Known State

Independent martech and customer data advisory

Make the right call on
martech and customer data.

Known State helps marketing, data and technology leaders get more from existing platforms, decide when change is justified, and select and deliver the right solution with evidence.

Discuss a decision

00 / Position

The licence is only the visible cost.

A poor platform decision can become implementation rework, brittle integrations, duplicated data and capability, manual work, slow adoption, contract lock-in and another migration before the first investment pays back.

Before introducing another platform, Known State establishes whether the constraint is technology, data, integration, process, skills, capacity or ownership.

01 / Decision signals

Recognise the decision you are facing.

Independent advice becomes useful before commercial momentum narrows the available choices.

01

Value has stalled

The platform is live, but adoption, data quality or operating overhead is limiting what teams can achieve.

02

Renewal is approaching

A commercial deadline is forcing a decision before the current investment has been properly challenged.

03

Selection is starting

Use cases and required evidence need to be defined before vendors begin shaping the evaluation.

04

Delivery is drifting

Implementation decisions are moving away from the business case, priority use cases or original assumptions.

02 / Expertise

A capability gap is not always a product gap.

Known State starts with the stack you have and works where customer data, marketing platforms and operating models meet.

Customer data & CDP

Collection, identity, profiles, audiences, governance and activation across packaged and warehouse-native architectures.

Marketing automation & engagement

Lifecycle strategy, journeys, messaging, personalisation and the operating model needed to execute.

Data activation & integration

Customer-data flows, reverse ETL, real-time activation, and source and destination design.

Architecture & operating model

Platform boundaries, target architecture, internal skills, ownership and build-versus-buy choices.

The right solution may be packaged, warehouse-native, composable or hybrid. The choice depends on use cases, data foundations, internal skills, governance and operating model.

03 / Engagements

A defined engagement, with a decision at the end.

Start with the problem in front of you. Each engagement has a clear purpose, working shape and set of decision outputs.

04 / Approach

Vendors know their platforms. The buyer must own the evaluation.

Good evaluations are collaborative. Strong vendors contribute expertise, challenge assumptions and say no when an approach will not work. Informed by experience across hundreds of platform evaluations from the vendor side, Known State keeps the process anchored to the buyer's objectives, priority use cases, material risks and required evidence.

  1. 01

    Diagnose

    Define the outcomes, metrics and priority use cases, then establish what is preventing them today.

  2. 02

    Shape

    Derive the required capabilities and decide whether to optimise, consolidate, extend, build or replace before selecting a supplier.

  3. 03

    Validate

    Written responses establish coverage, not fit. Confirm what is standard. Demonstrate what matters. Prove what is uncertain.

  4. 04

    Realise

    Carry evidence and assumptions into design decisions, acceptance criteria, governance and measurable benefits.

05 / Working together

Independence is a working standard.

The buyer's objectives, evidence and commercial interests stay at the centre of the work.

Known State standard
  • No referral fees or reseller margin
  • Material vendor relationships disclosed
  • Recommendations traceable to evidence
  • Commercial and platform information handled confidentially
How does Known State remain independent?

Known State's advisory model is client-funded. It will not resell platforms or accept referral fees. Any material commercial relationship or conflict is disclosed before work begins, and recommendations are traceable to the buyer's objectives and evidence.

Do we need to be buying new technology?

No. Optimising, reimplementing, augmenting, recontracting or retiring the current platform can all be valid outcomes. A market evaluation is recommended only when the evidence justifies it.

When should we engage Known State?

Before a renewal, market evaluation or RFP begins, when platform value has stalled, or when implementation is drifting from the business case. Earlier involvement creates more room to shape the decision.

Can you work constructively with vendors and delivery partners?

Yes. Good vendors contribute expertise and challenge weak assumptions. Known State keeps requirements, evidence and decision criteria anchored to the buyer while making space for productive vendor collaboration.

How are engagements structured?

Focused reviews and selection engagements have a defined decision, scope and set of outputs. Retained advisory is usually two to four days a month for a minimum of three months. The shape is confirmed before work begins.

What happens in the first conversation?

A confidential discussion about the decision, its timing, the stakeholders involved and what has already been tried. No preparation is required, and the conversation does not place you on a mailing list.

06 / Resource

Marketing automation · Guide 03

Your marketing automation platform is probably not the problem

Why trusted data, contact governance, deliverability, quality assurance and ownership matter more than another platform feature.

Read the guide

07 / Contact

Deciding what your customer stack needs next?

Start with a confidential conversation about the decision, its timing and what has already been tried.

Discuss a decision hello@knownstateadvisory.com