The Evolution Of Martech Tools – Past, Present and Future

According to a MarTech Alliance/Moore Kingston Smith report, the global marketing technology industry is estimated to be worth around $344 billion in 2021.

Today, Martech or marketing technology is an integral part of every organization. It essentially refers to technical tools and SaaS products that help marketers and content creators execute their marketing campaigns more effectively.

While some Martech tools help with content planning, customer data collection, and SEO, others help with lead generation, social media management, and more. At the end of the day, their primary goal is to make your marketing communications more personalized, targeted, and efficient.

It's evident that the Martech landscape right now is quite diverse. But where did it all begin?

Marketing automation tools first appeared in the late 1980s with the development of CRM (customer relationship management) platforms. At the time, these tools were quite expensive, which is why they were only used by large corporations. Even though Martech was not widely adopted at the time, it showed companies how these tools could be leveraged to improve customer interaction.

After the development of CRM tools came predictive campaign management solutions and web analytics software, which were more readily adopted. However, marketing technology was still in its nascent stages, and the industry had only around 150 tools or so.

The true democratization of the Martech industry started when the SaaS model (pioneered by Salesforce) was introduced in 1999. This was the disruption the Martech industry was waiting for all along. Expensive solutions that could only be afforded by multinational corporations became a thing of the past. And now, we are living in an era where marketing technology is growing exponentially, with a new Martech solution coming out every other day.

The current state of Martech

The Martech landscape has grown significantly in the last few years, and today there is no dearth of options for Martech tools. The Martech solutions being developed today can do everything, like -

• Creating, planning, and distributing content
• Collecting data
• Identifying target audiences
• Streamlining communication with customers
• Identifying and prioritizing leads
• Brand reputation monitoring
• Campaign performance tracking and more

There are some great AI-powered tools that help marketers in -

• Fine-tuning content (AI writing tools)
• Personalizing customer interaction (chatbots)
• Harnessing customer data (CRM, CDP, customer feedback tools)
• Analyzing marketing strategy (SEO audit tools, marketing analytics tools)
• Running automated PR campaigns and more.

The Martech tools that exist today are far more sophisticated, providing targeted messaging that businesses and consumers welcome. Here are some statistics that will provide you with a better understanding of the current state of Martech -

• According to American Marketing Association research, around 70% of SaaS and tech companies are using integrated Martech tools.
• According to a recent Statista survey conducted among CMOs in France, North America, the United Kingdom, and Germany, most companies are allocating 26% of their marketing budget to Martech tools.
• Another Statista report stated that the global marketing automation industry is estimated to grow to almost $25.1 billion by 2023.
• The Salesforce State of Marketing Report found that 84% of content marketers used AI tools in 2021.
• A Statista report also stated that using AI-powered Martech tools was the third-biggest marketing tactic leveraged by marketers in the United States.
• A Salesforce report that the number of marketers using AI Martech solutions has grown by almost 186% from 2018 to 2021.

Source

Popular trends dominating the Martech landscape

Here are the popular trends that are dominating the Martech industry currently -

1. The surging popularity of no-code Martech tools

No-code Martech tools are gaining popularity. Many marketing tech solutions in the market these days allow content marketers to build content vehicles even if they don't have advanced programming skills. From websites, blogging platforms, and landing pages to data analysis and video marketing, all of this has become automated and simpler, thanks to some useful Martech solutions.

2. Chatbots continue to remain popular.

Chatbots continue to remain one of the most popular Martech tools. New companies continue to come out with AI-powered chatbots that provide a personalized experience to customers. There is also a demand for basic chatbot solutions.

3. Podcast marketing tools taking off

It was found in recent research that almost 33% of adults in the United States listen to podcasts regularly. With the growing popularity of podcasts, the demand for podcast tools is also increasing. Do a quick Google search, and you'll find a slew of Martech tools made specifically for podcasting.

4. Email marketing tools are making a comeback.

Email marketing is one of the oldest methods of digital marketing, but that does not mean it has lost its charm in the current marketing landscape.

It is again becoming quite popular, and many companies are using tools to simplify this process. While all-in-one solutions like Mailchimp are quite popular, there is also a growing market for niche solutions focusing on one aspect of email marketing (like SubStack).

Must-have Martech tools for new-age marketers

With the growing number of martech tools on offer today, choosing one that will facilitate greater growth in your organization has become difficult. To help you build your marketing tech stack, we've divided the martech tools according to their overarching marketing functions - Appeal, Engage (audiences), and Analyze.

Appeal: Tools to kickstart your marketing campaigns

1. Narrato - content workflow management tool

Narrato is a content workflow platform that simplifies all your content needs, from content planning, creation, collaboration, and optimization to project and team management. This single Martech solution eliminates the need to use multiple disjointed tools for managing your content process and teams. Some of the key features of this platform are -

• Content workflow management: Assign tasks to content creators and set custom workflows for your content projects. To ensure consistent structure, you can also attach style guides and custom content templates to each task. Narrato also offers workflow automation and bulk actions to streamline your content process. Besides this, you can also manage a content repository on the platform itself where all the content items can be neatly arranged into folders.
• Content creation and optimization: Create impactful content with Narrato's powerful content editor. Optimizing content for readability, grammar, and SEO is also a breeze. Narrato also comes with an AI writing tool that generates content for various use cases, like article outlines, intros, conclusions, and turning paragraphs into bullets. The free image search tool and Canva integration take care of all the visual elements your content needs.
• Content planning: Content calendars and kanban boards can be used to plan and organize your content. Other content planning tools include SEO content briefs and an AI topic generator. The SEO brief generator is a very useful tool for planning your content for SEO, with relevant keyword suggestions, references, questions to include, and more.
• Content collaboration: On-platform messaging, @mentions, and in-line comments make collaboration between team members easier. Publicly shareable links for content tasks also make it easier to collaborate with external stakeholders.
• Team management: Add team members under custom user roles and control how they access content projects. There is also an option for Client (Guest) role to add external stakeholders to the platform.

Pricing: Narrato offers both free and paid plans. The paid plans start from $8 per user per month.

2. AdRoll - advertising tech

AdRoll is a Martech solution that can help you convert your target audiences into paying customers by streamlining your web and social media ad campaigns. This ad tech retargeting solution allows marketers to collect, analyze and use important customer data so that they can implement effective ad campaigns.

Key features of AdRoll are -

• Personalized ads
• Retargeting ads
• Connected social targeting
• In-app retargeting
• Retargeting through email
• Cross-device reach
• Predictive buying
• Segmentation
• Reports and insights

Pricing: AdRoll provides two plans - Ads and Marketing and Ads Plus. The first is a pay-as-you-go plan, and the pricing for Marketing and Ads Plus depends on the user's current web traffic.

3. Kentico - content management system

If you're looking for a headless CMS (Content Management System), then Kentico is the tool for you. This CMS tool is designed to support fast-growing businesses that need to expand into new markets. Marketers can use Kentico to build state-of-the-art websites, online stores, community stores, and more, It comes with two options for content management systems - Xperience and Kontent. Kentico Kontent is a headless and cloud-based CMS tool, while

Kentico Xperience is a package containing a CMS solution and some great marketing tools.

Here are the key features of this tool

• Page Builder
• Structured Content
• Digital Asset Management
• Multilingual Content
• Multi-site Management
• Page Templates
• Workflows and versioning

Pricing: Kentico offers a 14-day free trial. The license-only subscription costs $11,000. The rest of the pricing details can be obtained from their Pricing page.

4. Later - social media marketing tool

This powerful social media management tool can be used to schedule social posts on multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Later comes with a drag-and-drop interface, which makes it easy to schedule your social posts at a glance.

Key features of this tool are -

• Automated publishing
• Visual calendar view
• Media library for saving photos and videos
• Multi-account management
• Comments review and reply (Instagram only)
• Hashtag suggestions
• Captions library
• Detailed analytics reports
• Performance reports

Pricing: Later offers three plans - Starter, Growth, and Advanced. The paid plans start from $18 per month, and there is also a free plan for users just starting out.

Besides these 4 tools, there are also several other types of Martech tools for increasing the appeal of your content. These include SEO tools, Lead generation solutions, and Webinar tools.

Engage - tools you need to engage with the audience

1. GetResponse - customer engagement tool

GetResponse is a Martech tool that allows you to engage your customers with effective email marketing campaigns. With its easy drag-and-drop interface, you can design emails (with layout and sections) and add GIFs and stock photos. You can also create a mailing list, send newsletters, and automate your entire email marketing campaign. Besides this, GetResponse also makes it easy to track the performance of email marketing campaigns by providing users with statistics on click-through rates, forwards, and open rates. Other features include -

• Autoresponders, with Perfect Timing and Time Travel tools to nurture audience segments
• Conversion-focused funnels
• Marketing automation
• Paid ads

Pricing: The GetResponse email marketing tool is priced at $19 per month.

2. Eloqua - marketing automation tool

Part of the Oracle suite of Martech tools, Eloqua is a marketing automation tool that can help you make your marketing processes streamlined and personalized. It is useful for all types of industries. However, B2B companies would find it to be more useful.

Key features of this tool are -

• Marketing measurement
• Campaign management
• Segmentation and targeting
• Asset management
• Lead management
• Adaptive Intelligence (AI)
• Data Activation
• Sales and marketing alignment

Pricing: Eloqua offers 3 pricing plans - Basic, Standard, and Enterprise. These start from $2,000 per month.

3. Monday CRM - sales tool

Monday is an all-in-one CRM tool that makes it easier for your marketing and sales teams to track contact lists, the entire sales pipeline, and more. With this tool, you can keep all the important customer data in one place, making it accessible for all teams.

Key features of this tool are -

• Drag and drop interface
• Custom work forms for capturing leads
• Custom dashboards
• Automation
• 8+ views to visualize the lead's journey through the sales pipeline
• Document management
• Pre-built workflows via templates
• Apps Marketplace

Pricing: The pricing for this tool is dependent on your team size. For more details, visit their pricing page.

Analyze - Tools to assess your marketing investments

1. Woopra - web analytics tool

Woopra is a customer journey analytics tool that comes with a range of powerful features to extract and analyze useful information for streamlining marketing campaigns. With this tool, you get the opportunity to know your customers better. It allows you to analyze user behavior so that you can personalize your product/services to engage them better. You can learn useful insights about your customers like their website interactions, transaction history, buying patterns, etc.

Key features of this tool are -

• Track all customer activity
• Track web and mobile users
• Customer profiles
• Data from live chat
• Funnel reports
• User retention reports
• Build customer segments
• Data from the help desk
• Live KPI dashboards
• Real-time analytics and data

Pricing: Woopra provides 4 plans - Free, Startup, Pro, and Enterprise. The paid plans start from $349 per month.

2. Keap - lead management tool

Keap is a cloud-based Martech tool that is very useful for lead management. However, it comes with several great features for customer relationship management, email marketing, text marketing, and sales automation. It comes with several features that make it easier to capture leads -

• Lead magnet blueprints
• Customer records
• Dedicated business line
• Internal forms
• Dedicated sales funnels
• Landing pages
• Consultation appointment scheduling

Pricing: The pricing for Keap depends on the size of the business. However, there are two plans - Pro and Max.

3. Unbounce - conversion rate optimization tool

Unbounce is an excellent conversion intelligence platform that is a great fit for all kinds of businesses. It can provide you with some useful insights for improving your conversion rates with its Smart Builder, Smart Traffic, and Smart Copy tools. Here are the unique features of each of these tools -

1. Smart Builder:

• Optimized Page Sections
• Style Guide
• Design Assistant
• Copy Assistant
• Copy Insights
• Builder Grid
• Unbounce Apps
• Mobile-Responsive Design
• Multi-Device Page Preview
• Conversion Goals
• Direct Domain Publishing
• Built-in Google Fonts
• SVG Images
• A/B Testing

2. Smart Traffic:

• Visitor Attributes
• Time-to-Learn
• Conversion Mapping
• Smart Traffic Insights
• Smart Traffic Reports

3. Smart Copy:

• Expander
• Remix
• Writer
• 30+ Templates
• 6 Languages
• Profiles
• Chrome Extension

Pricing: Unbounce offers 4 plans - Launch, Optimize, Accelerate, and Concierge. These plans start from $90 per month.

Wrapping up

The Martech tools we've listed in this article can address every aspect of a modern content marketing campaign. Hopefully, these tool suggestions can help you build your Martech stack to streamline your entire marketing operations.

As the Martech industry continues to grow and evolve, brands will get opportunities to leverage new tools for accelerating their growth. While we don't know what the future of the martech industry holds, this much is certain. In the times to come, marketing technology will become even more crucial for running successful marketing campaigns.