Inheriting a Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)

Have you inherited a MAP?   It is a challenge in-itself to birth a MAP at an organization – by that, we mean be the first to implement MA at a company. However, it is another challenge altogether when inheriting a MAP from the previous owner at your company.

What to Consider When You Inherit a MAP

Step 1:  Do (or have) an audit of your instance – when you start a new job, you are drinking from the fire hose trying to learn everything about the company, your role/goals/responsibilities, your new team. It feels counter-intuitive to step back; however, the best way to get the lay of the land and design an optimal strategy is to look under the hood and get the ‘real deal’ on what is working and what isn’t working in your MAP (and other systems).  An audit is the best way to do this.

You, someone on your team, or a trusted Partner like Definitive Results, will review your instance and identify areas of major concern that should be addressed ASAP, areas to keep in mind but are not urgent and areas that are doing really well. This gives you the info you need to prioritize and focus your efforts.

Step 2:  Tackle your “red flag” items – those things that are preventing your campaigns from performing properly.  Determine the resources you can devote to this work and create a schedule in which each item will be completed.

Step 3:  Prioritize your “yellow flag” items – these are not urgent but based on your business goals, some flagged items may be a higher priority than others.

Step 4:  For your “green” items, the things that are going really well, ask yourself how can you further leverage these wins, particularly while you are doing some cleanup.

Step 5:  Purge?  Many new owners want to know what they can remove or archive to decrease clutter.  Sometimes purging is an option – it depends on what you are looking to purge and how you do it.

Step 6:  Organize your own way – It’s very common that when there is a new owner of the MAP, the business has changed a bit also – whether a restructuring or a shift in business goal/model.  There are times where re-organizing your MAP will better set you up for successful use of the platform.

Helping clients figure out what they have adopted and to quickly setup a plan of action is something we do regularly. We know that inheriting a MAP is a lot to sort through and that a solid plan is key to success.So if you’ve got too much on your plate OR you just want to ensure you get it right in an efficient way – we are here to help – it’s what we do!