Let’s face it: Many marketers are skeptical that advertising technology (adtech) actually integrates with marketing technology (martech). And you’ve got good reasons to be.

For so long, adtech and martech have been separated and siloed. This wasn’t a problem, because everything used to be about channel marketing. But now, customers expect a more holistic, omnichannel approach. If you want to have a 360-degree view of your customers, you need to integrate your channels.

Your business doesn’t need to abandon channel marketing. However, you do need to adopt a multichannel, integrated approach to marketing. This can be difficult for some organizations, but it's not impossible. Integrating adtech and martech systems is the right place to start.

When you integrate your adtech and martech systems, you'll uncover data that can fuel great customer experiences. Here are three simple steps you can take to start integrating today. 

1. Get your people together

You can’t integrate your disparate adtech and martech systems if your teams aren’t aligned. To bring your technology and data together, you first need to bring your teams together. 

Many marketing and advertising teams do not share an integrated technology stack. These teams are usually siloed and communicate rarely. They may have never discussed their technology systems or data storage methods. Now's the time for these teams to start talking and finding a data integration solution. 

Finding a solution for adtech and martech integration takes more than one conversation. This needs to be a series of conversations at different levels of your organization. This way, everyone can get clear on the data they have.

To do this, start with a meeting between your major stakeholders. They'll determine your ultimate goals for merging adtech and martech. Then, you should develop a full integration strategy. Make sure that both teams communicate their goals and identify opportunities for collaboration.

2. Take inventory of your data

Once your teams have aligned, it's time to start figuring out where your data is. To do this, you will need to take data inventory across your advertising and marketing teams. Since your teams may not have worked together before, there may be a lot of investigating to do. 

Within each team, only a few people might know very much about their tech systems. Those people might not be easy to identify at first, but don't stop trying. Start by investigating customer data from email engagement, loyalty programs, and commerce or point-of-sale. You may also be able to ask relevant teams for click data, ad campaign data, segment data, and web analytics.

Keep in mind that some advertising and marketing teams don't track metrics. Unfortunately, they may not be able to share data on the performance of past campaigns. Some valuable data may have been lost to time. But, there’s a good chance there’s still plenty of useful data out there for you to find. To track down extra data, reach out to external partners and advertising agencies. They may be able to help you get your data under one roof.

3. Get technology that can do both

To unify technology systems and leverage your data, you need to break down channel data silos. It may seem right now like all you have is silos of semi-lost data. But, with consistent communication and collaboration between your teams, integration really is possible.

Find your company's first-party data. Then, figure out how your separate adtech and martech systems work. Finally, look for a technological system that combines them both. To deliver personalized multichannel customer experiences, you need to unify your data. Those experiences are the future — and you should make sure the future can start as soon as possible.

Top marketers take data integration seriously. Fifty-three percent of high-performing teams have unified their adtech and martech data sources. With integrated data systems, you can generate a 360-degree view of your customers. With this information, you can personalize your marketing and create great customer experiences.

Unified data can help you find new customers, engage your target audiences, and increase ROI. Want to learn more? Take the Optimize Data, Audiences, and Digital Advertising Trail on Trailhead.