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Scott Brinker, CTO of Ion Interactive has just released version 3.0 of his “marketing technology landscape supergraphic,” and it’s an eye-popper. In this latest version, Brinker identifies 947 companies who offer various tools to marketers (Brinker even admits that the “graphic is not comprehensive. It is just a sample”).

That’s a lot of tools!

Granted, there is a tremendous amount of crossover, but even when broken down into the 43 categories across 6 major classes as Brinker does for us, when does it become too much?

The Two Real Issues Are…

1. The graphic clearly demonstrates the vast and thriving ecosystem for marketing tools. This is actually good for the marketing professional. We are in need of excellent tools and with 947+ companies competing for users, there are going to be a lot of great ones out there. Additionally, all that competition is going to be great for innovation. However…
2. How does the professional marketer make a choice? Clearly, there are far too many tools for anyone, or even any entire department, to adequately evaluate all of them. So how to choose? The answer is actually easy; hire an experienced marketing strategist, like me! (Hey, it’s just a little shameless plug. After all, I wrote the post).

To be sure, even I am familiar with only a handful of these tools, but there are two advantages:

1. I already use a well-developed and effective tool set for my clients.
2. I’ll keep an eye on the landscape for you, identifying useful tools and features as they gain traction.

So there you have it; work through 947, or work with One (1 – me!).

Oh, and don’t forget to connect with me TODAY via the links at the top of the page.