Call on me: 9 things I learned chatting to martech guru Scott Brinker

Last week I spoke to the martech legend that is Scott Brinker from his home in Boston, MA. For the definitive voice in technology for marketing, there really was only one place to start. So from eating whole cows, to Where’s Waldo, here are 9 key things I took away from the call:

1. This is the golden age of marketing

Marketing has become the vanguard for how companies engage with their customers in a digital world, leading the charge in the Digital revolution (Woo hoo!). But…

2. Marketers are overwhelmed

If they’re not, they’re not awake. There are over 5000 martech solutions out there. This is pretty scary when battling with which solutions to buy. Which is why…

3. The explosion of marketing technology is a mix of fear and excitement

As Scott says, we’re being hit with shiny new martech-shaped objects multiple times every day. This is exciting, but then again…

4. We can’t eat a whole cow

A great analogy (and potentially a challenge?!) but the essence is you can’t have it all; you need to make intelligent choices when selecting your martech, and chose wisely. But how? Find out in the podcast.

5. There’s no room for toys

I know. The fun police are out again. But why should a brand adopt any piece of martech in the first place? There’s only one reason: it’s going to help you win and retain customers. We need to remember the core purpose and not be distracted by the next new shiny kid on the block.

6. Technologists need to become a key part of the marketing organization

We know this; our very own Nick Ashmore has been extolling the virtues of in-house marketing technologists for literally weeks. But to hear it from Mr Brinker himself is an added stamp of approval.

7. Don’t let your customers think you’re schizophrenic

A disconnected, disjointed customer experience across touch points will make customers think you’ve lost the plot. A seamless, omnichannel customer experience is what we’re gunning for, as we well know.

8. Design for change

When selecting tech and how it all fits together, you need to consider that changes are happening in this industry rapidly. Be savvy, retain flexibility and adopt agile marketing management.

9. And finally, don’t mess with the infographic

I suggested we add a little enhancement to the Martech5000 infographic in the form of Where’s Waldo/Wally. I don’t think it went down well…

Scott publishes the Chiefmartec blog, programs the MarTech conference and wrote the book Hacking Marketing. He is also the co-founder of ion interactive. Connect with him on Twitter @chiefmartec.