As marketers, understanding the roots of our practice is important. Much like many disciplines in life, marketing dates back to ancient civilizations, where merchants relied heavily on word of mouth to spread awareness about their products and services. While they didn’t realize it at the time, these pioneers were setting the foundation for an industry now valued at over $600 billion. Word of mouth, the purest form of marketing, was the catalyst for this evolution.

Businesses faced considerable challenges in visibility and reaching their target audiences. Before the digital transformation in the 21st century, marketing strategies primarily relied on traditional tools such as television advertising, radio, print ads, direct mail, and telemarketing. We refer to these as the traditional marketing technologies or the traditional martech solutions. These channels, while effective in that time, posed the disadvantage of being geographically limiting, requiring companies to pay more for a further reach. Additionally, their manual operation increased the likelihood of errors, time wastage, and overall inefficiencies.

However, the latter half of the 20th century into the 21st century witnessed the emergence of new marketing tools. These technologies revolutionized the way businesses interacted with their audiences. This transformative wave of globalization also kickstarted an evolution in marketing technology that has since continued to skyrocket.

Fast forward to the modern era, traditional marketing tools have evolved into a plethora of digital tools and solutions that have transformed how we interact with products. The power of social media and digital communication tools has reshaped the marketing landscape entirely, democratizing access to products on a global level and amplifying the voice of the consumer. In this technological era, marketers must navigate a complex interplay of dynamic demands, changing trends, technological advancements, and societal dynamics.

The 1990s marked the advent of digital marketing technology with 200-500 solutions existing in the marketing landscape. Key developments included Salesforce (CRM), Constant Contact (email marketing), and web analytics software. The 2000s experienced a slight uptick in the martech industry, fueled by the rise of internet usage. SEO tools, PPC software, social media, content management, and marketing automation software were the latest additions to the martech industry.

This number surged dramatically in the 2010s with over 3000 technologies making their way in the industry. This increase was a result of technological advancements with social media platforms rising in popularity. Additionally, the 2010s experienced a rise in data-driven marketing and mobile marketing, enabling more companies to position themselves in this rapidly evolving industry.

Today, over 8,000 martech solutions exist due to the rapid growth and diversification of the marketing industry. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain-based technologies are among many innovations driving the revolution of marketing technology. While it is difficult to tell the exact direction the martech landscape will take in the next decade, we are likely to witness another surge in new technologies as a result of changing customer preferences, privacy compliance and security concerns, and the growing demand for reliable predictive analytics tools.

What should you consider when choosing a marketing tool?

With the plethora of marketing tools currently existing in the industry, marketers may find it difficult to choose a tool for their unique needs. With many factors to consider when choosing the ideal martech solutions for your organization, here are some key considerations that might better guide your decision-making:

1. Features: Does this tool address your current challenges? Does it address one challenge or all of them? How many of its features are you actually using? I recommend using a tool to its full capacity, rather than using one feature when the tool offers a wide variety of functionalities.
2. Affordability: Is the tool in question aligning with your budget? There is no point in using a tool that takes you out of budget!
3. Intuitiveness: How easy is it to use this tool? Consider how easily your team can adapt to this tool. People often confuse complexity with quality!
4. Support: Is the tool’s support team responsive? How long does it take them to respond to a support ticket? You need a dedicated support team to cater to your business’s urgent needs.
5. Compatibility: How well can you integrate this tool into your existing systems? Consider consulting your tech team to ensure that it will not disrupt your current infrastructure.