Why bloat matters
Too many solutions in your stack leads to lost time and staff frustration as employees have to switch between apps. It also often means duplicating data and assets, which can create brand compliance issues. Ultimately, martech bloat can present a lot of problems to an organization.
But there’s a fine line. You can’t just stop adding tech as a way to beat bloat. Employees do want their companies to make the best and latest technologies available to them.
Where does that leave your org? With an ongoing task of continuously updating its stack while simultaneously fighting martech bloat.
Daunted? Understandable. But following a few steps can help you actively defend against a bloated stack.
Identify your needs
First up, you need clarity on what technologies your organization actually needs. Yes, the latest predictive analytics software might feel exciting and flashy to have, but if your brand’s data isn’t ready, you probably don’t need it — at least for now.
A few key areas where you probably do want a software solution in place include:
- Digital asset management
- Customer relationship management
- Content management system
- Multi-channel publishing
- Analytics
- Workflow/project management
Before you dig into your stack itself, you want to get clear on what you actually need it to do for you.
Audit your stack
Now, it’s time to connect solutions to the needs you’ve identified. A DAM will help you keep track of your digital assets, and a content management system (CMS) can help you develop, launch, archive, and reuse content.
But you might have also identified some unique-to-your-organization needs, and pinpointing which solution(s) meet that need could be tricky. Take the time to give your stack a thorough audit.
As you’re doing so you should also look at where you have untapped potential. If you’ve got solutions that can meet more than one of the needs you’ve identified, why not use it?
If your current CMS offers project tracking and collaborative workspaces, for example, check them out. Could they work better than what you’re using now? Or could that work just as well, saving your employees the hassle and wasted time of having to navigate between solutions to do their work?
After your audit, you will probably have identified at least a few solutions that you no longer truly need. But don’t just ditch them just yet. This next step helps to keep your stack functioning its best.
Slim down your stack
It’s tempting to want to quickly axe any tech you’ve identified as unnecessary. But your organization probably has some legacy data or assets stored there. Before you part with any solution, go through it to pull out anything worth archiving in a solution you plan to keep.
Also, look at recent users. You could learn that someone on your team relies heavily on this solution. It could be a matter of simply training them up on the newer, better option you plan to keep in your stack — but you don’t want to ditch something and leave an employee crippled.
Move forward
To avoid martech bloat in the future, it can be helpful to regularly go through the steps we just outlined. You might want to make a point to audit your stack biannually, for example.
That’s not your only way to fight bloat, though. You should also be picky about what you add to the stack. Don’t let the latest, shiniest thing sweep you away. Before something gets added, vet it and make sure it integrates with the rest of your stack. Similarly, here are a few other mistakes to avoid to keep your stack in line.