Why a “House of Brands” matters in MarTech buying
Table Of Content
Jean-Claude Pitcho
VP Global Sales QNTM Group
Recently, I asked one of our key Clients (a company generating over €1b in revenue):
“why did you implement Raptor platform on top of Ibexa platform?” (both brands belong to QNTM)
I was very surprised by his answer: instead of delving into tangible product or performance considerations, he emphasised the trust he had built with his contact at the first platform he had implemented.
This showed me that non-technical and intangible factors like basic trust play major roles in the decisions of MarTech buyers. This is because they commit their organisations – and their own careers – for long periods of sometimes ten years. This also compelled me to explore the relationship that exists in MarTech between the decisions of the buyers and the brand equity of the vendor.
We have already explored the innovative model of MarTech composability and aggregation, highlighting key areas of differentiation and benefits for clients.
A MarTech Aggregator like QNTM Group offers an array of composable MarTech platforms designed to work seamlessly together, along with a business integration layer that streamlines procurement, contracting, implementation, and both technical and commercial support.
Today, we delve into an often-overlooked aspect:
The role of branding in MarTech aggregation and its influence on buying decisions.
A few branding questions for the MarTech buyer
How should a MarTech Aggregator present its branding? Should it unify all components under one corporate identity, like large suites? Or should it maintain distinct brands for each component, as seen in best-of-breed approaches?
Quick answer: Neither! A MarTech Aggregator should adopt a “House of Brands” strategy that balances clarity and trust.
Brand equity vs. digital experience
Brand equity is more than a name, it’s a powerful driver of customer trust and purchasing decisions. Nielsen defines brand equity as a combination of brand loyalty (including referrals) and pricing power (premium a brand can command).
According to Gartner and Accenture, digital experience is a major factor influencing brand equity, driving up to 80% of brand loyalty and allowing brands to justify a 15% price premium. For MarTech products, entirely digital by nature, this relationship is even more pronounced.
DYNAMICS OF BRAND EQUITY
Consequences for a MarTech buyer
If digital experience directly impacts brand equity, then branding significantly influences MarTech purchasing decisions. But MarTech buying isn’t a one-person process. According to McKinsey, up to twelve stakeholders may be involved in selecting a complex MarTech platform.
Who are the MarTech buying personas?
Two broad stakeholder groups participate to MarTech buying decisions.
1. Business stakeholders (CMOs, CDOs, CCOs)
These stakeholders usually prioritise tangible product attributes:
- Ease of use: no-code or low-code demos to show marketer-friendliness;
- Scalability: strong architecture and infrastructure performance;
- Agility & customisation: bespoke POCs showcasing product flexibility;
- Implementation: size & skills of ecosystem of implementation Partners.
2. Finance & IT stakeholders (CFOs, CIOs)
These decision-makers usually focus on non-tangible aspects:
- Economic performance: total cost of ownership (TCO) and ROI;
- Security and compliance: data protection, regulatory alignment (e.g. with GDPR), compliance with cybersecurity rules and norms;
- Sovereignty: geographic sourcing and operational transparency;
- Long-term reliability: platform stability and vendor support.
Can you evacuate bias when you evaluate
non-tangibles attributes?
Non-tangible attributes are difficult to assess without hands-on experience, which creates a mandatory reliance on external reinsurance sources for the buyer: client testimonials, analyst reports, and partner advice. However, this external reliance introduces strong potential biases: analyst subjectivity, partner incentives, geographical influences, or personal relationships.
How can a MarTech Aggregator facilitate unbiased buying?
A clear branding strategy helps MarTech buyers make rational, transparent, and confident decisions by:
1. Providing clear individual branding for components
- Ensures product attributes remain visible and distinct.
- Helps business stakeholders assess performance, usability & security.
2. Guaranteeing best-in-class component integration
- Reduces friction by ensuring components work seamlessly.
- Provides IT & finance teams with security & compliance reassurance.
When different expectations from distinct stakeholders must be met in parallel, a “House of Brands” is a strategy that has already been tested and proven.
Where have we seen House of Brands work before?
MarTech isn’t the only industry that integrates individual components to create seamless, consistent solutions. In the technology industry, computers manufacturers must assemble chips from different suppliers. In hospitality, hotel chains must deliver a consistent experience across multiple resorts and countries.
A House of Brands has proven to reassure buyers about the quality of both individual components and the overall solution.
Technology:
The “Intel Inside” branding highlights the core chip component, assuring PC buyers of its quality, regardless of whether the computer is manufactured by Dell, Lenovo, HP or under another brand.
Hospitality:
The “Global Hotel Alliance” loyalty program covers 40 hotel brands across 100 countries, creating a sense of consistency and trust. Guests can anticipate with confidence their next experience, whether they are staying at a Kempinski, Marco Polo or Discovery hotel.
House of Brands at QNTM: composability in action
At QNTM, we make MarTech solutions work better together. Our House of Brands approach to MarTech Aggregation ensures each of our brands retains its unique value, expertise and innovation while seamlessly integrating into a cohesive system. This gives businesses the freedom to choose the best tools for their needs without compromising interoperability or efficiency.
Composability isn’t just a concept, it’s a practical strategy to reduce complexity, speed up implementation, and maximise ROI. By keeping our brands strong and integration seamless, we give MarTech buyers flexibility and confidence to make smarter decisions, without incurring damageable vendor lock-in.
For example, tangible reinsurance attributes we deliver include:
- Native integration for hyper-personalisation of experience;
- Consistent data models for facilitation of dataflow automation;
- Opted-in, GDPR-compliant data collection for quality assurance;
- Legal compliance and sovereignty for data, code, and support.
- TCO & time-to-market analysis for objective financial evaluation.
What are the benefits for MarTech buyers?
With a House of Brands, components are fully transparent to buyers, avoiding the penalising “black box” effect; this transparency significantly lowers decision and implementation risk for clients, as MarTech buyers gain:
- Rational and unbiased decision-making: clear decision “territories” can be assigned to buying stakeholders, their decisions can be objectively built;
- Simplified decision processes: these decisions can be constructed on a “per component” basis, whilst overall solutions can be phased in gradually;
- Reduced project risk: implementation efforts can be distributed among several service providers, thereby allowing test, iteration and improvement;
- Long-term trust partnership: the vendor becomes more accountable and adaptable, as it engages in a long-term strategic perspective with its Client.
Final takeaway
For MarTech buyers, a House of Brands enhances clarity, flexibility, and trust. These are essential elements for making rational, scalable, and future-proof decisions. As MarTech continues to evolve, this approach ensures that buyers are empowered, not overwhelmed, by the technical solution.
Jean-Claude Pitcho
Jean-Claude Pitcho is a Vice President at QNTM, a group of MarTech companies embracing this shift towards aggregation by offering best-in-class platforms that work seamlessly together to create total customer solutions. These solutions can include data collection, customer data management, customer experience, online commerce, marketing automation and push notifications: everything that is needed to improve conversion rate, top line and bottom line.