Switching e-mailing platforms is like moving houses. It sounds simple, but in practice, it can cause confusion, data loss, and communication breakdowns.

The good news? With a well-managed migration, you can not only move to a new platform but also significantly improve your entire email marketing operation.

Why are companies changing tools?

The pandemic, the rapid growth of e-commerce, and changing customer expectations have exposed the limitations of many older systems.

Companies today are often moving to more modern tools that allow:

  • better automation and segmentation,
  • better deliverability,
  • clearer reporting,
  • interfacing with CRM or CDP.

But be careful — migration isn’t just about exporting contacts and importing them into a new platform. A successful migration requires planning, leadership support, and solid preparation.

1. Prepare a tailor-made migration plan

Every company is different. Different ways of working with data, different teams, different complexity of campaigns.

Migration must reflect the reality of your emailing:

  • How do you work with personalization and segmentation?
  • Where do you get your data from (CRM, e-shop, ERP)?
  • What automation do you use?

Instead of a one-size-fits-all solution, prepare a plan that reflects less visible factors - such as internal processes, approvals, IT capacity or team habits.

2. Get leadership support (C-level)

Switching to a new tool affects multiple teams - marketing, sales, IT and management.

Without top-down support, it will be a long haul.

A strong mandate from the leadership helps:

  • avoid delays,
  • set clear priorities,
  • ensure sufficient resources,
  • and isolate migration from normal business operations.

3. Set realistic priorities

Most people in companies are running at 80-90% of their capacity. And migration is not something you can do in an hour.

We need to be clear about what a priority is - and find blocks of time that can be dedicated to migration without compromising normal operations.

Companies often use external partners (like us at Mailbakers) who:

  • hold the whole process together,
  • highlight the risks,
  • ensure coordination across departments,
  • help with testing and training.

4. Use migration as an opportunity to improve

A new tool is a new opportunity.

It's the perfect time to stop and do audit your current e-mailing setup:

  • Which campaigns work and which don't?
  • Are we still using templates from 2018?
  • Are our automations still relevant?
  • Can we make the most of the new features?

When migrating, you usually have to set everything up again anyway. So why not do it better?

5. Audit all campaigns and data

Before you turn off the old tool, make sure you have a backup of:

  • contacts, lists, segments
  • statistics (hits, clicks, unsubscribes)
  • templates and their versions
  • automation and workflows
  • integration with other systems (CRM, e-shop, CMS...)

We recommend bringing in a technical partner who knows what to look out for.

Lost automation or poorly imported tags can mean weeks of extra work.

Summary: Migration doesn't have to hurt

Yes, the transition to a new emailing tool is challenging. But if you have:

  • a plan,
  • leadership support,
  • reserved time,
  • a reliable partner,
  • and a desire to improve your e-mailing,

then technical necessity becomes a strategic opportunity.

Are you about to migrate or choose a new tool?

At Mailbakers, we've helped dozens of companies transition from (and to) Ecomail, Mailchimp, Smartemailing, Meiro and more. We'd love to help you too.