Why You Need To Conduct SaaS and MarTech Audits

When was your last SaaS or MarTech Audit?

MarTech audits are crucial for identifying unused tools and stopping budget leaks in marketing departments. When was the last time your team fully utilized that CRM system to its fullest potential?

Most marketing departments are bleeding budget through unused tools and forgotten subscriptions. Marketing Technology Tools (MarTech) are designed to help optimize every aspect of your marketing efforts.

But too often, teams pay for tools they don’t use.

This is why marketing departments need to conduct SaaS and MarTech Audits.

Too many tools are paid for never to be used again.

But what exactly are SaaS and MarTech Tools?

SaaS tools are software as a service. This is software that you access via subscription service through a cloud. SaaS tools are found in every business department from Finance to IT, to HR, the list goes on.

MarTech on the other hand is a category within the SaaS environment that specifically focuses on marketing. These are the tools that help plan, execute, automate, analyze, and optimize all of your marketing efforts.

Think of it this way: all MarTech tools are SaaS because they’re subscription-based and cloud-delivered. But your SaaS budget may also be loaded with tools your marketing team barely uses or that were never really meant for marketing in the first place.

The SaaS Trap: Easy to Buy, Easy to Forget

When I was a kid, there was an infomercial on TV whose tagline was, “Set it and forget it.” Unfortunately, when it comes to SaaS subscriptions, it’s the same kind of vibe as that long ago commercial.

Your team gets a new tool. For a while, everyone is very excited to use it. Then the hype dies down and 1 of 2 things happen.

• People move on to a new shiny object and forget about the old shiny object.
  Many tools have overlapping functionality that goes unnoticed. So, your team starts using the new tool, without realizing the old one is already doing most of what’s needed.
• Alternatively, your team doesn’t like the tool because now they have to be accountable for their actions, so they resist using it. This is common with CRM systems and sales teams. Without management pressure to hold them accountable, the tool goes unused.

Meanwhile, most subscriptions have an auto-renewal, meaning if you’re not paying attention the renewal slips through the cracks without anyone noticing.

And businesses keep adding tools and driving up their marketing budgets.

How this Works in Real Life

If you’ve been following the news recently, you have most likely heard about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that is uncovering waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.

To date, they have found the following SaaS waste at the federal level (Source: Grok):

Small Business Administration (SBA) (8,000+ employees):

• 17,580 unused ServiceNow licenses, costing over $2 million annually.
• 10 software products with licenses exceeding 10,000, far beyond staff needs.

General Services Administration (GSA) (13,000 employees):

• 37,000 WinZip licenses, vastly over-provisioned.
• 19,000 training software subscriptions, many unused.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):

• 35,855 ServiceNow licenses, only 84 used.
• 11,020 Adobe Acrobat licenses with zero users.

Social Security Administration (SSA):

• 4 redundant survey tools costing $118,000 to $1.8 million annually.
• 20,600 Tableau licenses, only 11,560 used.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) (2,500 employees):

• $370 million in planned 2025 IT spending, with about 80% ($296 million) deemed savable without service loss.

Small Business Waste

So how does this work for a small business? Maybe you’re paying for a social media scheduler to manage four different social media channels, but you only post content twice a week on each one.

Or, a business owner might be paying for a robust CRM system, like Keap (formerly Infusionsoft), when a simpler, free solution could meet their needs.

Chances are, in 60% of cases, we can find subscriptions that aren’t being properly used or utilized and can be scaled down or eliminated.

Whether you are the federal government or a solopreneur, if you are using SaaS and MarTech tools, there is a high probability you are wasting money on unused or underutilized services.

How to Fix It: Audit, Align, Eliminate

So how do we fix the problem? We use a three-step process. We audit, we align and we eliminate.

• Audit – Take inventory of all current tools, their costs, and who’s actually using them. Don’t forget to check your invoices for any tools that are no longer relevant.
• Align – Match tools to your marketing team’s actual goals and workflows. This is where you find those overlaps.
• Eliminate – Cut redundancy by sunsetting rarely used platforms. Consolidate wherever possible, and only keep the tools that serve a clear purpose.

We also recommend implementing a quarterly review of all marketing expenditures. Review each subscription due for renewal in the next quarter, giving you time to renew or cancel within the appropriate timeframe.

Less Is More in Marketing Technology

At the end of the day, less in more in your marketing tech tools. Choosing subscriptions that are intentionally thought out and used delivers a better return on investment.

Marketers (and to a certain extent, executives) need to treat MarTech tool adoption with the same scrutiny as budget allocation. This means performing MarTech audits.

If your MarTech tools feel more like a junk drawer than a toolbox, it might be time for a strategic audit. Let’s talk.

Angela M. Insalaco is the Founder and President of Strategic Tactics Consulting Group, LLC (STCG). With over 20 years of experience, Angela helps businesses identify waste in their marketing budgets and reallocate those dollars into high-converting tactics.

Follow Angela on LinkedIn, and X for insights on optimizing marketing spend.

Copyright 2025 Strategic Tactics Consulting Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Written by Angela M. Insalaco