Marketers must remain vigilant and agile to avoid unnecessary disruption. A case in point, the recent announcement that Yotpo will be sunsetting their email platform. While the announcement included information that existing customers would be auto-migrated to a partner platform, that does not mean the incumbent platform will be a fit for everyone. Beyond this unexpected scenario, there are any number of reasons why a business can feel compelled to change marketing automation providers. This can range from the inability of the platform to scale with the business, feature-set deficiencies, integration issues, or simple TCO and ROI considerations.
Migrating to a new marketing automation platform can be a complex process. A successful migration requires careful planning, cross-team coordination, and an eye for both technical detail and strategic opportunity. This checklist is designed as a reference to help guide your migration journey, from initial preparations through the migration itself, and on to post-migration optimization. By following these steps, your organization can mitigate risk during the transition, minimize disruptions, and maximize the potential of your marketing technology stack.
Marketing Platform Migration Checklist
Before You Migrate
- Align with all affected teams on the project plan, schedule, and requirements for migration. Include secondary teams such as:
- Sales
- IT
- Analytics
- Customer Success
- Take inventory of common data objects for your marketing platform:
- Contact Data
- Company/Account Data
- Sales Data (for revenue attribution and RFM modeling)
- Engagement Data (for historical reference)
- Product Data (for personalized recommendations)
- Catalog connected systems and integrations, including:
- CDP
- ecommerce
- Analytics
- CRM
- Ads
- DAM
- Inventory content assets for each channel, such as:
- Copy and creative
- Journeys
- Automations
- Segments
- Leave unnecessary data or assets behind.
- Create an IP warming schedule based on your contact database volume to preserve sender reputation.
- Review your customer lifecycle and RFM models. Note any needed adjustments to thresholds or milestones.
As You Migrate
- Configure GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy, consent, or industry-specific regulation requirements in the new platform.
- Train your team on the features and usage of the new platform. Consider using the IP warming phase as a training window.
- Monitor deliverability metrics during IP warming to ensure successful activation; adjust as necessary.
- Prioritize campaign configuration/import based on early activation needs. Once IP warming is complete, activate campaigns in the new platform and sunset them in the legacy platform on a rolling schedule to avoid disruptions.
- During IP warming, run ad-hoc campaigns in parallel to compare performance and maintain continuity.
- After IP warming, ensure all ad-hoc campaigns are sent exclusively from the new platform.
After You Migrate
- Assess new features and opportunities available in your new platform, such as:
- Channel Activation
- Enhanced Analytics and Performance Opportunities
- Revenue Attribution & Modeling
- RFM Calculation
- Additional Integrations (CDP, CRM, ecommerce, analytics, organic/paid social, etc.)
- Update documentation to reflect any new processes, methods, or changes within the new platform
- Conduct change management with any secondary teams
- Validate any integrated platforms and data to ensure flows are functioning as expected
From platform implementation to run and operate, we can provide expertise and insights at every stage of the marketing automation program. Connect with us to learn more.