Marketing technology software and apps are rapidly becoming integral to our day-to-day work. With so many new tools and amazing tech, we rely on technology to help us get more done in less time, with more accuracy and efficiency. 

However, as our companies grow and evolve, we can feel overwhelmed by the possibilities that our marketing & sales tech stacks tend to become bloated and inefficient, with multiple tools introduced in different parts of your team. Performing a periodic tech-stack audit is a great way to make sure you are using the tools that are right for your business.

Here are some signs you should look for, which might indicate your martech-stack should be reviewed:

1. Technology Is Burning a Hole in Your Budget (Or, you spend too much money on tools)

The marketing technology landscape currently has over 11,000 tools you can use to solve your team’s pain points, and it keeps growing exponentially. Some of those tools can help with a specific need, while others can solve multiple needs. Over time, as your team and used tools evolve, some of those tools can become obsolete.

The reasons can be:

• Former Employees – Some of those tools were introduced and used by a former employee, and are not being utilized by your existing team, although those tools can still be used to some extent.
• Temporary Tools – As your business grows and new projects will challenge your team, they will need different tools to support that growth. It can take the form of project management software like Asana or Monday, or an email cadence software your sales team introduces to outreach for a specific target audience, such as Salesloft or Outreach. But what happens after the project is done, and those tools are not used anymore? 
• Low Adoption Rate – Some of the tools are not being used by your team, often because they don’t know how to use them due to lack of training or bad UX, and maybe they are not even aware they can access it. 
• Duplicate Functionality – Tools are constantly evolving and features are added to them, so you also might be able to consolidate your tools and easily replace one with another. 

By auditing your stack you can pinpoint the issues above and save your money without compromising on your needs. Remember, tech bloat is inevitable and has a direct effect on your ROI. Revising it periodically is mandatory.

2. Your Tools Are Not Speaking With Each Other (Or, your tools are siloed)

So you have all those tools and platforms you use, but if they are not integrated with one another – it’s not really a tech stack, but a multitude of apps. 

Even if your tools work great by themselves, if they are not seamlessly integrated with your other systems, mundane and inefficient tasks, and processes will be created around them. Eventually, it will cause less productivity and data issues. Just think of the time wasted on aggregating all the needed data from 10 different systems for a report :-/

For most of your tools, you might be able to find out-of-the-box easy integrations. By auditing your stack you can find the communication gaps and find the best way to integrate your systems. Remember, sometime the out-of-the-box integration will not help you with your integration needs. A tech stack audit can help to define the integration needs and suggest a solution. 

3. Tour Data Is in Too Many 3rd Party Software (Or, security and compliance concerns)

When dealing with customer’s data, security and compliance should be a major concern. Sometimes unattended tools can become less secure over time, but still process some of your client’s data. 

Running a tech stack audit can help map those less-maintained tools, and if updates or other action items are in need. Remember, if some of those tools are not updated regularly, it’s a good indication of a data security breach waiting to happen and should be considered to replace it.

4. You Can’t Trust Your Data (Or, data is everything)

Some of your existing data integrations might be at fault or are not designed to support your needs. This can cause data issues to the extent you can’t trust your data, and might be a good indicator that you should find a better solution. Remember, relying on bad data will in its turn lead to bad insights and decision-making. It is crucial to audit your stack and solve your data issues. Fix your integrations, or replace those apps with better alternatives, so you can make sure your data is pristine and reliable.

Digital Transformation is Essential

Your tech stack is a key factor in your business success and should be revised, as it evolves and changes with your business growth. When auditing, make sure you are building it with tools that meet more than one of your needs, and have the ability to integrate with your other tools. By considering an all-in-one platform such as HubSpot for example, you can potentially consolidate multiple tools under one platform. It can help shorten the learning curve for your employees and to avoid different data and integration challenges.

Conducting a tech stack audit can be a tedious act, therefore we recommend doing it no more than once a year, clearing the clutter and optimizing your efficiency and ROI, and making sure your systems are enhancing customer experience. 

If you still feel there is room for improving your tech stack, feel free to contact us. Our team has extensive experience in the MarTech realms and can help you with building it to scale.