Do You Have the Right MarTech to Win the Holiday Season?

A. My campaigns are personalized for every user based on their behavior and preferences and dynamically update in real-time with new, fresh offers.

B. My campaigns use smart fields like ‘name’ and are customized at a segment level.

C. My campaigns use smart fields.

D. We use the same experience for every user.

A. I can deliver meaningful, 1:1 experiences based on a thorough, data-driven understanding of my customers through omnichannel experiences.

B. I can deliver personalized messages and content based on some customer data across every channel and tool at my disposal.

C. I can deliver personalized messages and content across one or two channels.

D. My messaging and content is stagnant across all channels.

A. I am lean and precise with my Ad spend, able to target specific audiences across multiple platforms and networks, and using behavioral and first-party data to maximize my ROAS.

B. I create targeted lists using one-time customer list uploads, platform data, and retargeting pixels. My ROAS is good but could be better.

C. I use basic segmentation based on what the platform allows, such as intent data, geography, or re-targeting. My ROAS is okay but my options to improve it are limited.

D. I run generic campaigns across Facebook and Google, with no re-targeting and limited segmentation. We don’t monitor ROAS regularly because we don’t know how to track or improve it consistently.

A. I often review actionable customer, campaign, and brand data, measure results, and use this information to optimize campaigns in the moment — without the need for engineering/data science involvement.

B. I occasionally view actionable customer, campaign, and brand data, measure results, and use this information to optimize campaigns in the moment — but I need engineering/data science resources to do so.

C. I use some performance data in my decision-making process, but my campaigns cannot be optimized with this information in real-time.

D. I use generic performance data in future campaign building, but not in currently active ones.

A. My tech stack is a well-oiled machine, integrated with all of my platforms and operating off of a single, cohesive understanding of the customer.

B. My tech stack is pretty good and platforms are able to integrate with one another, but the required extensive work from my engineering/data science team.

C. I have some good stand-alone platforms that are easy to use, but they have issues running together and I feel as though this holds my team back.

D. I have just OK tech that is disconnected and gives me daily headaches.

A. As a non-technical marketer, I feel as though I have control over what inputs feed my models and I can easily alter them to fit my business needs.

B. I can collaborate with my data science team to adjust models, but cannot do so myself.

C. I use black-box AI that is not customizable.

D. I do not currently use AI or predictive models in my marketing.

• For each “A” answer give yourself 5 points
• For each “B” answer give yourself 4 points
• For each “C” answer give yourself 3 points
• For each “D” answer give yourself 2 points

Let’s breakdown what each point range means for your stack this holiday season, and what you can do to make sure you come out on top with the best possible tech.

We’re impressed — your tech stack is nothing short of a holiday miracle. Prepare for a peaceful holiday season as your campaigns execute fully autonomously, chock full with AI-powered personalized goodies for your loyal customers. There’s no need for last-minute rushing around when campaigns respond to user behaviors in real-time, rather than seasonal deadlines. You can sit back, relax, and enjoy the hard work we’re sure you put into your stack year-round.

Our only advice? Don’t rest on your laurels. When the new year comes, it’s time to re-evaluate your stack and make sure the tech you have is still the tech that will best serve your needs. In addition to constantly monitoring your stack’s success, it’s smart to stay on top of consumer trends to make sure you have the connectors to be seen on channels where customers are spending time — and make sure your tech is still best-in-breed (we’re looking at you, TikTok holdouts, it’s a marketing goldmine!).

Want to see how other top-performing, forward-thinking companies approach building and optimizing their tech stack? Check our session with marketers from Clearscore, Groupon, and Tuft & Needle from our virtual conference, Blueshift Engage, to learn how they’re preparing to win the holiday season.

Here’s the good news: you’re going to be just fine for the holiday rush. You have a solid set of platforms that meet your marketing needs, but will they scale with your business? Once things have quieted down and the December dust has settled your team should evaluate if your current platforms are making the best use of your customer data.

In addition, your efforts could be bolstered through the use of marketer-accessible AI. By incorporating more AI into your martech stack, you’ll become more efficient, nimble, and accurate in everything you do. Still not sold on AI? Check out Marketer vs. Martech, where we examine how thousands of marketers use AI and customer data — and exactly what impact it’s had on their business. If you’d like to learn more about how AI specifically can work wonders for your marketing check out our Ultimate Guide for AI Marketing to get started.

You’ve got the right vision and know what it takes to wow customers — but clunky, legacy tech is still holding you back from executing your dream campaigns. Think of all the great ideas you have — and worse all the hiccups and headaches your current tech causes — does it really work effectively for you and your team?

Before you can execute highly personalized, automated customer journeys you need to have a solid foundation of customer data. One of the best martech platforms to achieve this is a SmartHub CDP, or Customer Data Platform. The CDP takes all of your raw first-party data and unifies it into a Single Customer View, which serves as the source of truth for everything your team does.

The CDP landscape is a new one, and this can be tricky to navigate. You make your wish list, and our CDP Quick Start Guide can help point you in the right direction and you can go on to find the CDP that meets all of your unique needs.

Chances are the alphabet soup of tech acronyms makes your head spin — why is it so hard to find user-friendly martech and marketing strategies that will produce a solid customer journey? Let us help demystify the confusing world of martech so you can rest easy this holiday season. Discover some of the most successful marketing techniques, and the tech that powers those processes, in our Benchmark Report. We’ll cover everything from personalization, to segmentation, to multi-channel automation — it’s a great place to start if you’re unsure how investing in new technology will impact your business.

If you’re up to learn more we also have some great free courses available on Blueshift Academy covering AI, the Blueshift platform, and much more.