As an event marketer, you already know the importance of a great MarTech toolkit.

But from the rise of virtual events to the focus on data-led marketing, the high-stakes game of B2B sales seems to be changing every day. Trying to stay on top of it all is no easy task.

Lucky for you, as the marketing technology (a.k.a. MarTech) industry continues to grow, the options are seemingly endless. You might even find there are too many tools to choose from. And assembling the perfect tech stack is never a set-and-forget activity.

“You're never really done testing and iterating your Martech stack,” says Aria Shirani, Field Marketing Manager of Commercial and Partner Programs at Thoughtspot. “There will always be new tools coming out, fluctuating business needs, hot trends, and changes in personnel that dictate an ongoing 'science experiment' to effectively support the goals of each respective company.”

The key is to drill down on your goals (and your sales team’s goals) and choose tools that will get you there with minimum fuss.

To help you build a powerful MarTech stack, we’ve pulled together exactly what you need, plus a quick snapshot of some of the top players in the market today. Goodbye clunky marketing tools, hello seamlessly integrated MarTech stack!

• Should a virtual event platform be part of your MarTech stack?
• The top 5 types of MarTech tools for a powerful marketing stack

1. Advertising technology
2. Content and experience tools
3. Social engagement platforms
4. Data management tools
5. Content management system (CMS)

• Choose integratable MarTech tools to bolster your marketing cred

Before we dive into the top MarTech tools, let’s get this million dollar question:

Should a virtual event platform be part of your MarTech stack?

As you might’ve guessed, we believe the answer is yes. But ONLY if it brings you the right data.

Here’s why:

• Your MarTech toolkit needs to be productive. That means each tool you choose needs to hone in on your core KPIs and lead to you achieving your goals faster.
• To truly ace your marketing goals, you need to know your audience. Whether it’s the sessions they attend during a virtual event, or the emails they respond to, your event platform should give you a detailed report on each lead.
• You need to earn that seat at the revenue table, and proving you deserve it is all down to your data. The right virtual event platform will help you gather that data, and then seamlessly push your findings into your CRM and other systems.

At Goldcast, we’re obviously a little biased toward virtual event platforms that buck the ‘just-another-webinar-trend’ to deliver all of the above benefits and more. But, that’s us.

Now let’s take a look at some of the top MarTech tools to help bolster your results and bring in more revenue for the business.

Choosing the perfect tools for your MarTech stack is everything—but getting it right is an ongoing project.

Here are a few tips from Thoughtspot marketing ace Aria Shirani on what you need to refine a truly impressive MarTech stack:

• “A world class Marketing Ops team is critical, along with every other function, keeping an open mind to technology that augments their current 'status quo'.
• “Have your ego in check enough to welcome change, even if you were the one who championed the tool in the first place.
• Ensure you give each new system a fighting chance and proper implementation before fixating on the next shiny object,” says Aria.

Remember, no platform will perform the way you need it to without the right mindset and team to power it. Any time you introduce a new tool to the stack, make sure you’re giving yourself and your team plenty of time to really get to know (and optimize) it.

Got it? Great! Now that that’s settled, let’s head into the MarTech tools hit list.

Advertising and promotion in the 21st century is a highly skilled game.

When it comes to the best advertising tech, there are a ton of options to choose from including email marketing platforms, Pay-Per-Click ad tools and SEO enrichment technology.

Here are some of the top benefits of adding advertising tech to your MarTech stack:

• Automate advertising processes across all your channels.
• Target high-level accounts using powerful data.
• Integrate email, mobile and social, so you can log into all your channels in one place.
• Automatically put the most relevant content in front of the right people at the right time.

3 of the top players in advertising and promotion tech are:

1. Ad Stage
2. Hubspot Marketing Hub
3. Mailchimp

When it comes to a strong brand image, content is king — which is why you need to make sure your content and experience tech is on point from day one.

From personal gifting services to smart virtual event platforms, there are many different content and experience tools to help elevate your MarTech stack and your brand.

Here are some of the top benefits of adding content and experience tools to your MarTech stack:

• Pinpoint key customer touch points across all your platforms.
• Make ata-led content decisions with custom reporting features and analytics.
• Design beautiful landing pages to attract new leads and boost brand awareness.
• Boost account relationships with tailored swag.

3 of the top players in content and experience tech are:

1. Alyce
2. Goldcast
3. Sendoso

There’s no two ways about it — consumers these days expect great social engagement from great brands.

And with the average person spending around 2.5 hours per day on social media, it’s a guaranteed route to find solid leads for your business.

Lucky for you, these days there are a lot of ways into #socialvibes for companies.

Here are some of the top benefits of adding social engagement platforms to your MarTech stack:

• Manage and prioritize social media conversations, and publish directly to any network.
• Reach more potential leads in the places you know they hang out.
• Build your brand with human-led outreach that shows off the people behind the company.

3 of the top players in social media tech are:

1. Hootsuite
2. Buffer
3. Iconosquare

Data management tools are a marketer’s best friend.

From re-engaging dropped-off customers, to seeing real-time user intent, these tools allow you to understand your audiences like never before, for major marketingimpact.

Here are some of the top benefits of adding a data management tool to your MarTech stack:

• Identify anonymous and known buying patterns across 1st and 3rd party websites.
• Uncover buying patterns and predict future outcomes.
• See customer behavior across all channels.
• Use insightful data to enable personalized, consistent customer experiences.
• Create custom campaigns to re-engage customers wherever they drop off.

3 of the top players in data management tech are:

1. Segment
2. 6sense
3. Funnel

When it comes to content management, there are a ton of must-have features to look out for. From easy-to-build websites to a wide array of add-ons and plugins, the right CMS can help huge projects feel easy and 100% on-brand.

Here are some of the benefits of adding a robust CMS to your MarTech stack:

• Get a 360 degree view of your content creation process.
• Stage, publish and track content in one place.
• Create a unified digital experience with your brand

3 top players in CMS tech:

1. Webflow
2. Drupal
3. CMS Hub

Ah technology. No matter where you turn, there are always more options.

But with a smart MarTech stack, you’ll be sure to drive more revenue and crush those closed-won opps in no time.

Whichever tools you choose, just remember these three rules:

1. Always choose integratable tools (always, always, always).
2. A virtual event platform can be a productive part of the MarTech stack but ONLY if it brings you the right data.
3. Only choose tools that are sure to help you reach your marketing (and sales) goals faster.

With the right tools aimed sharply at the right goal, you’ll be sure to make your next campaign one to remember. Now get out there and start building the MarTech of your dreams!