Migrating from Sailthru to Braze can feel like a big leap. Yet, the move unlocks a new world of marketing automation that can help you connect with your audience more effectively. Braze offers user-friendly tools, powerful integration options, and dynamic personalization features that can bring fresh life to your campaigns.
Why Choose Braze?
Before diving into the technical details, it’s vital to understand the advantages of Braze. While Sailthru is known for its robust email capabilities, Braze takes your marketing strategy further by unifying multiple channels. This means you can manage campaigns across email, push notifications, SMS, and in-app messages on one unified platform.
Here are a few reasons why Braze stands out:
| FEATURE | SAIILTRHU | BRAZE | MIGRATION BENEFITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Interface | Simplistic, email-focused | Intuitive UI for multi-channel campaigns | Easier coordination across email, push, SMS, and more |
| Data Streaming | Limited real-time capabilities | Real-time updates and event tracking | Faster campaign reaction times and immediate user attribute updates |
| Automation & Journeys | Basic automation flows | Advanced Canvas feature for multi-step journeys | More sophisticated user experiences with conditional paths |
| Personalization | Basic personalization fields | Liquid templating for dynamic content | Deeper personalization tailored to individual user actions |
| Scalability and Performance | Handles bulk email sends effectively | Scales seamlessly across channels and handles global audiences | Streamlined approach to handle growing user bases and increasingly complex campaigns |
| Analytics & Reporting | Standard email metrics (opens, clicks, etc.) | Detailed engagement analytics across all channels | Holistic view of performance to optimize overall marketing strategy |
Future-proof architecture. Vendor lock-in presents a significant risk to marketing agility. Braze’s architecture is designed for seamless integration with existing and future technologies. This approach ensures your marketing stack remains adaptable, allowing you to capitalize on new opportunities without costly platform migrations. This flexibility supports long-term scalability and protects technology investments. Braze’s high-performance REST APIs support up to 3,000 requests per three seconds, with batching capabilities for up to 75 events per request, surpassing the limitations of less scalable platforms.
Today’s customers expect personalized experiences, and data shows that this expectation translates directly to revenue: personalized emails drive six times higher transaction rates. Platforms like SailThru, lacking these capabilities, struggle to meet these expectations and capture this potential.
Planning Your Migration to Braze ESP
Migrating to Braze is a structured process that typically unfolds in several phases. It starts with a discovery phase to understand your business goals and current setup. This is followed by a detailed audit of your existing campaigns and data.
Next, you’ll plan and set up your Braze environment, including “warming up” your IP addresses to ensure good email deliverability. Then comes the actual migration of your campaigns and data, followed by thorough testing. Finally, you’ll launch your Braze campaigns and continue to monitor and optimise them.
The entire process can take anywhere from 30 to 180 days, but with expert help and the right tools, it can be significantly faster and smoother.
| Planning Your Migration to Braze ESP |
|---|
| This guide offers a comprehensive overview of migrating to Braze, covering key considerations, best practices, and strategies for success. Read more: Planning Your Migration to Braze (ESP) |
Key Considerations and Best Practices
What to keep in mind for a smoother migration process:
| Naming Conventions | Use clear, consistent naming for user attributes, events, and templates. This helps team members manage and scale campaigns. |
| Testing Environment | If possible, create a sandbox/dev in Braze to test integrations without impacting your live users. |
| Progressive Rollout | Consider launching one channel (such as push notifications) first. Then, scale up to email, SMS, and in-app messages once you confirm everything is running smoothly. |
| Engagement Analysis | Compare engagement metrics from Sailthru to Braze for a small user segment. This comparison highlights any discrepancies and helps you troubleshoot quickly. |
| User Permissions and Preferences | Make sure your subscription management is set up in Braze to reflect user preferences accurately. If you had preference centers in Sailthru, replicate them in Braze, or improve on them if needed. |
Moving Templates and Campaign Assets
One of the more time-consuming parts of any migration is transferring your email templates, images, and files. In Sailthru, you may have used a specific syntax for personalization, such as custom placeholders for user names or product recommendations. In Braze, personalization is handled through Liquid, giving you powerful control but also requiring you to rewrite parts of your template code.
| PRO TIPS |
|---|
| – Start with your most critical templates (like welcome messages or cart abandonments) and verify they work perfectly. |
| – Use Braze’s preview and test features to see exactly how emails will look and what dynamic content will be pulled in. |
Data Integration and Real-Time Tracking
Braze’s real-time data streaming capabilities let you fine-tune messaging. For instance, if a user makes a purchase, you can have a follow-up message queued instantly with recommendations for similar items. This level of responsiveness builds trust and encourages repeat visits.
- Ensure your mobile SDK is installed on iOS and Android apps.
- Connect your e-commerce platform or website to send events (like add-to-cart, page views, and purchases) instantly to Braze.
- Maintain consistent event names to simplify audience segmentation and reporting.
This comprehensive insight empowers you to leverage Braze for delivering highly personalized experiences throughout the customer journey, driving more impactful and effective marketing.
| Building a CDP for Your Braze Project |
|---|
| Want to explore the strategic value of integrating a Customer Data Platform with your Braze implementation? Our white paper addresses common challenges faced by companies leveraging Braze for customer engagement. Read more: Building a CDP for your Braze Project |
Testing and Final Checks
Testing might be the most important phase of your migration. Here’s a quick checklist:
- Segment Testing: Create small user segments to simulate real-world conditions.
- Template Rendering: Double-check dynamic fields in emails and push notifications.
- Journey Validation: Walk through Canvas workflows step by step, ensuring triggers and delays fire correctly.
- Analytics Comparison: Compare Sailthru and Braze metrics to spot discrepancies.
Post-Migration: Ongoing Optimization
After the initial switch, use Braze’s analytics to track your campaigns over time. Look at open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. If you find certain segments or messages underperforming, adjust them right away. Braze’s strength lies in its flexibility, so don’t be afraid to tinker with your workflows to discover what resonates best with your audience.
Migrating from Sailthru to Braze is more than just a technical move. It’s a chance to refine your marketing strategy and harness the power of an advanced engagement platform. By carefully planning your data migration, testing your configurations, and paying close attention to the details, you can minimize disruptions and set yourself up for long-term success. Once you’ve settled into Braze, you’ll likely find new opportunities for personalization and automation that push your marketing efforts to new heights. Here’s to your smooth transition and an exciting new chapter in customer engagement.
Get in touch to start planning your migration today!
