Build vs. Buy: Which Is Better For Experiential Marketing Software?

Creating brand buzz, registering people for your event, qualifying leads, gathering on-site insights, alerting dealers, and personalizing communications are all table stakes for experiential marketing software.

When working well, the right experiential marketing software connects events' digital and physical aspects to create a customer journey that guides people down the sales funnel. It should also be quick, easy to deploy, scalable, integrated into existing tech stacks, and budget-friendly.

But with so many options available, the age-old question arises: should you build your own experiential marketing software or buy a pre-built solution?

It’s a question many brands and agencies wrestle with. Let's address the debate by reviewing several key considerations you can think about.

Define Your Needs For Experiential Marketing Technology

Before delving into the buy vs. build debate, it’s crucial to clearly understand what you need from your experiential marketing software.

1. Core functionality

What are your current challenges? Are you struggling with on-site efficiency, data capture, speed to lead, or personalization? Defining these issues is the first step. 

For instance, if your digital forms fail without a stable internet connection, this might be a manageable problem for your internal team. 

On the other hand, if you're still collecting data using pen and paper, it’s likely time to consider a more robust, vendor-provided solution that can streamline and automate these processes.

2. Integration requirements

For any marketing software, integration with your existing systems is a must.

If both technologies can’t connect, leads will be lost, customer journeys will be broken, and revenue will be impacted.

That means finding out what will work efficiently with the existing tech and if marketing solutions can be layered into it by your in-house team or if a vendor needs to be sourced. 

Example:

Table stakes for any marketing technology is alerting retailers to event leads in as close to real-time as possible. But if that alert can’t be tracked within the existing CRM, it will cause data confusion and make quantifying event ROI inefficient for marketers.

3. Assess Scalability

While you’ve got problems that need to be fixed now, you can’t ignore the future. 

Is the solution you’re looking at going to be able to grow with your marketing initiatives? 

Do you think the product/IT team can build a robust enough software solution? Or can the vendor you like scale its solution? 

The goal is to grow the business overall, and your goal is to grow the marketing team. 

Example:

What if it’s a single auto show today, then the auto show circuit + test drives in three years, then the auto show circuit + test drives + golf tournament activations in five years? Although an internally built solution may handle one or two events, the right solution has to scale with your organization’s growing needs.

4. Evaluate security and compliance

Data security and compliance with regulations such as GDPR or CCPA are non-negotiable.

Whether you build or buy, your software must adhere to the highest security standards. A vendor’s expertise in this area can be invaluable, but if you build in-house, ensure your team has the necessary knowledge to protect sensitive customer data.

Analyze Costs of Buy vs. Build

Cost is always a major factor, but it’s not just about the initial cost. You need to consider the total cost of ownership over time, including time and resources.

5. Capital expenditure

If you buy or build experiential marketing software, you will incur a capital expenditure. The question is how best to spend the money.

Build questions:

1. Assuming in-house expertise, how will you account for labor hours, impacts on other projects and ongoing maintenance?
2. How will building impact your OpEx or headcount now and down the line?

Buy questions:

1. Do you need everything now, or can you add it incrementally?
2. Are vendors doing what you want today and what you might want tomorrow?
3. What kind of customer service do you need?

The most important thing for marketers is that software solves your problems rather than create more problems. Tech moves fast, so you know what you’re getting into, how the software will adapt as needed, and who’s responsible for making that happen.

6. Faster time to market

What’s the opportunity cost of waiting? Top vendors have solutions they can deploy in a week or less. Building the same capabilities will take time. Are there stopgaps to use in the interim?

Buying a solution is the right path to capitalize on an event next month. If you’ve got a short-term solution, can wait, and have the resources and expertise, you can likely build a solution.

But know this: Speed to lead is how you beat the competition. Whether next week, next month or next year, marketing technology that does what you need it to do is important today. Speed may not seem a big factor initially, but it'll become very important when following up on leads after a trade show or event.

Assess Your Resources

Understanding your internal resources and expertise is crucial in this decision-making process.

7. Evaluate your expertise 

Does your product or IT team have the skills and bandwidth to develop and maintain a robust experiential marketing software solution?

If not, building your own solution could lead to delays, additional costs, and potentially an inadequate solution. It’s essential to be realistic about what your team can achieve within the given timeframe and budget.

8. Evaluate vendor expertise 

When considering vendors, treat the process as you would any major investment. Ask about their experience, customization options, support services, and how they handle scaling and updates.

A thorough RFP process can help you identify the right partner to deliver a solution that meets your current and future needs.

Consider The Long Term

Long-term flexibility, maintenance, and total cost of ownership are critical factors that will impact your decision.

9. Flexibility and customization

As your brand or agency grows and its live marketing strategy changes, how important is having control over the software? 

For instance, when you go from running a single activation at any one time to multiple. Will the software you employ have the capacity?

The build scenario

You theoretically have total control and the ability to make changes—assuming you retain the needed in-house expertise. Of course, any work will also raise OpEx questions and concerns. 

The buy scenario

You have very little control. Yes, your vendor’s development team might do its best to meet your changing needs, but there’s no guarantee that they will be willing or able to do so. It might also mean further investment.

10. Maintenance and updates

Software requires regular updates and maintenance to stay current and functional. Ideally, it’s also cutting-edge, which means regular updates to set the pace for competitors, adapt to new hardware, etc. Marketers need their software working; every lost lead is a potential lost sale.

The build scenario:

Everything is done in-house by your product and/or IT teams. That might also mean hiring contractors for bigger projects, which is an added expense. Simply put, owned and operated software is an ongoing project.

The buy scenario:

You don’t have to worry about the above because they’re not your problems. But — and it can be a big but — you do have to worry about unexpected expenses, the vendor letting things slide, going out of business, etc. 

11. Total cost of ownership

How will building or buying software impact the bottom line now and in the future?

The build scenario

This is undoubtedly the more resource-intensive solution. For most brands and agencies, it’s out of reach because of the resources needed to get the software up and running and updated. Unless the plan is to monetize the software by becoming a vendor yourself, the building is probably more trouble than it’s worth.

The buy scenario 

The biggest pluses are known costs and proven tech — which are pretty big. There are many different tools and apps at your disposal; you can probably find one that fits your needs.

The best part? If you choose one and it can’t do what it promises or your needs change, you can always buy another software.

Final thoughts

Can a company whose first and No. 1 job is to sell things like cars, boats, insurance or cereal successfully develop and build a software system itself? Of course. Amazon did it with AWS, but Amazon had nearly endless resources.

Just like you wouldn’t ask a software developer to design a marketing campaign, it’s probably best to leave the tech to the experts. That means it’s in the best interests of most brands and agencies that need to upgrade their marketing initiatives to buy their software.

If you want to explore the possibilities of experiential marketing software for your company, then reach out to us at Limelight for an initial call.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary benefit of buying experiential marketing software over building it?

The primary benefits are speed to market and proven reliability. A purchased solution can often be deployed quickly, allowing you to capitalize on upcoming events without the delays associated with building software in-house.

How do I ensure the experiential marketing software I buy will integrate with my existing systems?

Integration should be a key criterion when evaluating vendors. Look for solutions designed to work with your existing CRM, email marketing tools, and other platforms. Request case studies or references to verify their integration capabilities.

What are the hidden costs of building experiential marketing software?

Hidden costs can include ongoing maintenance, the need for additional hires or contractors, and the potential for delays if your in-house team lacks the necessary expertise. These can add up quickly, making building more expensive than initially anticipated.

What should I look for in an experiential marketing software vendor?

Key considerations include the vendor’s experience, software flexibility, ease of integration, customer support, and ability to scale with your business. A thorough RFP process can help you identify the best fit.

How important is customization in experiential marketing software?

Customization is important if your marketing strategy requires unique features or integrations. However, if your needs are more standard, a less customizable but more robust off-the-shelf solution may be sufficient.