Platform migration is no small feat. You not only have to get buy-in from key stakeholders and executives, but you have to document the entire process and standardize all of your data to increase efficiency and avoid derailing anything in the works. There are technical aspects, personnel aspects, functional aspects and more. A platform migration can quickly turn into a can of worms that’s impossible to reseal.
To help combat the difficulty of platform migrations, we recently published The Cross-Channel Marketing Platform Migration Guide—a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of what to consider when migrating to a new marketing platform. But, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of information jammed into that one guide. We still recommend you use it, share it, bookmark it, etc. but if you’re looking for a skimmable breakdown of the guide, you’ve come to the right place.
In this first installment of the Platform Migration series we’ll explore the first section of The Cross-Channel Marketing Platform Migration Guide: Defining Your Goals and Quick Wins. In particular, we’ll focus on the questions you should ask yourself as you get started on your migration journey.
Defining Your Goals and Quick Wins
As we say in the full guide, defining your goals and quick wins is, “An overlooked but critical step in migrating to a new platform is to review the goals of the migration and identify the first tangible wins you want.” Setting goals and quick wins helps focus the team when moving through a migration—it’s creating a north star.
Following the People, Process, and Technology framework—which focuses on three powerful marketing assets to fuel growth—we explored the questions you should ask yourself during a platform migration as they pertain to people, process, and technology.
People Questions to Ask Yourself
Think of people as the “who” of the migration process. This is when you can decide who will have a role in the platform migration and why.
1. Who would do what during the migration?
Think about teams and individuals when you ask yourself this question. Think about everyone from executors to approvers and how they will impact the overall process.
2. Who would you not need after the migration is complete?
If you hire freelancers or third party partners to help you complete the migration, they may not be needed after the migration is complete. Because the migration could also lead to consolidation, some roles may become obsolete as well. It’s important to consider this before you dive in.
3. Which team members have bandwidth?
If there are people who will need to be involved in the migration—marketing operations, data teams, etc.—ensure they have the bandwidth to help in the desired timeframe.
4. Which teammates are change agents excited about making a difference?
Maybe there are people on the team who are excited about the migration process or have experience with migrations in previous roles. Take advantage of these excited team members and be sure they’re included in the process.
Process Questions to Ask Yourself
Think of the process as the “when” and “why” of the migration process. This is when you can decide deadlines, milestones, what works in your existing processes and what doesn’t. This phase will be a lot of discovery and connecting with subteams to ensure everyone feels they have an opportunity to share input.
1. What date do you want to start with the new platform?
This is a crucial step of the process. Without that hard launch date, there’s no proverbial fire under the team’s behinds. Choosing a launch date and working backwards is also a great way to block out milestones you want to hit to help you reach the launch date.
2. Which processes work well and are efficient?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Don’t reinvent the wheel. [Insert preferred idiom here.] There are a lot of ways to say the same thing—there’s no need to create a new process if a business unit has found a way that works. Use this as a learning experience and apply it to other parts of the migration.
3. Which processes have bottlenecks due to reliance on other teams or other tools?
Set up calls and talk to the different teams who will be involved in the migration and who will use the new platform. People will want to share their roadblocks and challenges because they want to find a solution.
Technology Questions to Ask Yourself
Lastly, think of the technology as the “what” and “where” of the migration process. This is when you can discuss what you’re planning to accomplish with the tool and necessary features. Rather than from a workflow perspective, which was considered with process, technology questions should focus on actual capabilities of the tool.
1. What are the pain points you’d like to improve by using a new cross-channel platform?
Here, reflect on your current platform and the tasks or goals you can’t achieve due strictly to technological limitations. This will help you understand what specifically to look for as you weigh the various options that exist.
2. What is the first campaign your team wants to launch?
Understanding where your team wants to start is helpful when evaluating the features readily available in your new platform. If a feature is on a prospective platform’s product roadmap or still in beta, consider how crucial that feature will be in helping your team hit the ground running.
3. Does your new platform have different integrations from your existing platform?
Platform migrations are an important consideration when migrating to a new platform. If your new platform doesn’t work with existing integrations, those partners may become obsolete. Then you have to consider contracts and how long you’re working with these partners. It’s easier to find a platform that works with the integrations you already have.
Setting the Groundwork for a Successful Platform Migration
Hopefully this breakdown of the questions to ask yourself provides a bit more depth into the initial stages of a platform migration. Remember, asking yourself these questions should result in your team determining quick wins and goals for the overall migration. Keep that in mind as you go through this list to keep everyone aligned.
As we continue this series we’ll breakdown assembling teams, organizing campaigns, and standardizing data—so be sure to check back in.
In the meantime, feel free to explore the entire Cross-Channel Marketing Platform Migration Guide and, if you’re considering making the migration Iterable, first of all, hi! Second, be sure to schedule a custom demo today.
