This Valentine’s Day, marketers may be declaring their love for martech, but many admit the relationship is far from simple. New research from SALESmanago, the leading AI Customer Engagement Platform, reveals that over half (61%) of marketers love their current martech stack. However, almost all (92%) feel overstacked with too many tools, and 99% are planning to simplify their stack this year.
Overstacked and overwhelmed
The survey of European marketing decision-makers across UK, Poland and Italy shows that while martech remains central to delivering personalised customer experiences, rising complexity, costs and maintenance demands are pushing teams to reassess their technology relationships. Over half (59%) are actively planning to cut or consolidate tools in 2026, while a further 40% are considering doing so. Pressure to prove ROI (34%) and complexity and maintenance overhead (31%) are the leading drivers behind these plans.
Half of marketers cite complexity and maintenance overhead (50%), slow execution (50%) and high total stack costs (50%) as their biggest pain points. Only 42% feel they have full control over the end-to-end customer experience, while 52% report only limited control. Almost all marketers (92%) now say they feel overstacked with today’s martech environments.
Personalisation is key
Despite these challenges, marketers still see clear value in their stacks. Reporting and insights (36%) and straightforward onboarding (33%) are the most-loved features, while 96% say their martech tools give them confidence in the quality of their personalisation. This confidence is driven by ease of testing and optimisation (38%) and access to real-time or near real-time data (35%).
Phil Draper, CEO at SALESmanago, commented: “Martech is central to how modern teams drive personalisation and growth. Marketers still believe in its value, but our research shows many are reaching a tipping point. They don’t want to break up with their technology, they want it to be simpler – fewer disconnected tools, lower costs and faster execution. The next phase of martech isn’t about adding more to the stack. It’s about bringing data and experiences together, simplifying day-to-day operations and being able to clearly prove real ROI.”
Looking ahead, marketers say their relationship with martech would improve most with faster execution and onboarding (35%), better unified customer data (35%) and fewer, more integrated tools (28%). This is signalling a shift away from sprawling stacks towards simpler, connected platforms.