With any acquisition or merger there is an expectation that bringing two companies together will strengthen the market position of both, increase revenue, and improve profits. Departments are often integrated and refined, and expenses are carefully evaluated to see if there is an opportunity to support the combined entity more cost effectively.
Marketing is generally a key area of focus post-acquisition, particularly when the two companies share a similar target market and customer persona. Unless the acquired company has a mandate to operate independently, marketing departments are quickly integrated, rationalized, and tasked with setting the marketing direction and vision for the new expanded company. This activity includes a directive to develop a cohesive technology strategy that will drive revenue and increase customer lifetime value (CLTV). The starting point for developing a technology strategy is to rationalize all of the technology that is currently in use by both companies to acquire, engage, and retain customers. With most companies using 100+ pieces of technology, both acquired and internally developed, this can be a challenging and time-consuming task.
During the period between announcing the merger or acquisition and the closing of the transaction, there is a great deal of preliminary technology auditing work that can be done by each company to prepare for the process of integrating two separate marketing technology stacks. If you don’t already have a comprehensive list of all the technology that is being tested, used, or has been retired, now’s the time to audit your technology and create your baseline stack. If you do have a list of technology, it’s important to make sure that it is complete and that you have enough information about each product to support a meaningful discussion about its place and value in the marketing technology stack.