The real reasons why martech stacks fail (and how to fix yours)

Marketing technology was supposed to provide us with smarter targeting, faster growth, and better ROI.  

What they got was a stack of disconnected tools, unclear insights, and more time spent troubleshooting than driving impact. 

Despite bigger budgets, marketing performance hasn’t improved. In fact, many teams are seeing the opposite. Stacks are bloated. Adoption is low. Reporting is fragmented. Tools don’t talk to each other. And somewhere in the process, the customer gets lost. 

In our latest webinar, we broke down why martech stacks keep expanding while impact stalls—and what high-performing teams are doing differently. 

If your tech spend is growing but results aren’t, you’re not alone. The fix isn’t more tools. It’s rethinking what they’re for. 

1. The real trap: Thinking more tools will mean better results 

It’s easy to believe the next platform will fix what’s broken. But that’s how teams fall into the martech trap. 

With hundreds of tools to choose from, increasing the amount of tech you have can feel like progress. But most stacks often outgrow the strategy behind them.

According to The State of Martech 2024 from Chief Marketing Technologist, mid-sized companies now use an average of 255 apps to run their business, with many of them being marketing tools. But each one of these tools introduces an operational burden: 

• Teams need to be trained 

• Systems need to be integrated 

• Updates need to be maintained 

• Data needs to be reconciled across platforms  

Instead of making marketers faster, too many tools slow everything down. Data ends up in silos, so there can never be a unified view of customers. This ends up causing marketers to spend more time managing tools than engaging buyers. 

This is the paradox of martech: the more tools you add, the more complexity you create.  

2. Too many tools. Not enough return. 

More tech was supposed to mean better results. But the problem is that it’s not delivering the returns we expect.  

The Fall 2024 CMO Survey showed that 54.9% of CMOs see disappointing ROI from their martech investments, citing the primary reason being poor alignment with customer needs and product positioning. In other words, they had the tools in place, but not the strategy. 

Take a look at your own martech stack. How many tools are gathering dust? How many features are still unexplored? Most teams launch a shiny new tool, use 10% of it, and never decommission what it was meant to replace. 

We’re essentially stockpiling technology without maximizing it. This is a big warning sign as it tells us the issue isn’t the tools, but how we use them.  

3. Fix the foundation before you scale anything 

Before you can scale anything, you need to get the fundamentals right. These are things no software can do for you. Martech should come after these insights are in place. 

a. Brand clarity 

You can’t outsource brand understanding. If your team can’t clearly explain who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you different, no tool will fill the gap. 

A marketing platform can’t define your voice. It won’t uncover what makes your story resonate with others. That comes from introspection, research, and strategy. 

If your value proposition shifts depending on who you ask, your campaigns won’t land. But when your brand promise is clear, it guides every decision from messaging to tech choice. 

b. Market fit 

42% of startups fail because they build products with no market need. 

If buyers don’t recognize the problem or aren’t aware of the category, no amount of tech will change that. 

You need to be clear on your positioning from the start. What unique value do you offer? Are you essential or a nice-to-have? Are you competing in a crowded space or creating a new one? 

Market awareness shapes how you message, where you invest, and how you scale. It also grounds your planning in unit economics: average deal size, CAC, and how much runway your model can support. 

c. Real customer insight 

Only 6% of B2B companies are truly insight-driven. Most still make decisions without getting direct feedback from buyers. 

Understanding your customer means going beyond demographics. You need to know what they’re trying to solve, where they get stuck, and what success looks like to them. 

d. Product understanding 

Your value proposition only works if your team understands the product behind it. Marketers, sales, and customer success teams need to be fluent in what your product does, how it solves problems, and where it outperforms alternatives. 

This involves breaking down silos, sitting in on demos, asking questions, and using the product. Only then can your go-to-market teams proactively sell and support it. 

e. Channel focus 

One of the most common marketing mistakes is trying to be everywhere. But success doesn’t come from volume. It comes from showing up where your audience actually is. 

Use behavioral data, CRM insights, and market research to pinpoint where your customers spend time, and double down there.  

4. Technology should follow strategy, not try to fix it 

Martech only works when it scales what’s already proven. But too often, it’s the other way around.  

High-performing teams do the opposite. They define what “good” looks like. Then they bring in tech to help them do more of it, faster.  

Here’s what that looks like when it’s done right down the funnel: 

Martech should support your go-to-market, not lead it. Because no platform can fix a strategy that doesn’t exist. It can only scale what’s already working. 

5. A financial services campaign built on insight 

In a recent campaign targeting the financial services industry, we focused on a common oversight: 

Email signatures are often ignored—but they’re critical for compliance and brand trust. 

This shaped every step. 

At the awareness stage, we used 6sense, ZoomInfo, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator to build a target list based on firmographic and intent data. We ran ads that addressed the compliance risk directly without using jargon or generalities. 

As accounts engaged, we used CRM and behavioral signals to surface those showing intent. Instead of waiting on form fills, we gave Sales account-level context so they could prioritize outreach immediately. 

At the consideration stage, we used Mutiny to personalize the website experience based on engagement. Prospects saw relevant content without friction. 

Finally at the decision stage, we focused on validation: FinServ case studies, G2 reviews, and time-to-value data captured through Gong. 

This campaign used several martech tools but wasn’t dictated by them. Instead, it started with a known risk to a specific audience and used the right platforms to reach them more efficiently. 

6. Build a stack that works for you  

Technology in marketing is incredibly powerful when used right. 

Martech should support strategy, not stand in for it. No platform can replace knowing your product, your customer, or your value proposition. When those are clear, tools help you move faster. When they’re not, tech just adds complexity. 

Choose tools with intent. Align each one to a specific goal or use case. It’s better to run a smaller, well-used stack than a larger one no one touches. 

Start with a stack audit: 

• What’s in use? 

• What’s connected to clear outcomes? 

• What’s adding noise? 

Ultimately, it comes down to “people and strategy first, then platforms.” Get the right team mindset and knowledge in place, then let technology scale that success, not the other way around. 

The most-used channel. Still the most overlooked. 

Email is still the backbone of B2B communication. And yet, most companies still manage email signatures manually. 

That means: 

• Emails are disconnected from the rest of your martech stack 

• Branding gets applied inconsistently 

• Email disclaimers go missing or stay out of date 

• Formatting breaks across devices 

• IT gets stuck handling routine updates 

Exclaimer gives IT and marketing one platform to manage email signatures without the usual chaos. 

• Central control over every email signature design. 

• Role-based access for marketing, with IT guardrails. 

• Marketing features including CRM integrations, embedded social feeds, campaign management, and in-built analytics. 

• Built-in compliance features and full audit logs. 

• Instant updates at scale. 

Learn more or request a demo to learn more.