Observed Signal · Jul 20, 2026 · Analysis · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Customer Experience Market: CX Stacks Fail Despite Record Martech Spend, Data Shows
Organizations are spending record amounts on marketing technology, yet customer experience (CX) is deteriorating. Citing Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index, the article reveals that 36% of software licenses go unused, wasting an average of $19.8 million per year per organization. Business units control 81% of software spend while IT manages just 15%, creating a governance vacuum. Gartner's 2025 survey found only 49% of stack tools are actively used. Salesforce research shows 55% of customers feel they deal with separate departments, and 56% repeat information to different reps, making disconnected experiences the top customer frustration. The article advocates for feature-level audits, activation before acquisition, measuring the 'toggle tax' (employees switch apps ~1,200 times daily), building a single customer truth, appointing a single stack owner, tying renewals to outcomes, and reporting stack health to the board.
Highlights significant waste and governance gaps in martech stacks, backed by industry data from Zylo, Gartner, and Salesforce, providing strategic guidance for CX and marketing leaders.
Wichtigste Kernpunkte & Evidenz
- Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index found 36% of software licenses unused, wasting $19.8 million per organization per year.
- Business units control 81% of software spend; IT manages only 15%.
- Gartner's 2025 Marketing Technology Survey found only 49% of stack tools are actively used, and 15% of organizations qualify as high performers.
- Salesforce research shows 55% of customers feel like they're dealing with separate departments, and 56% repeat information to different representatives.
- Harvard Business Review found employees toggle between applications about 1,200 times a day, losing nearly 9% of their working year.
Verknüpfte Unternehmen
4 verknüpfte UnternehmenZylo
Enterprise-Plattform für das strategische SaaS- und KI-Ausgabenmanagement in Großunternehmen.
“Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index found organizations leave 36% of software licenses unused, wasting an average of $19.8 million per year....”
Gartner
Ein führendes Forschungs- und Beratungsunternehmen für IT- und Business-Entscheider in Unternehmen.
“Gartner’s 2025 Marketing Technology Survey calls it a quiet crisis: only 49% of tools in the stack are actively used....”
Salesforce
Globale Enterprise-SaaS-Plattform für CRM, Marketing, Daten, Analytics und automatisierte Workflows.
“Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer research measures the gap precisely: 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across dep...”
Deloitte
Globales Beratungs- und Managed-Services-Netzwerk für die digitale Transformation von Großunternehmen.
“Independent analysis citing Deloitte found 44% of marketing stacks go completely underutilized....”
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