Martech platforms help performance marketers become more efficient, remain agile and serve customers better. So it’s no surprise that the number of marketing solutions has exponentially increased. In fact, there are 9,932 martech solutions available in 2022.
But here’s the thing: 44% of marketers only use 5-10 tools in their tech stack. That means hunting for the tools that work for you from this enormous pool of solutions. But even when you lock them down, you’ll still need to replace them every so often.
This survey from MarTech shows the number #1 reason why marketers replaced their tech stack was so that they could have a platform with better integration features. The other reasons included cost, data capabilities, and the ability to measure ROI.
So which tools do you absolutely need?
While the exact platforms depend on your growth strategy, we’ve compiled a list of martech platforms that are at the top of their game that can help you not only become more productive but also integrate with your existing tech stack, have low time-to-value, and help you keep your costs low.
#1 Hunch - creative automation + automated ad buying
While organic social isn’t going anywhere, Paid Social media is one of the best levers you can pull to unlock growth.
Hunch is an all-in-one paid Social platform that brings the structure to advertising chaos through creative production. Performance marketers, faced with the challenge of creative production, use Hunch to build highly-contextual creatives.
Leveraging Hunch helps them produce unique and engaging video and image creatives at scale. Also, the platform lets you deploy creatives, manage campaigns and optimize them in real-time - all without ever leaving the platform.
With over 120 million automated ads and a 30% increase in performance through dynamic and automated ads, Hunch is the partner you need to win on Paid Social.
Features:
- Automated Creative Production
- Feed Based Campaign Creation
- Image and Video Studio
- Automated Publishing
- Campaign Templates
- Brand Kit Automated Templates
- Automated Data Synchronization
- Customer Segmentation
- Cross-Accounts Workflows
- Feed Management
- Reporting/Analytics
- Product Insights
- Creative Library
- Photoshop Integration
- Creative Export and Review
User Rating on G2: 4.6/5
See all Hunch reviews here.
Pricing:
Pricing in Hunch depends of which solution you choose. You can use Hunch as a Swas (Software with a service) or choose creative end-to-end solution. If you choose Swas, Hunch offers two plans: monthly and yearly. Plans refer to the commitment to Hunch, not the ad spend. Hunch charges based on ad spend that only goes through the Hunch platform. During the 3-month trial period, Hunch provides 3 dynamic image templates and 2 dynamic video templates to give you something to start with. Additional design is always available on demand.
Hunch's team of experts also provides creative end-to-end solution.
Pro tip:
While other creative automation platforms only focus on one aspect of Paid Social, Hunch is an all-in-one platform that delivers an end-to-end solution. No matter your monthly media spend, Hunch focuses on delivering value to all its customers. See how it works in action!
Hunch vs. Smartly: Which one's right for you?
#2 Hootsuite - social media management
Hootsuite’s platform helps you run your social media accounts and manage them seamlessly. You can plan your posts, schedule them and stay on top of trends.
The proliferation of short form content through TikTok videos and Instagram’s Reels is an indication that social media is the new search engine.
Even if you’re unsure of how to get started, Hootsuite offers free classes for beginners so you can get acquainted with the ins and outs of posting on Social.
Hootsuite integrates with 20+ social media platforms and business apps like Slack, Trello, HubSpot and more.
Want to conquer Paid Social? Check out our in-depth guide.
Features:
- Social Management
- Social Analytics
- Social Publishing
- Social Engagement
- Reports & Dashboards
- Social Analytics
- Competitor Analysis
- Follower Analysis
- Post Performance
- Monitoring & Listening
- Social Measurement
- Influencer Identification
- Data Management & Analysis
User Rating on G2: 4.1/5
See Hootsuite reviews on G2.
Pricing:
- $0/month (Free)
- $49/month (Professional)
- $249/month (Team)
- $739/month (Business)
- Available on Request (Enterprise)
Pro tip:
Hootsuite may be perfect for you if you’re managing up to 10 accounts but it comes with a hefty price tag if you’re an agency managing multiple accounts. Check out some alternatives like Pallyy or SocialBee.
#3 HubSpot Marketing Hub - CRM
HubSpot is a leading CRM that helps you serve customers better. It caters to marketing but also offers products that can also be used by sales, service and website management teams.
The platform lets you try out a lot of features for free so you can prove its ROI before investing in a plan.
The Marketing Hub helps you run inbound marketing campaigns, increase conversions and attract the right audience through its platform. You can also set up powerful automation to scale your operations.
HubSpot integrates with Salesforce and offers over 1,600 custom integrations so you can connect all your business tools.
Features:
Email Marketing
- Building and Personalizing Emails
- Sending Outbound Emails
- Manage Email Deliverability
- Automated Email Responses
Online Marketing
- Landing Pages and Forms
- Dynamic Content
- Mobile Optimized
Lead Management
- Marketing Lead Database
- Data Quality Management
- Segmentation
- Lead Nurturing
- Online Behavior Tracking
- Automated Alerts and Tasks
Reporting & Analytics
- Basic Reporting
- Web Analytics
User Rating on G2: 4.4/5
See the reviews for HubSpot here.
Pricing:
- $0/month (Free)
- $45/month (Starter)
- $800/month (Professional)
- $3,600/month (Enterprise)
Pro tip:
HubSpot is one of the best CRMs you can get but depending on the number of contacts you have, you may find it a little expensive. If you’re looking for alternatives, check out ActiveCampaign, Zoho, or EngageBay.
#4 Convert - A/B testing
You need Convert’s A/B testing tool if you want to increase conversions, offer better customer experiences and optimize for growth.
If you like what Optimizely offers in terms of targeting maturity, JS flexibility, and goals robustness without the hefty enterprise price tag, Convert is right for you.
You can use the platform to conduct multi-page testing, advanced targeting, and post-segmentation.
Convert also offers a host of 3rd-party native integrations like Hotjar, HubSpot, Google Analytics, Shopify, and more.
Features:
- A/B Testing
- Split Testing
- Multipage Experiments
- Multivariate Testing
- Blink Free Code Editors
- Audience Targeting Engine
- Collision Prevention
- Privacy Compliant
User Rating on G2: 4.7/5
See reviews for Convert here.
Pricing:
- $999/month (Growth)
- $1,399/month (Expert 1)
- $2,699/month (Expert 2)
- Available on Request (Enterprise)
Pro tip:
Convert is perfect for users who want to create a culture of experimentation but if you’re new to A/B testing, use Google Optimize to set up small-scale experiments.
#5 Hotjar - visitor recording and heatmaps
Hotjar’s platform helps you intricately understand how visitors interact with your content.
You can set up visitor recordings and heatmaps to see how readers browse your site and which folds attract the most interest. You can also collect live feedback through pop-ups from customers.
Analytics and feedback collected via the tool can then be used to continuously improve the site experience and increase conversions.
Hotjar can be paired with an A/B testing tool so you can accurately measure qualitative and quantitative feedback before and after you implement the changes.
The platform offers many plug-and-play integrations with business apps including Slack, Trello, and Asana, and other martech platforms like Mailchimp, Hubspot, and Optimizely.
Features:
Analysis
- Conversion Opportunities
- Side-By-Side Analysis
- Mobile Device Analysis
- Data Quantification
- Webpage Element Analysis
Reporting
- Heat Maps
- Session Replays
- Monitoring
- Data Segmentation
User Response Methods
- Survey
Insights
- Analytics
- Sorting
User Behavior
- Click Tracking
- Eye Tracking
- Mouse Movement
User Rating on G2: 4.3/5
See Hotjar reviews here.
Pricing:
- Free (Observe Basic)
- $39/month (Observe Plus)
- $99/month (Observe Business)
- Available on Request (Enterprise)
Pro tip:
Due to privacy laws, it may be difficult for you to get information on your users like you could earlier. While consumers should have more control over their data, their demand for personalization hasn’t waned. You can couple Hotjar with a reverse IP lookup tool like Clearbit so you can de-anonymize site visitors.
#6 Ahrefs - SEO
Even though social media is slowly becoming the place where consumers buy, search isn’t going anywhere. Ahrefs is one of the best SEO tools you can invest in.
You can perform keyword research, track rankings, uncover content gaps, and find out search traffic estimation.
Whether you need to optimize for Google, YouTube, or even Amazon, Ahrefs allows you to do it all through its easy-to-use platform.
Ahrefs offers an API that you can use to integrate with other tools you already use.
Features:
- Platform Basics
- Web Tracking
- Platform Data
- Marketing Metrics
- Platform Reporting
- Benchmark Reporting
- SEO Auditing & Monitoring
- SEO Content & Rankings
- SERP Rank Tracking
- SEO Reporting
User Rating on G2: 4.6/5
See reviews for Ahrefs here.
Pricing:
- Free (Webmaster Tools)
- $99/month (Lite)
- $199/month (Standard)
- $399/month (Advanced)
Pro tip:
Ahrefs can get expensive if you’re an agency. And that also explains why SEO tools were among the most replaced in 2022. Check out other competitors like SEMRush or Serpstat. There is no dearth of SEO tools in the market so you can easily find a tool within your budget.
Read: 5 biggest performance marketing challenges for agencies (+how to solve them)
Align your marketing tech stack to your business needs
CMOs allocate 1/4th of their entire marketing budget to marketing technologies and yet Gartner’s Marketing Technology Survey found that participants only use 42% of their tech stack.
One of the main reasons for this underutilization? The sheer complexity of this ecosystem. Not to mention the significant overlap among different marketing solutions.
You don’t need every shiny new tech that’s trending right now. What you need are a few solid tools like the ones listed here that play nice with each other and actually help you achieve your KPIs.
Want to chat about your Paid Social strategy for 2023? Talk to our experts today!
