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Building SMEs Into Thought Leaders

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Let's start with a few sobering martech stats: 56% of organizations report underutilizing their marketing technology; 21% of companies have platforms or tools they've purchased that aren't being used at all; and only 9% of marketing departments say they have all of the marketing tools they need and fully use them.

So is marketing technology really that hard to get right?

The stats imply that it is. Truthfully, though, I think part of the solution is relatively simple: Make a better purchasing decision.

When you buy a product, you buy the company behind the product, too

When we shop for martech, many of us focus way too much on the product and not enough on the team behind the product. I'm talking about the living, breathing humans who work at companies like Salesforce, Domo, Zapier, and so on.

There are plenty of good products out there. And as the competition increases even more (like it has over the past seven years), good products become bad experiences if the company behind the product fails.

I'm sure we markters do a good job at researching the product. But we need to also start evaluating the company behind the product.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you go shopping for martech.

Sales reps are trying to sell to you

Revolutionary stuff here, I know. But, jokes aside, you need to have a gameplan when talking to sales reps. It happens all the time: A smart, personable sales rep runs you through a product demo. And before you know it, you're handing over cash and signing on the dotted line.

Now, that doesn't mean you can't trust any sales reps. But to avoid impulsive decisions, keep the following questions in mind about reps:

  • Do they ask good questions?
  • Are they trying to understand your brand, product, or industry?
  • Would they tell you if their product weren't a good fit?
  • Are they telling you everything you want to hear, not everything you need to hear?

You'll also want to be clear about who your point of contact will be and what the company's customer service policy is. It's fine and dandy if you click with the sales rep, but after you have the product and things break (and let's be real, they will)... who will be there to help troubleshoot?

Assess risk vs. reward

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How to Evaluate the Company Behind the Martech Solution (and Why That's Critical)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Mollie Kuramoto

Mollie Kuramoto is the marketing manager at Element Three, an Indianapolis-based full-service marketing consultancy that helps grow businesses through accountable, transformative marketing.

LinkedIn: Mollie Kuramoto

Twitter: @molliemoto