The right marketing automation software can help marketers streamline various tasks, boost their overall efficiency, draw key insights and drive ROI. But not all marketing automation software is created equal. Too often, marketers find themselves using multiple tools and platforms to achieve goals that could be resolved with a single, all-encompassing platform. It’s great to have an array of tools at your disposal, but when it comes to marketing automation, less is more.
It’s no secret that migrating your marketing automation platform is an undertaking. It can be daunting to consider the logistics involved with effectively executing a platform migration, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Fortunately, you can take a number of measures to ensure that migration goes smoothly. Follow these 6 steps to make sure your transition is quick and painless.
1. Define your goals
If you’re reading this, you know full well the complexities and considerations that come with migrating marketing automation platforms. With that in mind, the most critical first step to implementing a successful migration is defining your goals for the transition.
Never switch marketing automation for the sake of switching. Assess the needs and aspirations of your marketing team to make a thoughtful decision that will benefit your business in the long run. Your marketing team’s goals will play a critical role in the process of selecting a new marketing automation platform and structuring your migration strategy.
2. Select the right platform for your business
Selecting a new marketing automation software is a critical decision that requires careful consideration; choose right, and you can transform your marketing team’s ability to meet and surpass their goals. Identifying what’s not working in your current platform will make it easier to select a new platform that better meets your needs.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of better marketing automation software is its ability to save time. In marketing, saving time will empower you to do more with a limited staff and budget. If you’re looking for a platform that will effectively scale as your business grows, we recommend choosing an all-inclusive software that offers plentiful integrations, like HubSpot. Utilizing an all-encompassing automation platform can help you optimize your lead nurturing process, boost efficiency and ultimately drive greater return for your marketing calories spent.
3. Establish a realistic timeframe
We won’t sugar-coat it: migrating marketing automation platforms can be a lengthy process. That's why so many marketing teams are hesitant to pull the trigger, despite being aware that their current platform isn’t cutting it.
While you can identify a migration timeline, there may be unexpected bumps in the road. But remember, it will all be worth it once your shiny new marketing automation system is up and running and contributing to ROI. Approaching the process with a flexible mindset and focusing on long-term benefits will help keep your migration successful and stress-free.
4. Prepare to reconfigure your processes
If your current marketing automation platform is outdated or hyper-focused on one marketing function, it’s likely that there are processes or structures that will work differently in your new platform. For example, if you are using an automation platform that specializes in email marketing but you’re transitioning to a more comprehensive platform like HubSpot, the email automation functions will be structured differently within this larger platform.
To make matters trickier, some elements may stay the same but their naming convention or locations will change. Identifying these small nuances ahead of time will make all the difference when you’re dealing with more pressing concerns deeper into the migration process.
Save yourself from frustration and conduct some research on the way critical functions and names will translate from your old platform to your new one. Doing so can help your team prepare to adjust your strategy and processes so that you can jump right back in once the migration is complete.
5. Prioritize your data
Sure, data is a marketer’s best friend, but not all data is necessarily useful forever. If your current platform is storing old data from past initiatives or campaigns that are no longer relevant to your current or future strategy, it’s okay to leave it behind for the sake of saving time and resources.
It is essential to remember that the more you choose to migrate, the longer the process will take. It can be tough to part with your data, but you’ll save yourself a great deal of time in the long-run. Being decisive about the data you choose to transfer will help streamline the migration process, save time and drive efficiency.
6. Consider leveraging a strategic partner
If you’ve reached the end of this article and are still wary of migrating your marketing automation platform, don’t panic. You don’t have to undertake this engagement on your own. Recruiting the help of a partner like New Breed can take the heavy lifting out of migration and provide clear guidance for post-migration actions and utilization strategies.
Marketers know better than anyone that data is precious. By leveraging migration experts to help your team safely move data from one platform to another, you can provide peace of mind to your stakeholders, ensure that no data is left behind and structure your new platform for optimal use and marketing results.
Additionally, by allowing a strategic partner to take the reins on a migration initiative, you don’t have to halt your ongoing marketing engagements. In turn, your marketing team up will be freed up to focus on what’s most important: driving revenue.
Best of all, the right partner can help you do much more than simply move data from one platform to another. At New Breed, our migration process addresses the full lifecycle of a marketing automation migration, not just the transfer of data. We'll work with your team to ensure successful migration of key business processes and data and set you up for long-term success.
During this time, our automation experts will guide you through setting up all the vital elements of an inbound campaign upholding inbound best-practices, so you can see the most return for your marketing automation investment.
The Takeaway
When choosing a marketing automation platform to purchase, there's a lot to consider. Request a free HubSpot demo to learn how to make smarter marketing automation choices, execute a seamless migration process and achieve greater functionality, transparency and organizational alignment.
