The Evolving Landscape of Martech
Martech Outlook | Monday, May 22, 2023
The martech industry is constantly evolving and there are changes in customer behaviours and emergency channels, which are fast-tracking the production of new product categories and products as well.
FREMONT, CA: The martech industry is constantly evolving. Changes in the behaviour of customers and emergent channels fast-track the production of new product categories and products themselves. For instance, virtual event tools, CDPs and podcasting platforms were introduced within the last decade.
More often than not, when new marketing practices and channels are introduced, the existing elements remain unchanged. The new practices and channels occupy another layer in a marketing program. Consider an example of email; when email was introduced, direct mail was not done away with, and the arrival of social media did not erase the use of emails.
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Even so, the definition of martech continues to expand.
Keeping Pace with Acquisitions
As an industry, martech is very acquisitive. Multiple acquisitions have been worth billions of dollars for the past two years.
Post-acquisition, however, brings about changes in the functioning of a product, and it generally begins with integration capabilities. Acquisitions enable the acquiring companies to advance a collaboration tool with existing workflow automation, integration tools, and collaborations to further productivity within internal teams and consequently improve communication among customers and vendors.
When companies acquire other businesses, they usually change the branding of the products they obtain and implement a gradual process of rebranding.
General Shifts in Product Portfolios
The rebranding of organisations occurs in more than just in case of acquisitions. Some other reasons for rebranding include changes in sales approach, in focus, a shift in product functionality, and for large platform providers, the requirement to represent the relationship and volume of products in their portfolios.
A singular list of products is no longer effective. Many organisations are now classifying products by function. SaaS businesses catalogue market tools by the different industries it services. In such cases, the division includes finance, healthcare, hospitality, and more. Companies are also increasingly cataloguing tools based on customers' needs or departments, such as sales, marketing, customer service, and commerce.
Subsequently, the worth of an organisation does not lie in knowing all the tools in the industry, it's about knowing the tools which can be disruptive in that specific working environment. For a specific use case, companies should pick out the correct categories, make time to keep up with the products, share this information with teammates and meet monthly for a debrief.
Next, a company should have a clear framework and view for the projection over the next two years. They should also focus on market reports throughout the years and categories related to product information. Possessing a long-term view will serve as an extended benefit when evaluating the big-picture scenario while making near-term product decisions.
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