{"id":10582,"date":"2025-11-20T18:51:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T00:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/?p=10582"},"modified":"2025-11-20T18:51:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T00:51:51","slug":"the-three-forces-that-shaped-martech-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/?p=10582","title":{"rendered":"The three forces that shaped martech in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I just got back from visiting a friend \u2014 a 9-hour drive each way. As I often do on trips like this, I use the time away from my screens to reflect on whatever is occupying my attention at the moment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as relaxing as sipping a cocktail under a hot Caribbean sun, but it\u2019s still a great way to gain a fresh perspective. This time, I spent much of the drive back thinking about everything that 2025 brought me professionally and personally.<\/p>\n

This year was tumultuous across all industry verticals. Here are three developments that defined our industry this year.<\/p>\n

1. Martech spending remained sluggish<\/h2>\n

Much like 2024, spending on marketing technology stayed stuck in neutral in 2025. It reminds me of the first years under COVID-19, when companies remained in stasis, focusing on keeping the lights on rather than pursuing innovation or expanding martech spending.<\/p>\n

In those stagnant years, many companies learned their tech stacks were obsolete or unable to keep up with the changes those stressful years demanded. They solved their problems by updating their martech stacks, fueling an increase in spending. That uptick didn\u2019t sustain, however. By 2024, the market saw a decline in spending, a trend that continued into 2025.<\/p>\n

Based on market behavior, some companies are not ready to spend. Others upgraded in recent years and are either still implementing their new technologies or are happy with their decisions. It\u2019s hard to figure out which is which without a comprehensive industry survey. But one factor that differentiates 2025 is that we\u2019ve seen more tire kicking this year.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper: Why your martech still feels like a cost center \u2014 and how AI changes that<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Companies are exploring new technologies, integrations and strategies, but they aren\u2019t getting close enough to pull the trigger. The market is still dogged by hesitancy around capital spending. It\u2019s not surprising, but it\u2019s affecting spending across email tech, SEO and the wider B2B industry. That\u2019s troubling because it goes beyond the tech stack. It reflects your program\u2019s structure and sophistication. Even if people aren\u2019t switching platforms or adding new tools, we also aren\u2019t seeing many ask for help.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s worrisome because we all need it. In my 27 years in the industry \u2014 working with one and two-person teams to Fortune 500 firms \u2014 I\u2019ve never met one that couldn\u2019t benefit from a knowledgeable third party. That\u2019s not bragging. It highlights the advantage that an outside perspective can bring.<\/p>\n

Something to think about for 2026 \u2014 when was the last time you asked for help or an objective opinion, one not mired in interdepartmental politics or gamesmanship? Outside resources can accelerate your innovation and program sophistication. Your company might not be open to capex spending, but you can still seek help from outside skilled leadership.<\/p>\n

2. Expansion of AI beyond basic content creation<\/h2>\n

Generative AI has grabbed attention, but it\u2019s only part of the story. AI can do much more. We\u2019re learning how it illuminates the trends and behaviors that influence email performance and helps us make better decisions about planning and resource management.<\/p>\n

It gives email marketers something we\u2019ve wanted for years \u2014 advanced technology we can use in our daily work. We can use AI to analyze and optimize cadence, understand why subscribers disengage and how to retain and re-engage them and produce more informative, insightful reports in less time.<\/p>\n

This last move is major, especially if you don\u2019t have ready access to your data. AI brings email marketers advanced technology we can use at scale, whether it\u2019s synthesizing data into easily understood dashboards for insights and analysis or accounting for bot traffic that can obscure email performance.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also seeing an increase in ethical AI marketing guidelines and conversations at top companies. It\u2019s not just about creating a prompt. It\u2019s about the ethics behind that prompt and whether it crosses an ethical boundary. This conversation will continue because we need more education on marketing ethics.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper: Building AI agents that move from conversation to conversion<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Email technology vendors are embracing leadership in expanding AI beyond genAI. Zeta Global\u2019s recent user conference demonstrated real thought leadership in this area. Athena<\/a>\u2019s rollout could transform the space and accessibility of AI for marketers, as its voice-driven prompts shift the process from query-based decision-making to conversational interactions. This embrace of expanded AI use will carry into 2026 with some exciting possibilities.<\/p>\n

At the same time, we have to acknowledge that AI is not everything. It\u2019s still in its infancy and it won\u2019t solve all of our problems. We need to see this kind of AI leadership across other platforms and vendors. We can\u2019t allow one or two vendors to dominate and define AI use and priorities. Companies that lack a clear vision or practical roadmap for developing tools that advance AI adoption among marketers are rapidly falling behind.<\/p>\n

3. Marketers grappled with uncertainty and instability<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s anything people across the political spectrum could agree on, it would be this \u2014 2025 has been one hot mess of a year. Tariffs were on, off, up and down. Inventory management issues and supply chain challenges added to the uncertainty around consumer spend and overall positioning. Consumer sentiment, like tariffs, ping-ponged between optimism to pessimism.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that I\u2019m getting post-COVID vibes again. Once again, we had to learn how to market in the face of uncertainty. We had to deal with it by juggling operations within our own companies. Beyond that, we had to work with a changing customer base that was sensitive to unstable prices. Some consumers continued to spend freely while others shifted to heavily discounted options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dig deeper: How to lead marketing through economic uncertainty<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the post-COVID years, marketers coped with daily uncertainty and instability by embracing authenticity and consumer education. A new unified approach grounded in that consumer-centric perspective could show us the path we need in these tumultuous times. After all, we can\u2019t change the world. But we can change the part of the world we live in. Unifying our teams around a shared direction can move us forward.<\/p>\n

This takes more than a directive from leadership. It starts with your team. That\u2019s why I always recommend taking time away from work to bond over social activities like drinks or dinner and to celebrate the people who keep things running.<\/p>\n

Inspiring creativity is essential, too, whether it\u2019s coming up with a new email automation or building a new testing program \u2014 so is celebrating success. It\u2019s easy to fixate on failures, but we also need to acknowledge the wins.<\/p>\n

Finding clarity after a chaotic 2025<\/h2>\n

Yes, 2025 was a challenging year. 2026 will be, too. We\u2019re in a new reality for many reasons, from AI\u2019s growing impact to socioeconomic and political change. The marketer\u2019s job is to unify a company\u2019s goals into communication that serves the end user.<\/p>\n

We need to continue tapping into authenticity, not just because customers expect and respond to it, but because it underpins our potential for success. We also need more sophistication, or we risk devaluing our channel by falling back on the same old approach \u2014 sending more email, not better email.<\/p>\n

Our email channel will succeed when we embrace the need to change. That can come through new technology, new practices, a willingness to seek and accept help, and many other paths. No matter what anybody says, marketing is hard. We have to work hard to succeed.<\/p>\n

As we head into 2026, our mission should be to make the email experience different, better and more meaningful for everyone, including our customers. Email marketing is one of the greatest jobs out there. No one can tell our story better than we can. We are the ambassadors. Let\u2019s wear the badge proudly.<\/p>\n

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The post The three forces that shaped martech in 2025<\/a> appeared first on MarTech<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just got back from visiting a friend \u2014 a 9-hour drive each way. As I often do on trips like this, I use the time away from my screens to reflect on whatever is occupying my attention at the moment. It\u2019s not as relaxing as sipping a cocktail under a hot Caribbean sun, but … <\/p>\n

Read more “The three forces that shaped martech in 2025”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"medium":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"large":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-featured-image":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-loop":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-loop@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-masonry":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-masonry@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_cinema":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_square":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-800x452.png",0,0,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}