Part 1 of 3: The Saturation of ‘Marketing Automation’

Introducing the Composable Marketing OS: Why ZEPIC Exists—A Three-Part Series

Marketing Automation. 

Customer Data Platforms. 

Customer Engagement Platforms. 

Journey Orchestration. 

Customer Experience Platforms.

Together, these categories attract more than 100K searches per month. They dominate analyst reports, vendor comparisons, RFP checklists, and marketing teams’ budgets. Every marketer uses at least one of these platforms, and more than 430 tools already compete to win mindshare in these boxes.

So the question is obvious: Why build something new in a space that already feels full?

And why introduce a new category, “a composable Marketing OS”, instead of riding the wave of existing mindshare?

People who follow the economics of business know that when categories mature, when the buzzwords blur together, and when tools start solving the same problems the same way, it’s a sign. A sign that a shift is already underway.

And that shift has fundamentally changed the way marketing works.

The Old World: Built for the App Era

For the last decade, the platforms that defined marketing automation were all architected for the mobile-app era (could quote examples here, but I’m sure it already rings a bell). Their core logic assumed that customers lived inside apps and websites, and that the most important thing a marketer could do was track every event: app opens, push clicks, page views, email actions, cart activity.

Their superpower was automation. Send the right message at the right time based on user behavior.

It worked beautifully… for that era.

But it also created an unintended blind spot: an obsession with behavioral triggers and engagement metrics, instead of actual business outcomes.

Engagement went up, but margins didn’t.
Messages increased, but intelligence didn’t.
Every click triggered a campaign, even when it shouldn’t.

Those systems were built for a world that no longer exists.

The Market Has Moved. Intent Has Moved.

Today’s consumer journey doesn’t happen inside your app.

Discovery happens on Instagram. Comparison happens on Amazon. Clarification happens on WhatsApp. And increasingly, research happens on AI, “best sunscreen for oily skin,” “top running shoes,” “which laptop to buy for design work.”

The shift is dramatic and measurable:

• 47% of global digital purchases happen outside brand-owned stores.
• According to a forecast by eMarketer, sales through U.S. retail marketplaces (i.e. marketplace-model ecommerce, not just brand-owned stores) are expected to reach $603.2 billion by 2027, which would represent 34.8% of total U.S. retail e-commerce sales. 
• According to Mint, 73% of purchasing decisions in India are influenced by online marketplaces.

Intent now forms in places legacy tools cannot see. By the time a user lands on your website, the decision is almost already made.

Traditional platforms built around website clicks and email behavior simply cannot understand or act on modern intent. And, they still function on incomplete signals. 

• A customer abandons their cart so the system pushes a discount. 
• A VIP customer raises a support ticket but still receives a “thank you” reward because the system only sees lifetime value, not live frustration. 
• A shopper clicks a product but doesn’t buy so they’re retargeted endlessly, even though Instagram DMs show they’re waiting for a size that’s out of stock.

They are automating without reasoning.  Predicting without context. Engaging without awareness.

Behavioral data tells you what happened, but not why it’s happening, or whether it should trigger an action at all. 

So, yes, these apps convince you about timely engagement, segmented users, and retention. But, do they deliver?

Giving you some space to ponder. See you in Part 2.