Beyond the stack: How top CMOs are turning MarTech bloat into pipeline performance 

Many CMOs are sitting on millions in underutilized MarTech while campaign cycles drag, attribution stays murky, and credibility in the boardroom erodes. The stack isn’t broken. But the way we run marketing? That might be.

One hard-earned truth I’ve picked up over the years: Investing in best-in-class tech doesn’t mean your team will actually use it the way it was intended. If your team lacks the skill, will, or capacity to activate it, even the most advanced stack underperforms.

That’s why despite what looks like the “right” tech on paper, most enterprise teams struggle to activate it. Campaigns stall. Sales blames marketing. And CMOs are left defending their function instead of accelerating impact. 

Most large marketing teams are tapping into only 33% of their MarTech stack’s capabilities. That’s not inefficiency. That’s value left on the table. The problem isn’t the tools. It’s the gap between strategy, skills, and systems—the connective tissue that turns potential into performance. 

What tool sprawl is really costing you

There are now over 14,000 MarTech software apps on the market at last count in 2024. Without clear governance and alignment, many organizations fall into a trap of accumulation over activation. Signs of stack sprawl include: 

• Campaigns that take months to activate 
• Platform features sitting idle quarter after quarter 
• Disparate metrics that erode trust in reporting 
• Sales feedback loops that break down before leads convert 
• Internal teams reworking what should’ve been done right the first time 

With marketing budgets down to 7.7% of company revenue, this isn’t sustainable. And it’s more than operational friction—it’s a strategic risk to speed, security, team morale, and marketing’s influence at the executive table. 

How high-performing CMOs are rewriting the playbook 

A lot of what we’ve been told about running modern marketing just doesn’t hold up. Let’s set the record straight. 

Myth	Reality
“We just need to optimize the stack.”	Stack optimization without org design = shelfware.
“Our agency will handle it.”	Most agencies can’t execute inside your systems or your business logic.
“Let’s hire more specialists.”	Talent alone can’t fix structural drag. You need a different operating model.
“AI will fix this.”	Layering AI on broken processes will amplify dysfunction. You need clean data, cross-functional fluency, and tight orchestration.

Top CMOs aren’t adding more tools or more headcount. They’re flipping the model. Here’s how they’re unlocking results without burning out their teams: 

• From silos to hybrid fluency. Rather than hiring more specialists, they subscribe to cross-functional teams fluent in both the brief and the backend, combining strategy, data, and automation into a single line of execution.
  
• From waterfall planning to agile pods. Teams sprint together across functions, share KPIs, and prioritize outcomes over hierarchy.
  
• From tool-first to systems-thinking. The stack becomes an orchestrated capability layer, not a graveyard of unused features.
  
• From external agencies to embedded expertise. Execution-ready partners work inside the ops layer—moving fast, staying aligned, and delivering value from day one. 

This isn’t about doing more with less. It’s about doing less of what doesn’t move the needle and aligning every role, tool, and process to what does. 

What it takes to build a high-performance marketing ecosystem 

Turning your stack into a performance engine starts with the right foundation. These are the core pillars to consider. 

Optimize the stack 

• Audit utilization rates across platforms 
• Eliminate redundancies, streamline what’s core 
• Prioritize tools that ladder to business objectives 

Build the right talent model 

• Upskill for hybrid fluency 
• Subscribe to embedded specialists who deliver value from day one 
• Align skills with how work actually gets done 

Align marketing ops with RevOps 

• Govern data integrity, campaign flow, and reporting rigor together 
• Create shared accountability across systems and functions 

Measure what matters 

Shift focus from volume to impact: 

• Campaign velocity 
• Platform utilization 
• Attribution clarity 
• Revenue contribution by tactic or persona 

With the right structure around the stack, performance becomes predictable and marketing earns its influence. 

What makes 2X different 

You don’t need another vendor. You need capability that slots into your ops layer and delivers results, without adding complexity, overhead, or noise.

That’s where we come in. 2X embeds cross-functional marketing teams directly into your ops model—people who get both strategic intent and platform execution.

We don’t bring theory. We bring lift. With 2X, you get hybrid marketers fluent in strategy and systems, faster campaign velocity and tighter sales alignment, AI-enabled workflows and processes that scale without friction and embedded execution, not external disruption.

Let’s make your stack perform. 

You’ve already made the investment. Get in touch and we’ll help you pinpoint where performance is being lost—and how to get it back.