Marketing Cloud migration services
Migration planning and delivery for teams moving to Marketing Cloud from another ESP, or from Marketing Cloud Engagement to Marketing Cloud Next.
Most Marketing Cloud migrations are one of two moves. Some teams are leaving another email service provider (ESP) for Marketing Cloud Engagement. Others already run Engagement and are moving to Marketing Cloud Next, which runs on the core Salesforce platform and Data 360. Our Marketing Cloud migration services cover both. We decide what to move and what to retire, then carry subscribers and their consent across safely and switch over without a gap in sending.
For the architecture of an ESP move, see our legacy ESP migration blueprint. For the Next move, read planning a move from Engagement to Marketing Cloud Next. This service moves marketing assets. CRM records are covered by Salesforce data migration.
What's included
| Workstream | ESP to Marketing Cloud Engagement | Engagement to Marketing Cloud Next |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | Lists, templates, automations, forms and integrations in the old platform | Business units, data extensions, journeys, automations, CloudPages and AMPscript in use |
| Data model | Data extensions and a Contact Key strategy in Contact Builder | Contacts, attributes and engagement mapped into Data 360 objects |
| Consent | Subscription status, suppressions and unsubscribe history | Preferences moved into Communication Subscription Consent records |
| Content | Templates and personalisation rebuilt in Content Builder with AMPscript | Content and scripts reviewed, then moved or rebuilt |
| Sending setup | Sender profiles, delivery profiles, send classifications and domain authentication | Messaging channels, senders and Einstein email features |
| Cutover | Parallel running, a gradual volume ramp and a dated switch-off | A phased move by programme, with both platforms live for a period |
How we work
- 01
Discovery
Inventory what exists, record what is actually used, and agree what to retire rather than migrate.
- 02
Design
Design the target data model, consent mapping, content approach and a cutover plan with rollback points.
- 03
Build
Build data structures, imports, templates, journeys and automations in the target platform.
- 04
Test
Reconcile counts, test consent and unsubscribes end to end, and send test messages for every template.
- 05
Launch
Move programmes in agreed waves, increasing volume gradually and watching deliverability.
- 06
Support
Run both platforms in parallel until reporting is proven, then decommission the old one.
Prerequisites and licences
- New Marketing Cloud Next customers start with Growth Edition or Advanced Edition. Existing customers get Next capabilities by renewing into "+" versions such as Engagement+. Confirm which applies to you with your Salesforce account team.
- Marketing Cloud Next stores consent as Data 360 objects and checks it at send time. Salesforce's consent module supports CSV consent imports and Preference Pages, and warns against using the MessagingConsent actions in flows.
- In Engagement+ and Next, a Digital Wallet tracks messaging-credit spend for email, SMS and WhatsApp, so plan volumes before cutover.
- Your sending domains need SPF and DKIM, a DMARC record and one-click unsubscribe to meet Gmail and Yahoo bulk-sender rules.
Who it suits
- Teams leaving another ESP who want Salesforce CRM data and marketing in one place.
- Engagement customers approaching renewal and weighing Marketing Cloud Next.
- Organisations with years of automations that nobody fully understands any more.
Common mistakes
- Migrating everything, including dead automations and unused data extensions.
- Losing unsubscribe history, which can mean emailing people who opted out.
- Switching off the old platform before reporting in the new one is trusted.
- Assuming AMPscript moves unchanged. Third-party reports say Summer '26 extended AMPscript to Marketing Cloud Next personalisation, but we test each script.
- Sending full volume from a new setup on day one instead of increasing it gradually.
Related reading
Marketing Cloud migration checklist
Every task in order, from inventory to switch-off
→Marketing Cloud Next implementation
Building on Next once the move is planned
→Next vs Engagement
A decision guide for the two platforms
→Migration runbook template
A cutover runbook you can adapt
→Questions we hear
Should we move from Engagement to Marketing Cloud Next now?
Can we keep our unsubscribe history?
Do you migrate CRM data too?
How long do both platforms run in parallel?
Sources
Plan your migration
Tell us what you're moving from and what you send today. We'll come back with the questions that shape a safe cutover.
