Martech

Martech, short for marketing technology, refers to the software and tools used by marketing teams to plan, execute, measure, and optimize campaigns and to manage customer data and experiences across channels. It encompasses a broad range of disciplines and stack components that support strategy through execution and measurement.

The martech landscape includes customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, marketing automation and email systems, content management systems (CMS) and digital asset management, social media management, advertising technology (adtech), search optimization tools, landing page builders, and analytics and business intelligence. A core focus is data: collecting, unifying, and analyzing data from first-party sources to segment audiences, orchestrate journeys, personalize messages, and evaluate outcomes via attribution and reporting.

Origin and landscape: the term gained prominence in the 2010s and is closely associated with the evolving martech landscape mapped by industry analysts such as Scott Brinker. The field features thousands of vendors and an emphasis on data governance, interoperability, automation, and integration, while marketers contend with data quality and ROI measurement.

Trends and impact: advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning enable predictive insights, content optimization, and automated decisioning. Personalization is increasingly real-time and cross-channel, guided by privacy regulations and a shift toward first-party data, consent management, and robust governance. Overall, martech aims to enable more targeted campaigns, deeper customer understanding, and scalable measurement across channels, requiring strategy, governance, and cross-functional collaboration to realize value.