time, enterprises say their success relies on providing a positive customer experience.These two statements are fundamentally contradictory.      Customer centricity explained: Why CX matters in the data-driven era                Customer centricity is the act of putting your customers at the heart of everything an organization does. To be customer-centric, brands should consider a customer data platform - here\u2019s why.      When it comes to your marketing technology, less is moreIt’s clear that good customer experiences often depend on a consolidated technology stack. When you consolidate your marketing technology, you can optimize your customer experience, customer engagement, and CX.Customers today use countless channels to engage with your brand. At first, you may see multiple channels for customer engagement as an opportunity. More channels for interaction mean more sales, right? Wrong.The more complex your engagement channels grow, the harder it is to have meaningful and impactful interactions with your customers.Today\u2019s consumers are engaged and expect more from their experiences with your brand. With such high expectations, a single bad experience can spoil your image forever, so you have very few chances to really nail your engagements. And it\u2019s likely that your technology stack is getting in the way.      Experience management: Beyond data collection for deep insight, better CX                Learn how an experience management solution collects customer feedback and translates this feedback into powerful metrics for the business.      Customers want meaningful and impactful interactions that are hyper-personalized + uniquely tailored to their preferences and needsIt\u2019s difficult to create engagements that customers want across an infinitely increasing expanse of channels and software solutions.What if you want to send your loyal customers a coupon for a product that they regularly buy? Unless your software for e-mailing promotions to customers can easily pull data on purchase histories from your customer database, you won\u2019t be sending personalized offers to anyone.Companies are bringing on more and more customer experience solutions at an alarming rate. This assessment isn\u2019t meant to devalue the worth of the customer experience \u2013 in fact, your business needs great customer experiences now more than ever.But businesses are treating the latest in customer experience technology as a cure-all for an ailing technology strategy.Tacking on a new application for e-mail blasts isn\u2019t going to fix a disparate landscape of siloed solutions and customer data.Many companies pour their energy into developing mobile apps, after all mobile is the \u201cnew black\u201d. And maybe you\u2019re guilty of this?But new customers often wait to download a brand\u2019s app until after they have already had several experiences with the brand. Why would a new customer download an app for a coffee shop before they know if they even like the coffee?      How to measure digital activities: Online, mobile, store performance                After researching online, 90% of consumers still buy in-store, but most companies only measure activity online. Learn how to measure digital activities and optimize your integrated marketing plan by knowing which activities are driving value and which aren\u2019t.      Consolidate your marketing tech stack: Put the customer experience at the center of your business strategy \u2013 and technologyYou need to begin making smart, strategic decisions that prioritize the customer experience. You can\u2019t do that without a consolidated technology stack for marketing tailored to the customer experience.Let\u2019s look at some of your other business challenges.Your brand is likely trying to adapt to customers who make decisions faster. Maybe you\u2019re using your brick-and-mortar stores and your associates in them to fulfill online orders for in-store pickup. You\u2019re making this happen with fewer resources that are expected to do more, such as your IT experts working hard to fulfill your digitalization goals by breaking down technology and data silos.On top of that, there\u2019s increased pressure on profit and revenue, as well as more competition. Perhaps you\u2019re using heavy discounting to retain customers and trying to save money wherever you can. Many businesses are finding new savings by consolidating their existing technologies and eliminating those they don\u2019t need. It\u2019s likely you have heard some of your own peers and fellow marketing leaders say they only use a fraction of their marketing stack\u2019s potential.Not only does consolidation save you money, but it also helps you focus on your goal of prioritizing customer centricity, retention, loyalty, and data strategies.So, what does it mean to consolidate your tech stack, and how are your peers consolidating their tech for marketing and the customer experience?Technology consolidation starts with a robust technology platform that can connect disparate software solutions and applications.Think of it as a foundation for creating unified customer experiences through the connection of your software, channels, and data. This platform should be able to create one data source for all your engagement channels. Without this, your business will continue to be stuck with ineffective, stand-alone customer loyalty programs that can\u2019t take advantage of all the data insights you\u2019ve gathered.  In 2023, customer loyalty dropped 13%.In 2024, it fell by 10%.Is your brand retaining \u2013 or repelling \u2013 customers? Get the data + details on how to keep consumers loyal in this REPORT. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/08\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Marketing tech stack: The unicorn of personalization + great CX","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/09\/marketing-tech-stack\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]