Ready-made marketing connectors

Ready-made marketing connectors are built-in links, supplied by the vendor, to common marketing, sales and advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads and a CRM, so data flows in without custom code. For example, you choose Google Ads from a list, sign in, and campaign figures appear in your reports. Databox, Looker Studio and Tableau are among the tools that offer this.

Writing and maintaining connections to each platform takes developer time, and they break when the platform changes its interface. Ready-made connectors move that work to the vendor. They matter most to marketing teams without developers. If the tools you use are missing from the list, the connector count means little.

• Ask for the list of connectors and check that the platforms you use are on it.
• Check which fields and how much history each connector brings in.
• Find out how often the data refreshes and whether that is fast enough for you.
• Ask who maintains the connectors when a platform changes, and whether some are third-party or paid extras.