AdTech vs. MarTech — The (unfortunate) Data Difference

What would business growth and profitability look like if growth marketers used an unlimited amount of first-party user behavior data?

They say, “Change is the only constant.” I would take this one step further for MarTech and say that evolution is the only constant.

Today, brands must acquire and retain the right mix of customers — to engage with, and maximize lifetime value by adapting and responding to their evolving needs and expectations. Customers interact through numerous channels and always expect a seamless experience.

The most significant step towards MarTech’s evolution is to use first-party behavior data to create better customer experiences. Data usage is where the biggest shortfall is.

But before we delve into what growth marketers do and how marketers can harness first-party data for more substantial impact, let’s look at an industry we are more familiar with — AdTech.

We are often wowed by how relevant, and precise certain advertisements are. We often say, “I was talking about this product or a vacation plan with my friend just yesterday, and I saw an advertisement about that exact destination. Are these companies listening to our conversations?”

We broadly know why ads are so relevant, but fundamentally these are the associated facts:

• Most advertisements we see while browsing the internet or within our favorite mobile apps are explicitly targeted to us individually.
• Our behavior data (the sites we visit, the products/articles we view, and so on), along with some fantastic technologies invented by Google, Meta, etc., enable this precise targeting.
• Most of the behavior data used as the foundation for targeting is third-party data collected primarily with the help of cookies and other “anonymous” tracking mechanisms.
• AdTech companies (like Google and Meta) operate on a massive scale. They can target every internet user precisely when they visit a website or open an app.

In short, using data and technology is how AdTech has become a massive and profitable industry. It optimizes returns for ad spending by precisely targeting people likely to buy its offering. The targeting is precise and relevant only because of some demographic and a lot of behavioral data.

In contrast, growth marketers essentially:

• Deal with smaller audiences who already use their brand/product.
• Have access to detailed first-party behavior data for all their users, like
  - Which product/page has the user visited?
  - What have they purchased historically?
  - At what frequency or time of the day/week do they engage?
  - Have they given permission to receive emails or push notifications?
  - Is this user a loyal customer, a paid subscriber, or a new user?
• Identify many of their customers by email address, phone number, or a customer identifier/token.
• Send out thousands (if not millions) of emails, push notifications, texts, or WhatsApp messages every month.

Yet, we seldom have thoughts or conversations about how relevant the last email or push notification I received was.

It is evident that the AdTech industry believes in the power of data and collects as much of it as possible. This data enables them to run technologies targeting ads to random internet users. In contrast, it is shocking that our adjacent Martech industry, where brands own users and have access to user behavior data, typically uses minimal data for segmentation, user campaigns, and journeys.

I’d like to know why this evolution has yet to occur. Why do you think that is? I would love to hear your specific reasons in the comments.

In later posts within this series, I will elaborate on the following:

• The direct benefit on ROI of using data and personalization within user lifecycle, campaigns, and journeys.
• The top reasons growth/marketing teams use less data than they should.

Stay tuned for more!