When you first launched your business, I’m sure you put plenty of thought into the technology you needed: the right CRM, a way to manage leads and sales, marketing tools, and systems to keep you and your team communicating effectively.
It was the right setup for the business you had then, but a few years have passed. Your business has grown, your needs have changed, and some of those systems haven’t had the same attention.
I see this quite often when I’m out talking to business owners, and it’s completely understandable. There’s rarely an obvious reason to review software that still works when everyone is busy. The trouble is that technology has moved on considerably in that time, and there are almost certainly better ways of doing things that you haven’t had the chance to explore.
Why good tech falls behind
There’s a name for this: Martec’s Law – the gap between the rapid pace of technological change and the much slower pace at which organisations can adapt.
I believe Martec’s Law is already affecting many businesses, and those that aren’t there yet soon will be. I see it in AI, of course, but just as often in employee engagement, internal comms, marketing systems and CRM. The software available in each of those areas today can do things that would have been a real struggle just a few years ago, and the businesses making use of it are already pulling ahead of competitors who haven’t looked.
None of that means chasing every new development just for the sake of it. It means knowing whether your current setup is still helping you work as effectively as it could.
What we’ve learned lately on the road
We’ve been out on the road a lot since my last email, visiting Cambridge, Birmingham, Hull, York and London to sit down with business owners and go through their audits face to face. Honestly, it’s been one of the best things we’ve done this year. You learn far more across a table than you ever will over email.
Some business owners have discovered tools they didn’t know existed. Others have realised that software they’re already paying for could do much more than they’d thought. Either way, they’ve come away with a clearer picture of what’s available and where there’s room to improve.
One visit really stuck with me. We went back to see a client whose audit had identified a genuine use case for not one, but two of the solutions we work with. They decided to take on both, and when we caught up with them, they were already feeling the difference.
That’s the part I love about this job, and it’s not simply about making a sale. It’s about helping a business run better, giving honest advice and supporting them through the change, and the audit itself didn’t cost them a penny.
There’s plenty more of the road show to come, and next month we’ve got a bit of a clash on our hands. The Business Show at ExCeL London and the BFA Annual Conference in Telford both land on 12 November, so Alan Wilkinson and I are splitting up our usual double act and tackling both. I’ll be at ExCeL for both days of the show, 11 and 12 November, while Alan W heads to Telford.
If you’re at either of them, please do come and say hello and have a chat about all your tech needs.
Can’t make either? No problem. Schedule Call to book your free tech stack audit, and let’s find out whether your systems are still keeping up with your business, or whether Martec’s Law has already got there first.
