by Skyler Holobach
Let’s say you’re happily living alone in your marketing automation tool and suddenly your significant other (a.k.a partner company) wants to marry you, take your name, and move in. How do you handle the logistics around that?
STEP 1. WHAT DO WE HAVE?
Take stock of what the other company has. Do you have two washing machines between the two of you? Who really needs two washing machines? Similarly, what does your partner company’s opt-in process look like? How often do they reconfirm permission? How old is the oldest prospect in their database, and have they emailed that prospect recently?
This is your chance to really dig into their data and make sure combining your database with theirs isn’t going to cause damage to your sending reputation. Make sure you have a complete picture of exactly how their prospect outreach works and the existing business practices around that. Not 100% sure how their opt-in process works? Move on to step two.
STEP 2. CLEANING
This step is optional, but recommended if you aren’t 100% sure how your partner’s opt-in process works or how clean their database is. It’s easier to build on a good reputation than have their database crush your sending reputation and have to start back at square one. For prospects you’re not sure about, consider running a permission pass on your current database. It’s a quick and simple way to reconfirm permission to get solid opt-in data, thus allowing you to start with clean data in your new system.
STEP 3. LET EVERYONE KNOW YOU’RE TOGETHER!
Now for the fun part! Post your new relationship on social media; find a cute hashtag for it. Let the world know you’re now together. Most importantly, send an email to your prospects letting them know about this new change. One of the biggest triggers I’ve seen for spam complaints is when a company gets acquired and doesn’t make its prospects aware of the switch. This can be very confusing for prospects who are used to being marketed to by one company and are suddenly being marketed to by another. In this case, I’d advise sending out one email letting prospects know about the change, and then for a little while after (depending on the frequency of your mailings), adding something to the top of your email saying: “Remember, [old company] is now [new company], but we’re serving up the same awesome content you’re used to!” This will help remind prospects exactly how you got ahold of their information — and help keep spam complaints low during this transitional phase.
Lava is an authorised Google Partner and the only authorised Salesforce reseller in Malaysia. With more than 10 years of experience in cloud technology and cloud solutions consultation we pride ourselves in not just understanding the needs of our customers but also being able to take their business to the next level.