Is It Time To Review Your Tech Stack?

The Slow Creep of Complexity

Most organisations don’t build their stack from a master plan. Tech gets added piece by piece to solve specific problems, often by different teams, at different times.

It works. Until it doesn’t.

You might be sitting on a goldmine of features, but if nobody’s using them (or if half your stack overlaps in functionality) you’re not getting the value you paid for. Meanwhile, your team is working around clunky interfaces, poor integrations, and tools they were never trained on.

That’s where a tech stack review can make all the difference.

Stick, Twist, or Top-Up?

Spend some time looking and you might find that the best marketing platform for you is the one you’ve already got -you just need help unlocking its full potential or aligning your people accordingly.

But you might find that it’s time for significant change. Are you missing a vital piece of the puzzle? A platform to deliver rich-format mobile comms? A customer data platform for real-time feedback and interactions?

One of our clients recently moved three marketing platforms down to one. The result? £400k saved in licence costs over the next three years. But cost savings are just the start. Simplified systems. Cleaner data. A more connected experience for customers, and a more confident team behind the scenes.

Of course, making big changes like this is no small feat. That’s why so many teams end up doing what they’ve always done. It feels safer. Simpler. Until a vendor starts making enough noise that it’s hard to ignore and suddenly you find yourself investing in a shiny new platform without fully reviewing your options, your use cases, or what’s already in place.

As Thomas Fordham, our Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, puts it:

“Vendors do a great job promoting features, and it’s easy for marketing teams to get swept up in the excitement. But licences are being purchased before there’s a clear understanding of how these tools align with business strategy, deliver ROI or drive long-term growth.
Yes, many of these technologies have real value. But instead of asking how they work, we need to ask why we’re investing in them in the first place.
If a tool doesn’t support measurable outcomes or scalable value, then it’s technology for technology’s sake.”

So—how do you know if it’s time to reassess?

7 Questions Worth Asking

Start by asking the right questions:

1. What are you trying to achieve?

Before you even look at features, get aligned on your business goals. Are you trying to improve conversion rates? Reduce churn? Speed up onboarding? When you define your use cases clearly, it becomes much easier to see whether your current tools support them or whether you’re missing something critical.

2. What’s actually being used today?

This is where a bit of honesty goes a long way. Audit your platforms. Who’s using what? Are those features driving outcomes, or just ticking boxes? You might be surprised by how many tools are underused or doing the same job as something else in your stack.

3. Does it all connect?

Disconnected systems create data silos, inconsistent experiences, and internal headaches. Integration isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must. When your tools work well together, your teams can too. That means fewer manual workarounds, faster delivery, and a clearer view of your customer.

4. Is it working for your team?

Technology should make your team’s lives easier, not harder. Are they empowered by your stack or overwhelmed by it? If training is a blocker, or processes rely too heavily on specialists, it might be time to simplify.

5. Can it scale with you?

What got you here might not get you where you’re going. Look at whether your tools can grow with your data, your channels, your customer base. If adding new journeys, markets or campaigns is a logistical nightmare, your stack may be holding you back.

6. How will you measure success?

Don’t just track what’s easy, track what matters. That might mean going beyond platform dashboards to understand the true impact on customer experience or commercial performance. Choose KPIs that reflect your goals and don’t be tempted by vanity metrics.

7. Is it cost-effective?

It’s easy to focus on headline licence fees – but the true cost of martech is much broader. Think about the time your team spends fixing issues, the training needed, or the missed opportunities because things take too long to launch. Good tech should save you effort, not demand more of it. And value isn’t just about cost-cutting – it’s about return on investment. If a platform helps you work smarter, reach customers faster, or drive more revenue, factor that in.

So where are you now? Does your stack do what you need it to?

If you’re not sure, we can help you figure that out so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Whether you stick, twist or top-up, it should be right for where your business is heading next.