The MKT1 B2B marketing tools survey + my future predictions
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Customer relationship management
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CRMs are described as the traditional 'source of truth' that the author predicts will fade into the background. Understanding CRM history and architecture explains why this shift is significant and what infrastructure marketers have relied on for decades
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Extract, transform, load
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The article discusses data enrichment, workflow builders, and tools like Clay that transform and route data between systems. ETL is the foundational concept behind these modern marketing data pipelines, though most marketers may not know the technical origins
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The results are in, and my predictions on where marketing tools are headed are ready for you to scrutinize. Over the past ~6 weeks, I partnered with Typeform to run a survey on the marketing tech stacks of B2B startups, and I’m ready to share the data.
Obviously, the marketing stack is changing fast, with new entrants popping up daily. Case in point: I didn’t have a “vibe coding” category when I kicked off this survey—and I wouldn’t dare omit that category today. Luckily, you all mentioned these vibe coding tools anyway.
Based on this data and what I’m seeing out there in the wild, here are my high-level predictions for the future of the marketing tech stack:
Here’s a little more explanation about what I mention in the diagram, and you’ll find more details and more predictions in each section of this newsletter:
Enrichment, workflow builders, and AI layers will be in every tool you use. This is quickly becoming table stakes, not a differentiator.
Your source-of-truth data won’t live front and center in a CRM, it’ll quietly/invisibly power everything behind the scenes.
As channels evolve, so do the tools. We’re seeing consolidation and a changing of the guard for all major channels, from inbound and outbound to lifecycle, events, and ecosystem marketing.
This is the time to be a builder and a creative. New tools mean fewer limitations than ever: carpe diem marketers (I say this jokingly, but also I’m serious).
Legacy tools will have to work harder to keep up even more so than they once did. As interfaces and functionality evolve rapidly, what once felt modern can quickly feel super clunky, especially in categories like CRMs and website builders, where expectations are shifting fast.
Marketing productivity now means adapting and evolving to all of the above, not using the best project management tool. Build the stack that gets you there.
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