• by Ray Schultz , September 22, 2021

Security -- not cost -- is the main factor when brands are evaluating new tools for their martech stacks, according to The Best Martech Stack: How To Achieve, Optimize and Future-Proof It, a study released Wednesday by Treasure Data. 

The top considerations are:

• Security — 58%
• Cost — 38%
• Scalability — 38%
• Integration with other systems — 37%

That list differs from the roster of pain points specified by marketers:

• Need to consolidate multiple redundant tools — 39%
• Ability to roll out new campaigns/initiatives is too slow — 31%
• Integration with adjacent tools is too hard — 30%

• Complexity in integrating the technologies — 46%
• Budget — 38%
• Lack of data security and privacy features — 31%
• Too many tools/platforms to choose from — 28%

Here are the priorities firms would set given the right capabilities and team:

• Attract new customers — 55%
• Get advanced insights via machine learning — 36%
• Identify and cater to high-value customers — 32%
• Optimize marketing campaigns — 31%
• Identify at risk customers and incentivize them to stay — 29%
• Unify customer data across systems and sources — 27%

Meanwhile, of those polled, 27% of marketers say their martech stacks are ideal, while 56% say they are adequate and 17% say they are insufficient. That doesn’t mean brands are where they should be. 

“While 56% of survey respondents—  who spanned B2B and B2C brands — view their current martech stack as 'adequate,' the need for various technology solutions to more seamlessly plug into existing infrastructure and drive and support business objectives, at scale, is evident,” says Tom Treanor, CMO at Treasure Data.  

Companies with ideal stacks are much more likely to use audience management, consent management and customer journey analytics. But firms with adequate stacks are more likely to use a CDP. 

In addition, organizations with ideal stacks are most likely to need to consolidate multiple redundant tools. Those with insufficient ones are way more interested in speeding up the ability to roll out new campaigns/initiatives. And 34% in this group says the total cost of ownership is too high. 

Overall, here are the technologies viewed as fundamental to the martech stack: 

• Customer data platform — 68%
• Content marketing — 63%
• Conversational marketing — 58%
• Mobile marketing tools — 56%
• Account-based marketing platform — 56%
• Customer journey analytics — 54%

• Unify data and maintain customer profiles — 50%
• Enable website personalization — 47%
• Build and maintain targetable audience segments — 45%
• Personalize digital campaigns (email, display and/or social) — 44%
• Deliver better in-person or call-center customer service — 40%
• Strengthen targeting in sales outreach and engagement — 40%
• Report on campaign performance and ROI — 34%
• Assist in mapping out customer journey/experience — 33%

Treasure Data surveyed 427 respondents from firms with at least 500 employees.