Marketing technology platforms play a crucial role in how customer data is collected, activated, and used to engage audiences. To make the most of these tools, marketers need to develop two key competencies: capability assessment and tool procurement. These skills empower marketers to select the right tools, guide procurement teams, and build seamless martech stacks that drive business outcomes.
What Is Capability Assessment?
Capability assessment involves evaluating martech tools to determine how well they align with business needs. Marketers with this skill can:
– Identify tools and vendors that solve specific marketing challenges
– Analyze how each tool fits within the existing martech stack and larger technology architecture
– Evaluate the value of different tools to ensure they improve customer communication, engagement, and internal processes
A strategic approach ensures tools not only solve problems but also work together smoothly, avoiding unnecessary duplication or redundancies.
What Is Tool Procurement?
Tool procurement focuses on building strong vendor relationships and ensuring the right tools are purchased. Marketers play an essential role in helping procurement teams (or their equivalents) by:
– Ensuring that contracts include all essential features
– Explaining how the tools fit within the larger martech stack and identifying where feature overlaps can be useful or redundant
– Clarifying why specific platforms are necessary to achieve business goals
When marketers actively participate in the procurement process, they ensure technology investments align with both the company’s needs and the evolving martech landscape.
Why These Competencies Are Important
By mastering capability assessment and tool procurement, marketers can:
– Identify tools and vendors that create opportunities for better customer communication and efficient marketing processes
– Collaborate closely with IT, procurement, and other stakeholders to ensure the right problems are defined during the evaluation process
– Facilitate vendor relationships by involving relevant stakeholders on both sides, ensuring the process starts on the right foot
While these competencies don’t require deep technical knowledge, they do demand a strategic mindset. Marketers should focus on understanding how martech capabilities support procurement and align with broader marketing objectives.
Key Questions to Consider
– Do the capabilities of martech platforms align with the organization’s objectives, and is the procurement team aware of this alignment?
– Is there feature overlap across multiple platforms? If so, does it add value, or is it driving up costs?
– Are the platforms’ capabilities clearly defined during procurement, and is the procurement team informed about which features are essential and which are optional?
– Do these tools enhance customer communication and streamline marketing processes within the overall martech architecture?
Next Steps for Marketers
Marketers should actively participate in discussions about martech platform capabilities to ensure they align with how customer data is collected and used for activation, engagement, and conversion. They can guide procurement teams on which features must be included in contracts and how these features can benefit the organization.
Collaboration between marketing and procurement is essential for demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) of new tools. This partnership ensures the company makes technology investments that support both immediate marketing goals and long-term business success.
Investing time in mastering these competencies will help marketers build efficient martech stacks that grow with the business. With the right tools and strategy, they can unlock new opportunities, enhance customer experiences, and drive sustainable growth 🚀.
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