Much like the agency of record, a technology of record serves as the primary SaaS or software solution used to empower business growth from marketing, advertising and sales strategies. Whether than being “narrow and deep” or “wide and shallow,” technology of record tries to be both deep and wide.
While a technology of record is still an emerging trend, it does come with significant efficiencies for brands to consider – and for agencies to offer.
Transparency and Accountability
One of the benefits of having a technology of record, especially from the boardroom perspective, is that it allows for more effective compliance. The convergence of tools and software into a single platform (not to mention a single brand of device, type of computer, etc.) will not be revolutionized the auditing process any time soon – but it will be making it much easier.
A company with a technology of record always knows where to go for the definitive statement on financial situations and other important details: Because data is broadly shared, there’s far less need to worry about multiple copies of statements with conflicting information, and best practices for one part of the workflow can easily be distributed throughout the workflow to improve the business. Errors are also much easier to trace to their point of origin when using a technology of record.
Training and Adoption
What is the most difficult part of adopting new technology? Sure the initial costs and setup can be stressful, but the real fracture point is with training and adoption: If employees cannot quickly learn to use new software and continue using it effectively, the adoption strategy was a massive failure. This is another particularly notable benefit of offering technology of record: Once employees learn the system, it remains easy to learn new software and tools, because the interface and language remains very similar across the platform.
Alignment
With technology of record brands are probably only working with a single provider: From a marketing perspective, this has a significant advantage when searching for new solutions. The brand’s provider has already worked with the brand in the past, probably already tailored software for the company, and can easily alignment new tools or packages to new needs. Communication can be ongoing, direct, and efficient. Even if companies tend more toward open-source solutions, using a single platform still makes it easier to find sweeping solutions.
Bundle Efficiencies
It’s tricky to make accurate predictions about what sort of bundles a business may need, but a good technology of record will make choosing bundles a more cost-effective process. Additional discounts and deal open up thanks to customer loyalty, and there’s no need to worry about formatting issues or compatibility. Asking specific questions about services and fees is also a faster, more efficient process.
Adaptability
The key point here is that the right technology of record can help a company become more adaptable (as agencies should point out, the wrong choice can have the opposite effect).
With a single platform and provider, make widespread changings to a business process should be a simpler matter. Remember, the primary goal of marketing and advertising technology solutions is (or at least should be) to increase productivity and drive efficiency to maximize ROI, while fueling business growth.