Merging Companies, Optimising Marketing Operations
First published in March 2024 and rewritten in October 2026. The client work below took place before the original publication date. The final section is new.
The challenge
Our client was in the middle of a complex merger. While integrating two companies, they also had to build a new marketing operating model, one innovative and flexible enough to serve the varied demands of customers around the world.
What we did
Set the direction. We worked with the client to write a clear vision and mission for the new model, so everyone understood its purpose. We put governance structures and clear ownership in place so it would actually be implemented.
Balanced local and central. Together we identified the model's key value drivers. Decision-making power was prioritised within individual markets, so each one could stay close to its customers. To keep consistency and innovation across regions, we also set up a central hub responsible for delivering an innovative customer experience.
Mapped the capabilities. Through facilitated workshops we refined the value drivers and mapped the capabilities each part of the business would need.
Planned and supported the rollout. We wrote a full implementation plan and gave ongoing support to manage resistance and encourage adoption across the organisation.
The outcome
The new operating model launched across the whole company, even while the integration was still under way. Regional differences were handled through adaptable "agile sprint rollouts", which kept the transition smooth. We set key performance indicators (KPIs) so the model's effectiveness could be tracked and adjusted over time.
The client came through the merger with a marketing model built for innovation and flexibility, and well placed to meet the varied needs of a global customer base.
Lessons that apply at any size
- Decide who decides. Unclear ownership causes friction. Settling governance before the rollout gives everyone a reference point when disagreements come up.
- Local freedom, central standards. The people closest to customers should make the calls that affect those customers, while a central team keeps the experience consistent.
- Roll out in stages. Sprints let each region adapt without stalling the whole programme.
- Measure from day one. KPIs agreed at launch make it possible to adjust the model with evidence.
What we would do today
Ignite Drive now works mostly with small professional firms, where a merger looks more like two practices joining or a consultant bringing in a partner. The problems are similar on a smaller scale, and today much of the answer is automation.
- One way of working, built into the systems. Two firms bring two sets of habits for onboarding, invoicing and keeping the CRM up to date. I would agree a single process, then automate it on systems the combined firm owns, so the onboarding pack, contract, invoice and CRM update happen the same way whoever wins the client.
- KPIs you can ask about. Instead of a monthly KPI pack, a business dashboard connected to the firm's AI of choice lets partners ask how many new clients each office brought in this quarter and get the answer by chat.
- Telling clients and contacts. A merger is a natural reason to get in touch. A warm outreach campaign to both firms' existing connections, each message written for the person, is the obvious first move. On every account that ran both, warm outreach beat cold by 2x to 5x on reply rate.
If you are bringing two businesses together and the admin is doubling, the 10-Hour Audit maps where the hours go before anything is automated.
