Using the customer journey to optimise the marketing technology stack

Abstract

This paper discusses how to evaluate marketing technology (martech) software in the context of the customer journey. It describes the technologies that are used to engage the customer at each stage of the customer journey, beginning with search engine optimisation to enable the inbound engagement that brings customers to a website and informs them about the available products or services. The paper describes the different characteristics of the customer journey, such as the fact that it traverses multiple departments and requires support from many organisational processes and structures. The paper concludes that in order to develop an appropriate martech software stack, it is essential to take a holistic view of the customer journey and the technologies used to support it. This paper provides a detailed analysis of an engagement strategy that spans the entire customer journey and identifies the technologies that are used for each stage, from search to purchase, order fulfilment, use of the product, and support. As implementing a full complement of solutions is not always possible, this paper provides guidance on how to prioritise the selection of enabling software, to guide the investment strategy by identifying those technologies that offer the greatest value to the organisation.