Every company is a tech company now.
I see companies throw away millions on tech every year, but they still struggle to unlock the value. The problem with tech is the perception. Tech is rarely the bottleneck, and it is strategy and processes to blame for holding companies back, not the tech. This happens because tech alone is not enough. The mistake with martech projects is that they are being treated as IT projects, with a linear approach to design, deploy, test, complete and next. Martech on the other hand is an exploration, and you need take this trip with your people, your processes, and your strategy alongside your platforms.
3 reasons why tech alone is not enough:
- People are not programmatic, they don’t scale. Investing in people is investing in martech and this needs to be planed as part of the martech budget.
- Old processes and new processes don’t mix. A good process will take you a long way, but it requires proper thinking to implement and adapt to the new ways of doing things.
- Platforms are like school playgrounds; they don’t naturally play well together. Anyone who’s ever compared a report from two different platforms will know how different each platform’s algorithms and functionality can be.
When it comes to tech, the key thing is largely down to vision. This is an opportunity to be honest and look inwards and outwards and assess your direction. To help you assess your vision, here are a few key recommendations:
- Know where you are and know where you’re going
This might sound easier than it actually is in practice, and for this reason I often recommend applying the 3S framework when trying to assess your current situation.
Sink stage
I’ve seen start-ups and I’ve seen big companies going through this stage. And it’s sad. It’s most often the result of unfortunate circumstances, coupled with too much ego, self-sabotage and denial as a company.
Tech projects can cost you a lot, especially in the long run. It might in the end even cost your business. I’ve seen start-ups trying to nail a giant tech infrastructure that’s promised to be better than Salesforce or Adobe with limited resources and tight deadlines but unfortunately like any other ill-advised decision, tech projects and technical debt might actually sink your business. If your company is at the sync stage, the best thing you can do is to at least know that you’re at this stage. Getting out of denial might actually save you.
Swim stage
This stage is for those willing to put in the hard work. It’s a good place to be in but not for a long time as it puts a lot of pressure on your resources and people. The growth is great to witness and be apart of, but luring in the backstage you can see overworked employees, way too many priorities on the table and the lack of a well-defined direction or aligned workforce.
Surf stage
Some might call this the martech nirvana stage. This is where everyone wants to be but not many want to know what it really takes to get there. Well the answer is simple, it takes more than just tech. Tech alone is not enough. It takes a mixture of strategy, planning, investing in resources and enablement, culture and brilliant execution to name just a few core components.
- Go slow to go fast
The martech world has always been one of change and speed.
Don’t get me wrong, like most of us, I love speed, maybe a bit too much but to be clear – I am a huge advocate of moving fast. That said, all too often when it comes to martech the tendency is to optimise for speed at the cost of strategy and long term vision.
You’re probably thinking ‘Why on earth would I want to go slow; isn’t martech supposed to make us go faster?!’
However, the real question is do you want to go fast or far or both?
How many rapid digital transformations have you seen or heard of at enterprise level? You can rapidly change pieces of the puzzle, but would you call that a transformation?
There is no such thing as buying the most expensive tech on the marketplace and expecting rapid digital transformation to follow. You can throw as much money as you like at the problem but no tool in the galaxy will innovate or transform your company. Real change and digital transformation occur when silos and barriers are broken down, and it more often than not comes from within. Building strong foundations for your martech takes time. If we go too fast, the risk is to enter the martech myopia stage.
Martech myopia happens when:
- We often don’t see what we need to see – this includes strategic focus areas such as where to make changes, unused potential and overworked employees
- Difficulty juggling the details and the big picture – we’ve all seen how easy it is for executives to get lost in the details or for the implementation team to completely forget why they are working so hard on that project, losing vision of the bigger picture.
- Struggling to dance between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’ – these need to be known as two completely different beasts to tackle.
- See clearly what really matters to you
Now I have a question for you – what really matters to you as a business? Is it growth? Is it success? Could it be money? What keeps you awake at night?
Whatever it is please remember this quote:
“Money will only make you more of what you already are” – T. Harv Eker
Technology only magnifies the quality and effectiveness of the strategy, people and processes behind it.
Conclusion
If you have bought and implemented tech but are still feeling like tech alone is not enough then please remember these steps to re-assess and help change course:
- Know where you are and know where you’re going
- Go slow to go fast
- Be clear on what really matters to you
Good things take time and care to build. For this reason, it is important to slow down to get a strong grip on where you are and to constantly reassess your surroundings. To conclude here, my recommendation is to slow down, there is so much to gain from that but if you would rather go fast and run, at least make sure that you run in the right direction.