The growth teams in today’s scenario deal with the data, technology, and the human connection. The tools we choose drive not only the efficiency of our campaigns but also how often we do meaningful work with our customers. A marketing technology (martech) stack is only effective when it moves beyond just a list of software subscriptions and provides a system that clarifies our goals, is usable across our teams, and can change with us as we grow. Organizations get caught up in the new shiny platform and wind up with a duplicative set of tools that won’t connect to one another, don’t help their teams, and drain a budget. It is simpler to define your outcomes first, and then to select tools that actually solve the problem, that connect seamlessly, and are continuously improved.
In the past 10 years, the global martech ecosystem has exploded. As noted in Chief Martech’s 2024 landscape report, there are now over 14,106 marketing technology solutions, up from just 150 in 2011. This remarkable growth creates both opportunity and obstacles. With so many options available, it becomes a temptation to simply buy more tools, rather than build better tools and experiences. According to Gartner, research finds that marketing decision-makers are now using only 42% of their martech stack’s capabilities, the rest is shelfware. The gap highlights the importance of thoughtful design over tool hoarding.
According to me, what separates a good stack and a great stack is the ability to evolve without creating overhead every time the business changes, markets change, customers behaviour shifts, and internal priorities evolve sometimes so quickly. A rigid stack translates into costly replacements and retraining. A flexible stack allows for changes because it is designed for that function. Cloud-based solutions that are open APIs, modular in design, and surrounded by a strong community make it possible to add, remove, or realign whatever tools are needed without breaking the entire system.
Equally significant, the stack should facilitate the work of everyone involved. Marketers should be able to execute campaigns without waiting weeks for technology. Analysts should extract insights without contending for disconnected data. Operational teams should be able to automate workflows while retaining agency. Customer support should access the same customer journey data as marketing to keep the customer experience consistent. A great stack empowers not just marketing but also every department that touches the customer. For example, Salesforce research shows 76% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, yet 54% say it generally feels like sales, service, and marketing teams don’t share information. The only way to close this gap is for the technology to support collaboration and transparency.
The final quality that elevates a stack is how it enables empathy and human connection. Technology should not turn human beings into objects; it should enable care at scale. Automating email sequences and building personalized landing pages only has value when it results in communications that feel timely, relevant, and respectful. McKinsey’s 2021 customer experience research revealed that companies that excel in personalization generate 40% more revenue on average from personalization than average companies. Beyond the numbers, these companies are also building trust and loyalty. A marketing technology stack that emphasizes understanding customers through sentiment analysis, behavior exportation, or feedback loops helps teams create campaigns that land as communication versus noise.
As growth teams build or make refinements to their stack, there are certain principles that will become non-negotiable.
Developing the right martech stack is not a one project, it is a systemic discipline. Tools that fit today could be irrelevant tomorrow; customer expectations are not static. The best teams evolve. They have structured audits of their stack on a regular basis, sunsetting tools that are underperforming, piloting tools that show promise-and asking if their system is serving both the business and the customer.
The businesses that excel in the world of modern marketing aren’t those with the large budgets or the most tools. It’s those that have clarity, flexibility and empathy built into their technology backbone. A strong martech stack is more than the automation of tasks, it’s extensions of human creativity and collaboration, and relationships with customers that have longevity. And in a world where we define growth not simply by scale but trust, that difference is everything.
