You Toolkit for Navigating MarTech Stack Transformations

Ask any team who have just finished a large MarTech migration or completed a comprehensive platform deployment & they will likely say

‍“It was a success story. But by no means, an easy ride”

This was also my feeling, looking at a New-Technology driven MarTech stack I had crafted over 2.5 years – pitching it to the Board only a few weeks on the job.

What questions would I have asked of my Technology Partners, Stakeholders & Agencies & what would I have done differently to prepare for those deployments& migrations, had I known what lies ahead? 

These days I work with a team of people, who have all successfully navigated these complex transformation scenarios in the past. Together, we help brands to create those future state architectures, select the right MarTech platforms, understand their data, plan it, integrate it, activate it and make these projects their success story.

So here are some handy 4 sets of Top 10 To Dos across Technology, Data, People & Process that I have collated by observing, questioning, drafting & doing. Take them with you – make them your own – there will be more to add, but it will be a good place to start:

Top 10 To Dos: Your Data Checklist

Assessing your data state & readiness, identifying your data requirements, sources & destinations​.

1. Define your use-cases & align these to overall business strategy & goals
2. Identify what data you will need, current datasets, the gaps & ways to fill them
3. Take time to align schemas & definitions, to clean, map & transform
4. Establish what data will be required & accepted by the activation platforms​
5. Outline your ID resolution: IDs, hierarchy & logic​ (think twice before outsourcing)
6. Ensure your data model & infrastructure will allow you to grow​
7. Consider how your data will be created, connected, refreshed & deleted​
8. Account for consent & compliance requirements early​
9. Secure a data feedback loop for performance reporting & measurement​
10. Future proof it: build an abstraction layer for seamless future migrations

Top 10 To Dos: Your MarTech Checklist

Mapping out the context for your new MarTech tools, to include fundamental integration requirements, potential limitations & platform RACI​.

1. Map out how your data sources & systems from 0 to 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd Party
2. Prepare your digital data tracking & attribution – cross-domain & device
3. Map out optimal data pipelines - from ingestion to delivery
4. Confirm if your data is collected, sent & activated real-time​ vs batch
5. Assess what data cleansing & transformations are already in place vs your needs
6. Map out what platforms currently are & will be used for Marketing activations ​
7. Establish, what integration methods they have & how will they accept data​
8. Roadmap: define which platform does what (RACI) & sequence their integrations
9. Align to your overall Data & AI/ML strategy: in-housed, centralised, proprietary?
10. What is the maturity of your Marketing, IT, Data,Analytics & Data Science teams​

Top 10 To Dos: Your People ​Checklist​

Identifying key business stakeholders, core & extended teams to establish training& hiring plans & timelines​.

1. Secure Board level buy-in & support​
2. Get advice from people who have done it before​
3. Align business stakeholders to inform use-cases & requirements​
4. Assemble the core team to lead any new vendor selections & deployments
5. Identify the key roles & skillsets required for new MarTech & Data Activations
6. Identify early adopters & champions among business end-users​
7. Assess your current skillsets, capacity, resource requirements & gaps​
8. Create comms, training, upskilling & hiring plans​ & timelines
9. Line up HR, Change, BAs, Procurement, Legal, Infosec, DavaGov, ARB etc.
10. Appraise outsourcing: how will you retain knowledge & skillsets in-house

‍Top 10 To Dos: Your Process ​Checklist​

Methodically reviewing existing processes, as well as creating new New-Technology driven ones.​

1. Plan how will your new use-cases get generated​
2. Define how the data requirements will be mapped & first-rate data derived
3. Ensure your data collection accounts for the need to connect & activate​ it
4. Provision gradual global system embedding & on-going maintenance
5. Build a cycle to proactively review your Martech usage & return on investment ​
6. Leverage opportunities to centralise ML, customer insights & segmentation
7. Centralise Marketing budgeting, planning& testing to enable integrated comms
8. Review performance reporting & measurement to drive common goals
9. Ensure teams are incentivised to collaborate& adopt new approaches​
10. Secure early wins & ensure your results feed into the next set of activation plans​

Large complex projects always deal with risks & uncertainties that come along the way. Whereas you cannot prepare for all eventualities, you can most definitely prepare the things that are within your circle of control & influence. This will only improve your chances of success.

So, before you embark on your next big transformation – run through the 4 lists above.

The chances are – if you’ll approach any migration, any large deployment, any transformation with your Tech, Data, People & Process aligned from the start – you’ll likely already be halfway there.  

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