To the untrained ear, the phrase “martech” sounds like another buzzword, and maybe in some ways, it is. It seems like everybody is adding the “tech” to words that already exist these days and making it a thing. However, there is real merit to understanding the intricacies behind the growing movement towards using technology in marketing and the applications and mechanisms that make this possible. 

As brand owners, playing in the marketing space, there are universal challenges that we have to overcome and tech provides us with a ton of ways to get there. 

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The data conundrum

One of the biggest problems we face in the digital landscape today is making sense of enormous amounts of data available to us. In fact, according to TechJury, “1.7MB of data was created every second by every person during 2020” and these numbers only seem to be growing. With such a substantial base of information to sift through, it can seem impossible to draw truly valuable insights and manual detection of brand mentions can only get us so far. There just aren’t enough hours in a day or people on Earth to do the job of monitoring software, which is so key to improving performance in our industry. 

Does this mean that human power is now redundant? Of course not. But it is a good example of how embracing martech makes our everyday operations more efficient and helps create the right environment for smarter people-power. Without social listening and media monitoring, we create unimaginable amounts of work for employees, and by introducing data that needs to be manually vetted and constantly added to, we’re back at square one in terms of lacking resources for comprehending the digital spaces we operate in.

According to GlobalNewswire, the media monitoring software market was approximately USD 2,260 million in 2018 and is expected to generate around USD 7,236 million by 2027, at a CAGR of around 13.9% between 2019 and 2027”. What does this tell us? That data filtering is on the rise, and is quickly becoming part of our everyday operations in terms of monitoring, listening and reporting. 

As a result of this, new SaaS solutions are springing up around the globe, with major players in competition to get the monopoly. For brands and agencies, this shows an important skills gap to fill when it comes to understanding this software and developing the ability to draw meaningful insights and base campaigns on key findings. In order to future-proof the success of your digital marketing, you will need a firm grasp on the data landscape around your brand and the infrastructure to understand it. 

Martech skills development will grow massively in select nations

While the world is already adopting marketing technologies at a faster rate than pre-pandemic, we’re seeing a massive uptake of interest and skills development in tech-driven nations. For example, the first knowledge hub, related specifically to martech, popped up in the UAE in 2019. Now, only 3 years later, there’s a range of publications and supporting organizations coming to the fore, such as MartechNews and the Daily Martech Roundup, each with loyal followings. 

Spending and investment is on the rise

In the Gartner 2019 - 2020 survey (which conducts research from the responses of over 340 participants), it was reported that top-line marketing spend would decrease for the first time in over 5 years. So, this means that martech spend should decrease too, right? But the opposite has happened. The same survey findings showed that “martech spending rose to 29% of total budgets” - a phenomenal leap in light of the current scarcity of resources.

What does this mean for businesses, brands and entrepreneurs? It’s time to adopt or die. This level of investment and shift in spending is usually spurred on by greater ROI and predictive forecasting, which means the data is showing consistently high returns, either on resource savings or generation, that comes as a direct result of using martech more. 

New tools are emerging at a rapid rate

While some technological industries are forging partnerships within the ranks, martech seems to be a competitive and fast-paced environment. In fact, Martech Today reported that there are more than 8000 notable tools currently on the market for combining brand messaging and analytics with tech. 

These were mostly data analysis tools. To some, this may seem like an opportunity to join forces, but it appears that barring a few buyouts and acquisitions, we still haven’t quite solved the problem of adequately centralising data analytics and media interactions. Until this is achieved, and someone takes the monopoly, a rang of tools will continue to emerge.  

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Preparing for the future

With growth in the martech sector becoming more evident and having an increasingly significant impact on marketing professionals, a few things are clear. The first of which is that brands must put the infrastructure in place to navigate a changing digital landscape or face some level of becoming obsolete. In short, there are a few critical steps towards preparing for the continued rise of martech:

• Setting up infrastructure requires internal skills development and enlisting the help of expert service providers who already understand the space.
• Marketing tools can automate daily tasks and take the grunt-work out of manually interpreting data. As this becomes the norm, it’s important for brands to be able to use and interact with these tools.
• Businesses should designate marketing teams to help them continue to drive brand growth and capitalise on the growing level of opportunity available to them.
• Outsmarting competitors will mean savvy, integrated marketing that’s based on data but does not forgo the human element. 
• A bigger focus on allocating resources to marketing is a must in order to stay competitive and stay relevant to key audiences. 
  

At Digital Grind, we work tirelessly to understand the digital landscape and to keep building our technical infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the industry. Speak to us for more information or enlist our services on your next project and we can start to work together to ensure your business is fit for the future.

Your secret weapon in the battle for better business

No matter the size of your organisation, achieving and maintaining a high level of operational efficiency is part of the success journey. Usually, striving for efficiency means that the organisation becomes more profitable.

The most successful organisations are always trying to improve the way they operate and finding new and innovative solutions that improve performance. They know the importance of making sure they stay ahead of the competition - at every step of the way.

Generally speaking, continuous process improvement (CPI) seeks to determine if an organisation’s business processes are meeting company goals. There are various tools that are used to achieve this fast - but getting the improvement part right is a little trickier. We’ll get into this in a minute, but first, let’s look at CPI’s application in software development.

CPI in software development - The Dark Horse

For developers, CPI is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes through continuous testing and optimisation. This means that attention is put on making sure a business’ products are up-to-date, bug-free and secure. This process is done on a continuous basis as part of a developer’s maintenance protocols.

Changes are implemented either incrementally or in one fell swoop (also known as breakthrough improvement). The advantage of making incremental changes is that improvements are made almost as soon as they have been discovered. 

Once these have been processed, the next step is to ensure that you constantly go back to reanalyse all processes throughout the lifecycle of the project and make additional changes. This is one of the pillars of an agile environment.

Getting it right

One of the most popular CPI models used is PDCA, which stands for Plan, Do, Check, and Act. By carefully going through these steps, the ongoing cycle of continuous improvement can be achieved as the model controls and regulates the processes. 

One can also start by using business process mapping to visualise all the business processes that require monitoring and assigning responsible individuals. Below is a breakdown of the PDCA model.

• Plan: The planning phase is the initial element in the model that sets out to identify objectives and challenges within the particular project. The problem identified would need to be solved in alignment with expected outcomes. A number of possible solutions are identified, with the most favourable solution touted first.
• Do: The selected solution or solutions are then implemented, initially starting off on a micro scale. Data is collected for analysis purposes to measure the progress of the implemented changes. The main purpose of the Do stage is to ensure that the proposed solution is fully tested before it can be rolled out fully to the entire system. 
• Check: The checking stage involves taking the data collected during the Do stage to compare if it matches expected outcomes. The purpose of this is to assess whether the solution was successful and if additional improvements are necessary. Any useful information that can be gathered is recorded and the Do and Check processes are repeated.
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• Act: This phase involves actual implementation after all the pros and cons of potential solutions are laid out, based on the information gathered in Do and Check stages. Any feedback received is also considered. If the solution is not as successful as initially expected, an alternative is then considered. 

Once a workable solution is implemented, it’s time to focus on the next identified urgent areas to improve and the same cycle repeats.

Why should you use CPI?

There are a host of benefits when it comes to using CPI for your brand. These ensure that the quality and integrity of the software is kept at a high level. Here are five key benefits:

• Quicker feedback: With continuous testing, the development team is able to receive feedback on any issues that require their attention within a short timeframe. By monitoring all stages, early feedback means fewer defects are found in deployed products.
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• Cost reduction: The cost of development can skyrocket unexpectedly if errors are not monitored and resolved timeously. As fewer defects are found within products, there will be a reduction in the back-and-forth between the client and their developers, leading to the costs of development being significantly reduced.
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• Improved quality: Using CPI is one way of ensuring that the quality of the product is improved. The quality assurance process via the back-and-forth of process improvement results in better products with fewer errors. Ultimately, user experience is more pleasant leading to greater customer satisfaction.
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• Faster deployment: One major benefit of CPI is that any updates or upgrades to products can be deployed quickly, while being able to respond to industry changes more efficiently. Automated testing helps to make sure testing is constant and meticulously done. 
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• Better compliance: With continuous testing comes increased employee engagement and collaboration. As the development team becomes aligned to the software improvement process and overall organisational goals, it creates a culture of success and improved morale leading to better compliance.

CPI is a critical element of any software developer team, creating high quality products that stand the test of time while optimising business processes and achieving its goals. Standardisation is thus necessary in terms of implementation best practices.

Each improvement process needs to be thorough to maximise output and returns on investment. At Digital Grind, it's a part of who we are, as CPI and maintenance are implemented in our development projects. 

We strive to ensure that your brand receives quality outputs that are adaptable and enhanced on an ongoing basis according to evolving needs. Start a development project with us. Our team is always ready to listen.

Often, a big decision when starting a new software project is whether or not to outsource development or simply do it in-house. The most common reason for this concern to pop up is that companies have heard about bad experiences from friends or colleagues, or they’ve experienced it themselves.

After all, working with third parties can come with its challenges. But as with everything in life, proper planning prevents poor performance - and this applies to outsourcing tasks as much as it does to anything else. 

How does this dilemma come about?

Upgrading software is a critical task for any modern business and can improve a company’s productivity by as much as 50%. Apart from this, new systems are more adaptable and have better security, a key factor in today’s data landscape.

According to Norton, one of the most used antivirus softwares in the world, new software and upgrades can help get rid of old flaws. Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly getting better and you should too, to make sure your company’s data and systems are safe and efficient.

In the same breath, companies don’t always have the resources to allocate time and internal spend to technical projects and need support, to a greater or lesser degree.

5 Questions To Guide You

Every situation and every upgrade is different. It is vital for you to do a thorough analysis of your project, plan out your goals and timeline before deciding who’s going to be responsible for the task of upgrading - and to what extent they’re involved. Key decision-makers should ask themselves:

What is the scope of the upgrade or new development?

The most important question to find an answer to when upgrading your software is why you are doing it. The key objectives you use as a mark, serve as vital information for the development team, and can help you figure out priority and critical areas for development. This will impact the level of resources you need to continue and give you a basis for understanding when and what you can get help with.

Do you have the skillset, internally - and is it your core competency?

Sit down with your team and find out if they have the ability to develop the best possible software. 

Building software is a complex process and the benefit of having an outside company is they can have access and knowledge on the latest technology that is being used. (Maxxor Blog) However, many companies don’t have in-house development teams because of the cost or demand for that kind of work on a monthly basis. 

On the other hand, some companies do software development for other brands, as their core service offering and this presents an ethical and logistical dilemma. When a skill is your company’s core competency, outsourcing this skill makes your business vulnerable. In these cases, it’s best to enlist temporary or supporting development, rather than putting an entirely separate team on the project. 

Do you have capacity?

Does your team have the ability and capacity to do this work while continuing to service your company on a daily basis? Very few businesses can afford a software team solely for building new products. This means that they are constantly dividing their time between your upgrades and their daily tasks. 

Your team may have the skills and the experience to get this job done but do they have the capacity with everything else going on? If yes, then you could think about doing it in-house as a priority - even if the cost is higher than that of partnering with other developers. If no, then it may be more effective to look at outsourcing the work to some extent.

Is your internal infrastructure set up for partnerships?

Agility in the software world is key and can help create environments where partnering with service providers is easier. Without the right communications and data-sharing infrastructure, it will be a complex task to plug in new teams and can create a myriad of challenges when working with freelancers or other organizations.

If your internal infrastructure is not geared up for remote and collaborative working, you’re going to have a problem. In these instances, you need to factor in the costs of creating this environment, although the benefits can be two-fold for your business. If you can’t do this, starting in-house may be a more viable option. 

What is your budget?

Budget constraints play a major role when going into a new project. And while the face value of one option may be cheaper, you need to take into account the cost of mistakes, setbacks, and not reaching the goals you want to achieve. Besides that, the training and infrastructure costs internally can add up fast and need to be considered. 

It may seem cheaper to hire more staff but will you have work for them after this project is done? Further to that S&C says “Businesses cut down their development costs up to 50-60% when they turn to an outsourcing company”. 

Typically, there is a lesser risk and cost associated with outsourcing, as you are not bound to permanently employ developers and not responsible for the overheads associated with third parties, however, in cases where they are too far removed from your team, you are likely to incur quality control and time costs. 

Who can you outsource to?

There are many companies that offer software development services, but quality and competency are two important considerations. At Digital Grind, we’ve got an established team of digital experts who understand the software and user experience design landscape. 

For example, we recently worked on a project with Moro Hub where we built a platform with an A-grade standard of accessibility. In that instance, the infrastructure existed for us to work together as a team and the result was an exciting new platform that could help Moro grow their brand awareness and continue to evolve. Their feedback? "Digital Grind developed our company's website, and they have done an excellent job. They developed a website that was more than our expectation and it is AAA accessible. They were very cooperative and accommodating; their flexibility in amending changes to meet our different stakeholder's requests was exceptional."

So, there are definitely instances where partnering or outsourcing your development can be beneficial to you and your organization. However, considering the checklist above, you will need the right processes and environment to make this achievable and should be aware of your core competencies - and the impact that outsourcing can have on your brand and clients. 

When it’s not your game, it’s best to handoff to an all-star team. Speak to us