Many companies start their digital marketing with a single tool – be it a content management system for the website or a CRM for managing customer data. And that’s perfectly fine. But the more complex the requirements become, the clearer it becomes: A single system can never cover all tasks.
Why? Because the requirements in modern marketing are diverse and highly complex. Managing customer data, maintaining content, presenting products, personalising communication, controlling campaigns, measuring results – each of these tasks has its own technical requirements. And suitable systems with a specific focus have been developed for each of these requirements. A CRM is not a DAM. A shop is not a PIM. And a CMS is nowhere near enough to perfectly orchestrate a customer journey.
For the individual solutions to work together efficiently, a well thought-out system landscape is required: a modular architecture of specialised marketing tools that are connected to each other via interfaces and interact like a well-coordinated team.
Marketing systems: An overview of the most important system types:
Below we present the central marketing systems that come together in a modern tool landscape – each with a specific focus and purpose.
- CMS (Content Management System):
Platform on which websites are operated and content is managed - DAM (Digital Asset Management):
Centralised image, media and asset management for all digital content - Online shop:
Technical basis for e-commerce – from the product page to the order - CDP (Customer Data Platform):
collects and standardises customer data from all sources for personalised marketing - CRM (Customer Relationship Management):
System for managing customer relationships, sales activities and service processes - PIM (Product Information Management):
Manage, maintain and enrich product data for shops, websites and more - ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning):
Controls central business processes such as warehousing, logistics, purchasing and accounting - Marketing automation:
Systems that automatically execute communication in various channels (e-mail, WhatsApp, …) based on customer actions - Analytics:
Tracking, reporting and dashboards such as Google Analytics or business intelligence tools
How marketing tools talk to each other: APIs explained in an understandable way
Imagine five people are in a room – each of them speaks a different language. An interpreter is needed to ensure smooth communication. In digital marketing, this is the API – an “application programming interface”.
An API ensures that two systems can exchange information, even if they are structured differently. The flow of information is not a one-way street: a CMS can retrieve images from a DAM via an API, a PIM can transfer product information to a shop, a CRM can forward contacts to a marketing automation platform. All of this happens fully automatically and in real time.
The result: instead of isolated data silos, a continuous flow of information ensures maximum networking. The systems work together, not side by side.
This is what collaboration looks like: typical system flows
So much for the theory. Four typical scenarios of sophisticated system landscapes from our day-to-day consulting work show how it works in practice:
Use case: AI, CMS and PIM interacting for better support
Everyone is talking about AI at the moment – but how can it be used effectively in day-to-day marketing? An example: A medium-sized company would like to offer an intelligent support function on its website. It uses this:
- Product data from the PIM,
- explanatory texts from the CMS,
- and an AI-based chat function that recognises user questions and suggests suitable content.
The AI analyses the question (“How do I install product XY?”), searches the CMS for suitable instructions and adds technical details from the PIM. The result: a quick, helpful answer – without editorial effort and with high relevance for the user.
Your start: Roadmap instead of patchwork
If you’re now thinking: “That sounds good, but everything here is rather piecemeal” – don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many marketing departments work with established structures and systems that only talk to each other to a limited extent.
The key to success? A clear plan. That’s why we at schalk&friends start with a technology strategy workshop that analyses the current landscape, identifies potential and creates a roadmap for the integration and further development of your marketing technology. The goal is a system landscape that not only works technically, but also has a real impact – in line with the company’s goals, your brand and the respective customer needs.
Conclusion:
Marketing technology is not an end in itself, but the key to modern, efficient and customer-centred marketing. To achieve this, the marketing systems must work together – and not against each other.
We help you to turn technical solutions into visible successes.
Request a technology strategy workshop directly here.
Marketing systems: Why a single system is often not enough – and how your system landscape becomes a success factor.
