In the 2020 State of Digital Transformation report, some respondents shared mistakes they made with selecting the wrong tech to solve their problems. The round hole, square peg predicament. I too, have seen clients make this mistake!
The MarTech landscape is complex and vast, but the good news is that there is likely a tool out there that can solve your problem. The trick is defining the problem you’re trying to solve in order to find the right technology.
Before you jump to investigating solutions, make sure you build your business case properly. This will allow you to define:
The WHY:
- Define the purpose/reason for doing the project and how it aligns to your business objectives
- List the benefits that will come from finding the right solution (now is a good time to define how you will measure success by laying out measurable KPIs)
- Consider wider, indirect business opportunities this solution could open
- Don’t forget to consider, what would happen if you “do nothing”?
The WHY NOT:
- Consider the risks and dependencies involved in undertaking this investment
- Consider opportunities to make improvements on your current martech stack, in your processes or with people (change management initiatives). This approach may give you the opportunity to make low-cost improvements without procuring a new technology.
The WHO:
- Define who the solution will be used by (stakeholders, users)
- Define your main stakeholders (make a RACI matrix)
- Identify your key senior stakeholders, the business sponsor and business champions (get buy-in and ask their advice for writing the business case)
- Consider the governance structure for the solution, who owns and manages it, who will project manage the implementation, testing and launch, impacts on resource responsibilities or additional resource needs, and get IT involved early!
The WHAT:
- Gather requirements (you’ll likely expect this to be a small list, but take the time now to do the proper business analysis to gather the full scope of requirements. Interview and survey your team and others across the business, shadow people to understand their process, and build your stakeholder group!)
- Understand the scope of the problem, consider the benefits and impacts, analyse options, consider governance and metadata structure, present options or approaches
The WHEN:
- Define and get agreement on reasonable timescales and a project plan (make sure to consider the people, process and technology workstreams)
The HOW MUCH:
- The business case is the right place to make the case for the budget you need (based on market research) for each proposed option
- Use your business case to influence budget holders and agree budget based on benefits, value and Return on Investment
Do you need some help building your business case for marketing technology? Drop me a message on LinkedIn or get in touch with me directly at kristinahuddart@gmail.com