Martech, explained · Working together · 1:41
How to draw your martech stack
Five layers that make a martech stack diagram everybody reads the same way
The short answer
A martech stack diagram has five layers. Draw each tool as a box named by its job, each integration as a line pointing the way data travels, label what moves along it, mark how often it runs, and name who holds each tool. Where your stack has them, add zones: what runs on warehouse time, what answers in the moment.
Questions this answers
Why isn't a row of logos enough?
It looks tidy and explains almost nothing: it shows what you bought, not how data moves between the tools or who holds them.
What should each line on a stack diagram say?
What moves along it (events, profiles, segments, scores) and how often it runs: in the moment, in minutes, in hours or once a day. A line with no label is a guess.
Do I have to draw zones?
No, but most real stacks have them: what runs on warehouse time, what has to answer in the moment, which teams sit on each side, and the handoff between them.
Transcript
Every chapter as text. Click a time to play the film from there.
0:00 Intro
Most stack diagrams are a row of logos. They look tidy, and they explain almost nothing.
Start with the tools. Draw each one as a box, and name it by the job it does, not just the brand on the invoice.
Then the integrations. Draw a line for each one, pointing the way the data travels.
Now say what moves along each line. Events, profiles, segments, scores. A line with no label is a guess.
Then how often it runs: in the moment, in minutes, in hours, or once a day. That one detail settles most arguments about real time before they start.
Next, put a name on every box: who holds it day to day. A tool nobody owns is the one that breaks without anyone noticing.
Last, the zones. You don't have to draw them, but most real stacks have them. What runs on warehouse time, and what has to answer in the moment? And which teams sit on each side, and what is the handoff between them?
1:15 The whole method
That's the whole method. Tools, integrations, what moves, how fast, who holds it, and, if you use them, where the zones split.
1:26 Draw yours
Draw yours at Martech Stack Builder, for free, or learn more about each piece there.
Because let's face it… a diagram without context is just a prettier slide.
Read more
The articles this film is drawn from.