Throw a stone in any direction, and you’ll hit a new or improved marketing technology (martech). The number of available martech tools ballooned by a third between 2023 and 2024, reaching 14,000+ products, so today’s total is likely far higher. Options are helpful. Exponential options are not. So, if you’re a marketing leader in healthtech and life sciences and already wrangling with increasing complexity, it’s helpful to know what your peers have put their trust in.
That’s why we analysed hundreds of websites for our free report: Toolkit - Marketing Technology Census - Healthtech and Life Sciences. The goal wasn’t to crown the ‘best’ tools, but to surface the trends and trade-offs shaping the sectors’ martech preferences. In this article, we’ll share five key takeaways from the report.
(If you want to hear the key takeaways directly from our CEO, Matthew Stibbe, you can watch his webinar based on the report below.)
Google Analytics still dominates, but there’s a strong uptake of privacy-first alternatives like Matomo (previously Piwik). As AI-driven analytics become the default, concerns around HIPAA, GDPR and data residency are rising, especially in relation to AI model training.
In healthtech and life sciences, analytics choices increasingly reflect diminishing risk appetite as much as reporting needs. It also indicates a growing tendency to lay trust in proven challenger brands that can commit to stricter AI policies vs. corporate monoliths.
WordPress remains the most widely used content management system (CMS) across the sectors. Its flexibility and open-source roots make it attractive, especially for early-stage companies. But widespread adoption can mask hidden costs:
For marketing teams expected to move faster with fewer resources, CMS decisions need to be more strategic. Scalability and security should be core factors in the buying process.
Salesforce and HubSpot are close competitors in the customer relationship management (CRM) space for healthtech and life sciences companies. The more interesting story, however, is how expectations of CRMs have evolved. These platforms are now ecosystems, with CMS, automation, reporting, customer portals and compliance tooling rolled into one.
We’re not shy about our HubSpot affinity, so it’s our only CRM recommendation for several reasons, including speed, usability, faster ROI and a buffet of native tools with built-in compliance. You’ll find all the pros for healthtech and life sciences in our full report.
Only a minority of the sites we analysed use dedicated user experience (UX) or conversion-rate optimisation (CRO) tools like Hotjar, Unbounce or Crazy Egg. That’s a missed opportunity in complex buyer journeys. When you’re trying to persuade diverse buying committees including clinicians, procurement and executives, traditional funnels and marketing intuition isn’t enough.
Heatmaps, session recordings and A/B testing can help teams in these sectors replace internal debate with evidence and design journeys that work for real users, leading to real uplift in conversions.
All six of the customer support and live chat tools in our census, including the most popular, Zendesk, emphasised being ‘AI-powered’ or having AI features. It’s everywhere in martech offerings and messaging. Applied intentionally, AI can improve responsiveness, scale service and reduce pressure on teams. But a scattergun approach risks hallucinations, compliance breaches and loss of trust.
Healthtech and life sciences teams need iron-clad due diligence when evaluating AI martech tools, looking out for:
If you want more detailed insights and expert recommendations from the Articulate Marketing team, you can download the full report: Toolkit - Marketing Technology Census - Healthtech and Life Sciences. Alternatively, you can watch the webinar recorded by our CEO, Matthew Stibbe.