Darrell Alfonso - The Martech Handbook: Build a Technology Stack to Attract and Retain Customers

In an era of increasingly complex go-to-market strategies, Darrell Alfonso has helped capture some fundamentals that every Marketing Operations and Martech professional needs. Whats more, its an incredible resource for leaders to wrap their minds around the complex (and ever changing) landscape of Marketing Technology.

Mike Rizzo, CEO, MarketingOps.com

Digital marketing has forever changed how businesses operate. Having personally experienced much of this transformation as it was happening, I can tell you the Martech Stack will continue to expand and evolve as technology, channels, and strategies change. This book is masterfully written and a great blend of current practices, and whats next for Marketing teams.

Nick Bonfiglio, CEO and Founder of Syncari

Darrells deep knowledge in how Martech really works in an organization, paired with a thoughtfully researched historical context and visionary foresight into where its heading makes this essential reading for the seasoned or beginner marketing technologist alike.

Juan Mendoza, Founder and Editor, The Martech Weekly

To be successful in marketing requires an understanding of how marketing technology is used to create the customer experience and to acquire, engage, and retain customers. With this book Darrell Alfonso has made the complex world that is the marketing technology industry accessible and delivers a comprehensive guide to help companies deploy and manage an effective technology strategy. This is a must-read for anyone in marketing or the C-Suite.

Anita Brearton, Founder and CEO, CabinetM

Bible to all marketers. Martech is an integral part and lies at the center of any Marketing organization and all Marketing leaders must have a basic grasp and understanding of Martech. This book is the bible to understanding bringing the right Martech and the right people to orchestrate the strategy and the tools together.

Jessica Kao, Director, F5 Networks

The explosion of Martech in the last decade is a phenomenon that is defining potential and future of marketing as a profession and a discipline. If youre in any way interested in Martech, and what it means for your career in marketing, this book is a must-read.

Joel Harrison, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, B2B Marketing & Propolis

Today, every business is a digital business where consumers are in control of the buying experience. Yet, while marketing technology is foundational to building your brand and growing your business digitally, most senior leaders dont understand Martech. Which is why this book is essential, as it enlightens us on how we leverage the power of marketing technology now and in the future.

Cassidy Shield, Chief Growth Officer, Refine Labs

The Martech Handbook is a must for every modern marketer. With the acceleration of digital transformation in the world there has never been a more important time for marketers to build their knowledge and capabilities in Martech. This book provides a deep dive on the core principles of marketing technology success including stack design, gaining stakeholder Martech buy-in and developing robust marketing operations governance.

Carlos Doughty, Founder and CEO, Learning Experience Alliance

Marketing is now thoroughly a technology-powered discipline. To thrive in todays environment, marketing organizations need to develop strong, mature marketing operations and Martech capabilities. You couldnt ask for a better guide to achieving than Darrell Alfonso, a pioneering Martech industry leader and marketing ops pro. The Martech Handbook is a treasure map to world-class marketing in an age of digital transformation and beyond.

Scott Brinker, Editor, chiefmartec.com

This is chalked full of real-world advice to unlock the value of Martech. A must-read for any marketer thinking about or in the throes of using tech and tools to run marketing like a business.

Scott Vaughan, Go-to-Market and Martech Strategist

This book is dedicated to Janet, and my family, Etchell, Angelita, Edmund, Phillip and Andrew.

Darrell Alfonso is an award-winning marketer and Martech professional. He was named one of the top Martech Marketers to Follow in 2020, won the Fearless Marketer award in 2018, is a 2X Marketo Champion, and is a certified Salesforce Administrator. He has consulted for several Fortune 500 companies including General Electric and Abbott Laboratories and currently leads marketing operations at Amazon Web Services where he helps empower hundreds of marketers to build world-class customer experiences. He is a frequent speaker at Martech events, and regularly posts thought leadership content on LinkedIn and Twitter.

I have a fabulous, fruitful, and exciting career because of Martech. I would argue that it is the same for top marketing professionals everywheretheyve been able to create amazing marketing value because of marketing technology. I was first introduced to Martech in my first job working for a tech startup in 2010. We were marketing and selling a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that helped businesses engage customers via new digital channels. I didnt think of it as Martech at the time. In my mind, we were helping businesses grow through the use of software, technology, and platforms.

But I became fascinated by how interwoven marketing and technology had become. As with many who work in the startup life, I talked to literally hundreds of customers, from small businesses to enterprises. I quickly noticed that the more I learned about marketing, the more I saw how technology could be used to make it better. And it became increasingly clear that in todays digital economy, marketing and technology could no longer be thought of separately. Today, it doesnt make sense to think about marketing in a silo and to isolate it from all the digital channels and touchpoints that customers experience when they engage with brands. Doing so would be incredibly abstract, and be void of all the practical things required to make marketing a reality. Conversely, to only think about technology is also a trap, because youll miss out on all the strategic and creative value that humans bring to creating meaningful customer experiences. Technology without creativity is like using an inefficient energy devicewed input ten units of energy and get two units as the output. But combining the two ideas togetherthe creative with digital; and the strategic with automationcreates incredible value, and thats what I really love about marketing technology.

I have worked in marketing and Martech roles for several years, initially at startups and mid-size companies before moving to my current role at one of the worlds leading organizations. In each role I have leveraged marketing technology to enhance customer experiences and drive tangible business results. When it comes to smaller companies, Martech helps the business acquire new customers faster. It allows teams to be agile, and to continually test new strategies to optimize for the best possible outcomes. For mid-size companies, Martech can help solidify a companys position by connecting sales, marketing, and customer success to support continual revenue growth. Martech reveals which programs are the most effective, and how to constantly surprise and delight your customers. For large enterprises, Martech can help thousands of employees create value for customers in every region of the world, in a scalable, compliant, effective way.