Your tech stack isn’t a bottleneck; you are (probably)

The title is clickbaity, I know - But I hear from good sources that good marketing should be somewhat controversial, so here goes nothing.

Before else, let me address the elephant in the room: Yes, in many situations, the tech stack is a challenge, but tools are essentially … just tools, things. And things are easy to fix when you know what you’re doing.

On the other hand, fixing processes, ways of working, or old habits is much more challenging, because they rely on people. And people are slightly more complicated than ‘things’.

And the fact of the matter is that we are now forced to change those old habits because of factors that can no longer be ignored, namely:

• AI, penetrating all areas of business

• and evolving ways of buying

This article combines my daily observations with my predictions for fixing what seems to be broken. I’m aware it may generate frustration or anger.

And that’s a good thing. Change is scary, and it triggers strong emotions.

However, change is also necessary as the environment around us evolves.

And so, my argument here is that people are the main bottleneck to successfully implementing necessary changes in organizations.

In other words, YOU are the bottleneck.

Oops, I did it again. I took a shortcut to increase your heartbeat.

Joke aside, let me elaborate on that.

Misaligned data. Misaligned goals. Misaligned everything.

Working in a B2B agency environment gives me a first-hand chance to witness the challenges our customers and prospective customers face.

One of those challenges is data.

In (too) many organizations, sales & marketing data is a hot and messy pile that keeps growing alongside a shaky legacy baggage.

And no one really knows where to begin to bring balance back.

The martech setup often shares part of the blame, but it’s also, in most cases, a mere symptom of a much deeper root cause.

Silos.

Siloed organizations are struggling to find a way out

What I see is that a vast majority of businesses I interact with are yet to figure out how to break the silos between their core teams.

Worst even, if having silos is often a problem that is widely well-known and acknowledged across the board, there are no processes in place to actually break them.

Not by lack of will, but by lack of know-how.

In other cases, companies work hard to design processes only to realize down the road that they don’t work in practice.

Oftentimes, this is because the reason(s) why silos exist are misdiagnosed.

The first step to breaking silos is to understand what caused them to begin with.

And reasons can be plural.

Historical Structures: Many organizations have evolved over time, and their structures reflect past needs or legacy systems. These structures can create silos that persist even as the organization's goals and environment change.

Specialization: Different departments or teams often have specialized functions, such as marketing, finance, or IT. This specialization can lead to silos as each team focuses on its own goals and processes.

Geographical distribution: Organizations with multiple locations or remote work arrangements can naturally form silos due to physical separation and different local priorities.

Leadership and management styles: Leaders who focus on departmental goals rather than overall organizational objectives can inadvertently encourage silo formation. Lack of cross-functional leadership can also contribute to this issue.

Communication barriers: Poor communication practices, lack of transparency, and inadequate information-sharing tools can create silos. And when teams do not communicate frequently and effectively, they’ll naturally drift on their own path and operate in isolation from each other.

Cultural difference: Different teams or departments may develop their own subcultures, which can lead to silos if there is no overarching organizational culture that promotes collaboration.

Resource allocation: Competition for resources, budget, and recognition can lead to silos as departments try to secure what they need to meet their goals.

Lack of Integrated systems: The absence of integrated technology systems can make it difficult for different parts of the organization to share data and collaborate, leading to silos.

And, finally…

… Resistance to change: Employees and managers may resist changes that would break down silos, especially if they perceive these changes as threatening to their roles or departmental autonomy.

This last point is, I believe, the toughest knot of them all. You could try and address all the other root causes, but if people don’t want to change, change won’t happen.

Why is change so difficult to accept and implement

2 reasons:

• A skill gap

• Lack of consistency

Now is a good time to admit we’re all entering uncharted territories.

I’ll say it again;

• no one knows where we’ll be in 5 years.

• no one knows who the winners will be in 5 years.

Think about it, even Google’s foundations are shaken as generative AI is gaining ground. Something no other search engine managed to do before.

Something no one would have put on their bingo cards.

And the reason for this is simple: AI is literally re-inventing how we work and operate.

It’s changing search, but also sales, marketing, customer success, product development, …

New shapes and ideas are starting to emerge from the inaudible AI conversations happening worldwide, but commonly accepted and widespread norms aren’t a thing just yet.

A direct consequence of this is that companies are learning by doing (and it’s challenging).

There’s an evident skill gap

My experience is that companies either lack the resources or the skills to make significant change happen.

And you can probably anticipate which one I see most, right?

Skills.

For starters, it’s difficult for companies to know how they should do this.

And it’s quite understandable, as there are so many moving pieces to deal with:

• Auditing the current situation to identify bottlenecks and areas of improvement.

• Finding people to help them with these technology setups so that they can actually use the data and benefit from it.

No strict implementation follow-up (or owner of change)

You can’t expect change to stick if you only say, “Change is happening now!”

You need concrete actions to accompany the words, solid martech foundations to support your ambition, and a proper follow-up plan (or, in the best-case scenario, an owner to drive said change).

Rant over: here’s my (suggested) fix

I can’t claim to know what to do—no one does—so I’m inclined to make suggestions instead.

Educated suggestions, but suggestions nonetheless.

1. Focus on the WHY change is necessary to get people on board

It’s really not that complicated.

The bigger the carrot, the more likely we are to accept hurdles and challenges to get to it.

Stakeholders need to understand the risks of not implementing the change. In other words, how much money will be left on the table if they choose to “do nothing?”

Similarly, to accept change, employees need to understand how change will help them be better at their jobs. For instance, by aligning processes between marketing, sales, and customer success, a CMO would be able to follow the money and differentiate marketing actions that impact their bottom line from those that don’t.

2. Work towards building a future-proof infrastructure

Once everyone is on the same page, the challenge is to deliver on the promise.

And that comes from figuring out a martech ecosystem that:

1. is aligned with how your organization functions

2. is fully integrated across the board

The big idea is to set the foundations for your sales, marketing, and customer success to work toward shared goals.

I’m talking about RevOps (Revenue Operations).

The ‘fix’ is to:

• Give you access to data you can trust

• Establish processes and targets that make sense across teams

• Establish processes for people to work together

• Ensure your tech works for you, not the other way around.

Note that I’m not claiming any of this is easy, because it’s not. However, with the right minds and skills, you can get it done.

—

I’ll conclude by repeating that change is inevitable. The winners will be those with foundations (read, data, process, people and tech) strong enough to navigate dangerous and uncertain waters.

It’s all about catching the train on time - and if you need help with that, we’re here for it.