Quick tips to Migrate your data to a new Marketing Automation Instance

One of the most tricky projects for a marketing department is the migration to a new Marketing automation tool. The reason for this can be multiple but one of the most common is due to companies wanting a more robust and scalable system as the marketing process became more complex. The amount of work and requirements for migration could be overwhelming and you must have everything in place before the license has expired in the old Marketing automation tool.

Here are some key aspects to take into account once you decide to migrate to the new instance:

Database

It’s a good opportunity to think about what kind of contacts, fields, and activities you want to preserve. A migration always is a good call to ride off of bad data, for instance, Contacts that you do not want to engage anymore with them, and this could save your budget (most of the MA software charge based on the amounts of contacts stored). Be aware that if you decide to migrate the activities (opens, clicks, etc) you must have a clear understanding of both APIs and its limitations in order to migrate these activities as custom activities to your new instance.

Marketing Assets and campaign workflows

It’s probably that you have used many kinds of different programs and assets, for your marketing programs, it is a good idea to think about which campaign flows and assets you will need in your future marketing efforts. Based on this you can start creating templates for your upcoming programs and the emails, forms, CTA´s and landing pages on your new instance based on the programs that you choose to migrate.

User Configuration

There are two important things to have in mind in addition to creating the new users, timezone configuration, etc.. Make sure to authorize your support Contacts, this way you can create tickets to support and don´t forget to Customize your URLs with a CNAME for brand your landing pages with your company domain.

Deliverability and website tracking

You have to work very closely with the support team of Marketo to successfully comply with the requirements to set DKIM and SPF, this is critical in order to be sure that you are delivering content to your contacts (not in the spam) and prevent them from being enrolled in blacklists.

Channels and Lead scoring

You might think about what are the channels that you would use to connect with your prospects, are you using only traditional channels or do you need personalized channels? This way you can get most of your reports in order to track which are the ones who generate more Leads and drive to sales. Additionally, it is a good chance to optimize and update your lead scoring.

Integrations:

Don´t forget about setting the integrations that you commonly use in your marketing efforts, some of the most common are with CRM, social media, and webinar providers. This could be a hard task so be prepared. It seems that there are a lot of things to do but don't be afraid to migrate to a new marketing automation system. With the right scope, inventory, and process you will be at the right time and to the promised land.