It is not uncommon for martech stacks to have components with overlapping functionality. While some overlap is intentional, too much can lead to wasted budget, unnecessary complexity and inefficiencies. Knowing when to consolidate and when to keep redundancy is key to maintaining an effective martech stack.
The value of addressing overlaps
Martech stacks are constantly evolving. They often include non-martech components — by design and necessity — to keep up with the speed of business.
Simplifying a martech stack by consolidating components with overlapping functionality can yield several benefits, including:
- Lowering costs.
- Simplifying technical architecture.
- Streamlining regression testing.
- Reducing user enablement needs.
- Making it easier to add or remove other stack components.
However, that does not mean every overlap should be addressed. It depends. Martech is more art than science.
A growing need
While vendors and platforms have long offered overlapping functionality, this trend appears to be accelerating. As artificial intelligence becomes more accessible and practical for software companies to integrate, overlapping solutions are becoming more common.
Martech practitioners are grappling with this shift and must carefully evaluate all the shiny things hitting the market.
Dig deeper: 7 strategies for getting the most from your martech stack
The causes of overlap
There are several reasons why martech stacks often have overlapping functionality.
Multifunctional platforms
Many martech platforms are multifunctional, which is a significant cause of overlap. Sometimes, this is driven by practicality. For example, site uptime monitors, web governance platforms (for accessibility checks, broken links, etc.) and tag auditors must constantly check a website as part of their service.
However, they serve different purposes. Only an uptime monitor ensures a website is always up and performant. While a platform may offer all three services, many solutions specialize in one area.
Broad organizational needs
Martech stacks serve organizations with broad needs. Thus, it is unsurprising that a specialized component that best services one needs may overlap with components meeting other needs.
Varied stakeholder preferences
Martech stacks also serve a broad set of stakeholders. In addition to having different needs, these stakeholders have different preferences. Some stakeholders may be martech platform specialists who have mastered a specific platform or ecosystem and will advocate for those components.
Feature bundling by vendors
Martech vendors commonly offer feature bundles, which further causes overlaps. This sometimes makes sense when an organization may not need every feature. However, this sometimes leads to an annoying realization — using a crude, simple example — that you might need to pay extra for a CDP to do something seemingly core to its purpose, like integrating with other systems.
As Keanu Taylor notes about CDP function unbundling — just like AI features — “Vendors in tangential categories add certain CDP capabilities to enrich their primary use cases and features — takes the unbundling a step further.”
Dig deeper: How to align processes to drive martech utilization
Assessing martech overlaps: What to consider
While having stack components with overlapping functionality isn’t inherently bad, it is essential to justify any overlaps. Here are some factors to consider when conducting an analysis.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders should always be the top priority, whether the component is a costly CDP or a $100-per-month SEO link checker. They are the ones using the component, funding its costs, prioritizing its upkeep and defending its place within the organization.
Product adoption is paramount. It is difficult to achieve a strong ROI from a tool no one uses or uses well. This is where fields that address human factors — such as change management and project management — can help.
For instance, the Prosci framework for change management introduces coalition analysis, which identifies proponents and opponents of a change along with their level of competence related to it.
While a proponent of any competency level can help facilitate the adoption or sunsetting of a stack component, a highly competent opponent — regardless of their role — can derail an initiative.
Whether conducting an overlap analysis or not, martech practitioners must understand how stakeholders feel about a component. Stakeholders can determine whether it thrives or flounders.
Other factors
While considering stakeholders applies to any stack overlap analysis, the following factors may or may not apply in every situation.
- Ecosystems: Native connectors and approved implementation and maintenance partners are critical. When comparing components, consider how they fit within the broader martech and organizational tech stacks.
- Product roadmaps: Products evolve and may no longer meet an organization’s needs. It is also essential to consider how much influence the organization has over product roadmaps.
- Replacement considerations: Will retiring a component require more than one replacement? Swapping one component for another should be easy, but what if multiple components are needed to fill the gap?
- Budget: Platform costs and ongoing upkeep are essential considerations. However, cost should not be evaluated in isolation. The most expensive or cheapest options are not always the best choices. Value matters—many times, you get what you pay for.
- Contracts: Contract expiration dates can influence the timing of any transition work. You must also consider factors like pricing structures and how strictly vendors enforce contract parameters.
- Other departments: Legal, procurement and information security will likely have valuable input. Martech practitioners ignore them at their own risk.
This is not an exhaustive list of factors, but these are among the most significant.
Dig deeper: The hidden costs of martech sprawl and how to overcome them
Maintaining martech documentation is key for overlap analysis. Martech-specific tools like CabinetM and Martechbase and general IT management solutions like StackShare and Zylo can help.
However, in a pinch, collaborative spreadsheets and documents in systems like Microsoft Office 365, Google Drive and Confluence will suffice. Once the foundation is in place, starting there makes it easier to justify the expense of a specialized solution.
Document findings and decisions for each component to increase the effort’s long-term impact.
Worth the effort
Evaluating stack overlaps is essential work. While more challenging than it seems, it helps reassess past decisions in light of present conditions and needs. It also provides valuable insight into stakeholders and the overall stack.
Dig deeper: 5 ‘must-dos’ when reviewing your martech stack
Contributing authors are invited to create content for MarTech and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the martech community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions they express are their own.
