The platforms marketers are replacing–and the reasons why they’re replacing them–are changing. That’s at least according to MarTech’s Replacement Survey 2022.

That’s not a surprise for a couple of reasons:

1. Many marketers responded to the pandemic by shifting budgets away from some tactics (i.e. in-person events) and into ABM: A recent HubSpot study found that 4.5x marketers (70%) reported executing an ABM program in 2021 versus 2020 (15%).
   
2. The landscape has matured. In the past year or so, a couple of ABM platforms have boasted enormous growth and emerged as category leaders, while others have plateaued and/or shrunk. As marketers evolve from COVID-instigated ABM pilots to long-haul pillar programs, many are shirking their first platforms for ones they want to keep.

With economic anxiety reaching a fevered pitch, many more marketers are switching to new marketing technology because they can better prove a return on their investment. The cost-conscious group grew 1.5x year-over-year, now making up 50% of all respondents. It’s a focus as business leaders prioritize profit over unbridled growth: In a recent post, I shared research from Gainsight Software which found that businesses and their investors have recently put top-line KPIs behind ones such as the Rule of 40.

Relatedly, more marketers are seeking open and integrated platforms. The cohort jumped in size over the prior year by an amount comparable to that of those seeking provable ROI. 54% of respondents cited integration as a reason for making a change to their martech stack in 2022. As marketing leaders face freezing or shrinking headcount, they’ll have fewer resources for coping with systems air gaps: better-integrated platforms will help.

Marketers reported a couple of technology trends in 2022 that were notably similar to their responses in 2021. Once again, more marketers (25%) are replacing their automation and/or CRM systems than they are any other technology. Marketers can gain leaps in performance by upgrading the backbone of their marketing operations, so that isn’t surprising. (Thoughts and prayers for the 1 in 4 marketing programs enduring the transplant.)

Interestingly, most marketers aren’t in any hurry to replace their identify resolution platforms. Just 1 in 10 said to be doing so–roughly the same amount as last year. You’d think with Google soon shoveling the last soil onto the grave of the third-party cookie, marketers would be dumping providers who are sleeping on the change. Maybe we’re all collectively holding our breath.