Are you one of the 83% of marketers who replace at least one aspect of their MarTech stack each year? Even if you don’t replace your MarTech this frequently, chances are you’ve experienced how difficult the transition can be. From campaign disruptions to measurement and reporting lapses, MarTech migrations can be daunting – but they don’t have to be. 

During a recent webinar, our Strategic Services Leader Darryl Bolduc outlined five simple steps that can help you tackle your next migration with ease. Here, we’ll outline these steps at a high-level, but for a deeper dive, watch the webinar on-demand.  

Step 1: Assess 

Once you’ve decided that you want to upgrade your MarTech stack, and you know what the goals of this upgrade will be, the initial step is all about assessing the impact it will have on your business. What will a new solution help you achieve that your current tech can’t? What capabilities do you need in order to accomplish your goals? Are there any downsides to replacing your current solution?  

Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks. The capabilities, scale, channels, and efficiencies of a solution should outweigh the costs, needed expertise and training, potential redundancies, and risks that may be involved.  

Step 2: Evaluate 

Once you’ve determined that an upgrade is worthwhile, the next step is evaluating vendors. Due diligence is essential and an agreed upon process among your key stakeholders can make a difference. Be sure to use trusted resources when researching potential vendors. Forrester Wave reports, Gartner Magic Quadrants, and even G2 reviews can be helpful – these resources are highly regarded and in the case of Forrester and Gartner, unbiased.  

Creating a table that outlines vendors and their key capabilities – including functionalities that are must-haves and nice-to-haves – can be a handy tool. These functionalities should serve your business goals and be executed easily. Once you’ve narrowed down your list, you can begin product demos.  

Step 3: Select 

At this stage, you’ve done your research, seen product demos, and had one-on-one conversations where you’ve asked vendors specific questions related to your business goals. With the information you have available, select the vendor whose capabilities will help you achieve these goals in a reasonable timeframe. Marketers are under pressure to prove marketing ROI, so selecting a vendor that can help you realize goals quickly will be critical.  

Step 4: Prepare 

The penultimate step is preparing for your migration. The migration is no small undertaking, and you’ll need a systematic approach to your new build. Organization is key – each project should incorporate all the interdependencies involved. Migrating your data means migrating your lists, segments, imports, extracts, integrations, and much more.  

A full understanding of your organization and internal processes can make this step easier. And an efficient and organized migration means faster and better means to execute on the KPIs that the new solution is intended to meet.  

Step 5: Migrate 

Finally, it’s time to move! To best migrate to the new solution, assign a project manager. This isn’t going to happen overnight, and a project manager can keep your teams on task and on schedule.  

One of the keys to a successful migration is doing things right the first time. In other words, be smart about each small detail: your folders, naming conventions, and how you organize. Getting even the smallest of details right at the start will make your life easier in the long run. Needing to reorganize later will be a massive undertaking – do it right the first time.  

And when in doubt, ask your solution provider. Tech providers not only want you to use their solutions, but they also want you to succeed. Reach out to your account manager with any migration questions. 

Conclusion 

Adopting a new solution is challenging, but continuous improvement is core to every successful organization. So the best thing to do is be prepared and thorough. Go through help articles, use tutorial videos, and share information with your team. Sooner than later, your new solution will result in positive ROI.  

For actionable insights that can help you evaluate MarTech providers, download our step-by-step guide and vendor evaluation form here.