The 5 MarTech Stack Mistakes Every Company Makes
The average enterprise uses over 90 marketing technology tools. That's not efficiency—that's chaos wearing a strategy costume. After auditing dozens of marketing tech stacks, I've seen the same mistakes repeated so consistently that I can almost predict them before looking.
The Mistakes
Buying Tools Without Owners
A tool without an owner is a tool that will be abandoned. Someone needs to be responsible for configuration, maintenance, training, and actually using the thing to produce results.
Before purchasing any new tool, ask: "Who will own this?" If the answer is "the marketing team" or "we'll figure it out," don't buy it. You need a name, and that person needs capacity in their job to actually do the work.
Ignoring Integration Reality
Every tool claims to integrate with everything. In reality, integrations range from bulletproof native connections to janky Zapier workarounds that break monthly. The difference matters enormously.
Before purchasing, map the specific data flows you need. Then verify those specific integrations work as expected—don't trust marketing materials. Ask for references from customers using your exact integration scenario.
Duplicating Functionality
Your CRM has email capability. Your marketing automation has email capability. Your customer service platform has email capability. You're paying for email three times and none of them talk to each other.
Map every tool's functionality to a master feature matrix. Identify overlaps. Decide which tool should own each function and turn off duplicate capabilities elsewhere. This sounds obvious but I've never seen a company do it proactively.
Optimizing for Features Over Adoption
The best tool is the one your team will actually use. A sophisticated marketing automation platform with 15% adoption is less valuable than a simple email tool with 90% adoption.
When evaluating tools, weight usability and learning curve as heavily as features. If the median user on your team can't figure out the basics within an hour, adoption will suffer regardless of how powerful the tool is.
No Consolidation Strategy
MarTech stacks grow but rarely shrink. Every year adds new tools; nothing gets removed. Eventually you're paying for dozens of overlapping tools, some of which no one remembers purchasing.
Schedule an annual stack review. For every tool, ask: "What happens if we turn this off?" If the answer is unclear, turn it off for a month and see. You'll be surprised how much you can eliminate without anyone noticing.
A Better Approach
Start with outcomes, not tools. What are you actually trying to accomplish? More leads? Better conversion? Improved retention? Work backward from the outcome to the capability needed to the tool that provides that capability.
Fewer tools, deeply implemented, will outperform a sprawling stack every time. The companies with the most sophisticated marketing operations often have the simplest tech stacks—they've just configured them properly and trained their teams to use them well.
The goal isn't to have modern marketing technology. The goal is to produce marketing results. The technology is just a means to that end. Keep that priority clear and you'll avoid most of the mistakes that plague marketing teams.