You can have the most powerful car in the race. But if it isn’t built, maintained, and driven by people who understand the challenges of the track, you’ll be disappointed by where you finish.
The same principle applies to marketing technology. Selecting the right solutions and implementing them in the right way helps some businesses accelerate toward strong outcomes – while others lag, wondering why they aren’t achieving the promised results.
This need for relevant expertise is one clear takeaway from our recent study of the sources, inhibitors, and enablers of martech’s value – a study that focused on businesses that use, or plan to use, Adobe CX Enterprise.
The research – based on interviews with 150 senior leaders at large U.S. organizations – finds expert, external support to be the most common reason for martech delivering beyond a business’ expectations. This expert support closely follows the other top driver of martech ROI, a strong data foundation.
The role of expert support in boosting martech ROI
It’s hard to overstate the role of external expertise, whether from partners or agencies, in unlocking the full value of martech investments. For the Adobe ecosystem specifically, 91% of business leaders say expert partners are critical to realizing full value.
Our study also shows what can go wrong when the right expert support isn’t in place. We asked business leaders whose martech investments are not delivering value to identify the root causes of that failure. Almost one-third (29%) cited a lack of expert partner support for implementation, integration, or optimization.
One reason this figure isn’t even higher is that most businesses do bring in external experts to support their martech solutions. Indeed, just 9% choose to go it alone with a fully in-house team.
The overwhelming majority of business leaders (89%) say most brands need deeper partner expertise to achieve their martech goals. In many cases, one product of this external expertise will be a well-defined use-case roadmap aligned with business goals – something our survey reveals to be another important enabler of martech ROI.
The power of a well-defined roadmap
Eighty-seven percent of business leaders agree: enterprises need a clearer roadmap to unlock the value of their martech investments.
In some cases, this belief is based on personal experience. A significant proportion (36%) of business leaders whose martech isn’t delivering the value they anticipated say the absence of a clear roadmap or tactical execution is a contributing factor.
The best martech roadmaps successfully identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential use cases, based on a business’ challenges and opportunities. And, for many of today’s business leaders, one opportunity is top of mind: AI.
We asked leaders planning to implement Adobe CX Enterprise to share their reasons for prioritizing their chosen martech use cases. The most common reason, one given by about half of these future Adobe CX Enterprise users, is to prepare for AI-driven marketing.
What to look for in a martech partner
Businesses need their martech partners to combine industry experience with deep specialization in their chosen platforms. We’re proud to say this is one of the reasons leading brands choose to work with Acxiom.
Our dedicated Adobe practice, for example, helps Adobe CX Enterprise users solve their marketing and operations challenges, accelerating growth. Often, businesses that choose Acxiom are also looking for a partner with:
- Strong security and privacy credentials
- Services that can scale rapidly
- A track record of delivering proven ROI
- The ability to act as an extension of their team
The one ROI-enabler that rules them all
The support of an expert partner isn’t just a great enabler of martech ROI. It’s the one that enables the other great enablers. Engaging an expert partner will help your business build a strong data foundation for its martech investments, prioritize the most impactful and urgent use cases, and successfully map the road ahead.
Our report, Is Martech Meeting its Value Promises?, features many more findings from our survey of CMOs, CTOs, CIOs, and other senior business leaders. Download your copy now to discover:
- Which martech use cases are the most popular
- Where martech is failing to deliver
- Who’s contributing to martech decisions – and how
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