Why consumer brands should ditch legacy platforms for agile MarTech stack

The global MarTech market skyrocketed to $321400 Million in 2021 and is set to soar to an astounding $703457.99 million by 2031, showcasing a remarkable CAGR of 8.15% during the forecast period. With cash pouring into the industry, India's MarTech scene is also experiencing a major boom. The market is projected to reach a colossal $50 billion by 2026 (according to Sinch). Therefore, operational and cost efficiencies are going to be key. It’s all about doing more with less in a slick fashion.  

However, the ground reality is that brands take forever to set up and take campaigns live, resulting in a loss of revenue. The competitive landscape requires brands to be proactive and completely in sync with consumers' expectations. 

The Market Sentiment 

With the increasing disposable income propelling demand, the potential target audience worldwide is massive. Therefore, brands need to be well-equipped to tap into these volumes quickly and effectively. 

A recent global survey of retail brands sheds some much-needed light on how brands approach consumer trends and marketing technology. 92.6% of the respondents said that speed/agility is important for understanding and adapting to changing consumer expectations. However, 55.8% state they lack support to be agile and adaptable in their current roles.  

Most brands are still playing catch-up, and some always will. The difference between those brands and the ones that are leading is their MarTech stack. The goal for all marketers should be to craft marketing strategies using a svelte, agile stack that can shimmy smoothly with the market's moves. 

The Differentiation

So, what do the new-gen agile platforms have on the legacy platforms? Well, a ton. 
 
To begin with, intelligent customer engagement platforms offer quicker time to market owing to easy-to-use dashboards that require no coding capabilities. Therefore, campaign setup and go-live times are very short, and little to no downtime is required. 

Unification of data from all sources, both digital and physical (in-store), might sound like a challenge, but with the right platform, it’s no hassle. These platforms are able to effortlessly consolidate all customer data and interface with other systems, such as a CRM or any third-party tools, with no technological issues. 

Such platforms also come equipped with AI and ML capabilities, making campaign orchestration smooth as butter. Even the most precise segments can be created seamlessly without compromising on accuracy. 

Another important aspect is the volume of data handling required for big consumer brands and retailers. Millions of customers use their websites to browse products, add items to their wishlists, and make purchases. Knowing what customer cohorts are more likely to make a purchase soon, what customers are simply casual browsers, and what customers are close to dormancy is key to improving conversions. For such a large customer base, brands must have a sturdy martech platform in place that provides the right infrastructure to handle such amounts of data and execute campaigns without a hitch.  

The idea is that brands shouldn’t feel restricted by the MarTech stack’s abilities. Instead, the stack should provide the infrastructure to drive multiple campaigns at scale within hours.  

The Way Forward 

Agile MarTech tools are the perfect engagement partners for enterprises today, offering cost efficiency and a quicker time to market. Brands must leverage such AI-powered engagement platforms to engage customers accurately and at the right time via their preferred channels. No-code platforms catering to coding-averse marketers are the key. This ensures a decrease in the go-live time for campaigns and a significant increase in operational efficiency. 

Raviteja Dodda

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Raviteja Dodda is CEO and Co-founder at MoEngage.