What Is a Martech Stack, What Tools Go in It, and How to Choose the Right Fit
The six main tool groups in a martech stack, from analytics and CRM to automation, content and ads, with a small business example stack and how to choose without overspending.
A three-person marketing team at one company uses almost ten tools. Customer data sits partly in Excel, partly in LINE OA, partly in the online shop's back office. At the start of each month someone spends two days pulling numbers together for a report. The problem is not too few tools. It is that the tools were never chosen to work together.
What is a martech stack?
Martech is short for marketing technology. A martech stack is the set of marketing tools a team uses together to attract customers, collect data, communicate and measure results. The word stack signals that these tools should connect as a system, with data flowing from one to another, rather than each living alone.
The six main tool groups
1. Analytics and measurement
Shows where people come from, what they do on your site or app, and whether they buy. Widely used examples are Google Analytics and dashboard tools such as Looker Studio or Power BI. This is the foundation of the stack, because if you cannot measure, you cannot decide anything else.
2. CRM
Keeps customer data and contact history in one place so sales and marketing see the same information. Examples include HubSpot or Salesforce for larger businesses. A small business can start with a well-designed Google Sheet.
3. Marketing automation and messaging
Sends messages automatically based on customer behaviour, such as welcome emails or abandoned cart reminders. In Thailand, LINE OA is a key channel many businesses use alongside email.
4. Content and creative
Tools for creating and managing content, such as Canva for graphics, website platforms like WordPress, and AI writing assistants, whose output always needs a human check before publishing.
5. Ads and social media
Ad platforms such as Meta Ads, Google Ads and TikTok Ads, plus tools for scheduling posts and tracking comments.
6. Data and integration
The layer that moves data between tools, such as automation connectors like Zapier or Make. Large organisations may add a CDP or data warehouse to unify all customer data.
Example stacks by business size
Online shop or small business
- Google Analytics with Looker Studio for measurement
- LINE OA for messaging and broadcasts
- Google Sheets as a starter CRM
- Canva for graphics and Meta Ads for advertising
Business with growing sales and marketing teams
- A proper CRM shared with the sales team
- Automation connected to the CRM to message customers by stage
- A combined dashboard pulling data from ads, website and sales
How to choose tools without overspending
- Start from the problem, not the tool: write down what wastes the team's time most
- Check integrations: does the new tool connect to what you use, and can you export data?
- Trial before paying yearly: use the trial on one real piece of work
- Ask who will own it: tools without an owner get abandoned within months
- Check personal data rules: collecting customer data must comply with Thailand's PDPA. Consult a legal professional if unsure
A good stack does not have many tools. Every tool has a clear job and they talk to each other.
Watch out for
Do not buy a tool because a competitor uses it. Do not run several systems that do the same job. And be careful relying on AI content tools without review, since the output can be wrong or off-brand. Review your stack every six months for tools you pay for but nobody uses.
How to start
- List every tool the team uses, with its cost and owner.
- Sketch how customer data flows between tools and where work is manual.
- Pick the single biggest time sink and find a tool or connection to fix it.
- Cut duplicate tools.
Read more on CRM for marketers and marketing automation basics, or browse courses from our learning partners on digital marketing.