Over at We Think North, we’re constantly working on overcoming new marketing obstacles. The strategy side of it, we really love doing. The operational side of things is not so simple, though. Because we’re a lean, agile team, time spent on the wrong things can delay a project or increase our costs. This means that getting the right martech tool stack is vital to doing business.

The problem is, there is an avalanche of digital tools in the market, but the information about them is obscure, missing, or vastly outdated. My colleagues and I constantly struggled to build the right marketing tech tool stack to suit our clientele’s exact needs and tackle the common marketing campaign challenges.

So when we decided to fill this gap with Toolcano, our one-stop martech tool search solution, we were hoping to tackle a number of marketing issues and challenges. 

Challenge number 1: Curating the martech stack

Solving marketing dilemmas requires a thoughtful approach tailored to each client’s unique combination of business goals, customer base, skill sets, and budget, which is why no two martech stacks are ever the same. For this reason, curating the right martech tools for a project is never easy.

Toolcano is what changes the equation for us, sorting the various tools available online into 19 categories and further subcategories and also enabling us to compare the tools we shortlist.

Challenge number 2: Utilizing time efficiently 

Project timelines have a way of getting away from us, which is why we work very mindfully. We’ve observed that the setup stage of a project usually suffers setbacks if we don’t get the tools ready in time because of pricing or service issues.

This is a risk, particularly when the information needed is obscure or unavailable. We designed Toolcano to address such potential marketing complexities in the early stages of a project, by ensuring that the search experience is constantly updated with the most relevant information about every tool that Toolcano indexes.

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Challenge number 3: Balancing the marketing budget

Navigating marketing difficulties can be challenging, especially when working within marketing budget constraints. It is crucial to ensure proper checks and balances early on in a project to avoid unexpected costs and charges that may arise from using certain tools. In our experience, many of the tools we consider using in a project often come with hidden fees and charges.

Leading to accrued costs later on in the project. The best way to avoid it is through hard-nosed research. Toolcano is built to enable that research, with features to indicate the pricing model of each tool. 

Challenge number 4: Getting management buy-in

Once a martech stack is finalized, one of the next challenges in digital marketing is gaining buy-in from stakeholders. Whether it is a matter of securing internal buy-in from the top leaders or gaining consensus from the client, it requires us to present a strong case for the tools we’ve decided upon. Measuring social media ROI often poses a challenge, and it becomes one of the marketing strategy roadblocks we face.

This is easily done using Toolcano, as it clearly indicates the features of each tool as well as the pricing, making it easy to gather the go-ahead needed on your tech stack.

At every step of the marketing journey, Toolcano eases your decision-making process, adds more clarity, and makes your work as a marketer, entrepreneur, or business custodian simpler and easier, just like it has made ours. Ready to try it out for yourself?

We Think North

This piece was collaboratively written by multiple members of the We Think North team, bringing you perspectives from across the branding, marketing, content and tech verticals.