Make Braze Your Favorite Martech Toy—And Actually Use It
- Stanton Willins
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
Getting a new toy is always exciting—the anticipation, your first time playing with it, the dreams of all the fun you’ll have. But what makes a toy a favorite, instead of something that ends up in the closet? It’s simple: lasting value and continued enjoyment.
The same goes for marketing technology. To help ensure Braze becomes your favorite new martech “toy,” we’ve compiled expert-backed tips to help you get the most out of it—before, during, and after onboarding.
Step 1: Power Up Your Data
Data is the battery that powers your new toy—without it, nothing works. So before you turn on the power button make sure your data is clean, structured, and ready to fuel your campaigns.
Document Data Sources and Processes: Compile all essential documentation like a data dictionary, integration sources, and current data processes to ensure a smooth setup.
Understand Braze's API and SDK: Familiarize yourself with the differences between Braze’s API and SDK, particularly around authentication and integration methods, to prevent setup errors. Pro Tip: event data cannot be imported via CSV; use the API or SDK instead for proper formatting and integration.
Clean and Standardize Data Before Importing: Treat a historical data import as a chance to start fresh. Ensure all data, especially dates, adhere to Braze’s formats (e.g., ISO 8601), and clean up your lists to remove duplicates and invalid emails, reducing the risk of hard bounces.
Plan for Data Readiness and Campaign Use: Identify the data you need for campaigns and personalization and create a strategy to import and organize it within Braze for optimal results.
Step 2: Follow the Instructions
Even the best toys require some setup. With Braze, your marketing processes are the instruction manual—get them right, and your team’s experience will be seamless and scalable.
Leverage Workspaces: Use the development workspace to safely test emails without affecting your live audience and reserve the production workspace for live messages. Keep in mind that data usage from both workspaces counts toward your overall allocation, which can be monitored in the billing settings.
Prepare Key Use Cases: Prioritize your marketing use cases before onboarding even starts. Document your business requirements, KPIs and important dates along with any content scheduling.
Engage IT and Data Teams Early: Inform your IT and data teams in advance about the integrations needed for Braze. This helps align their sprint schedules and prepares them to support your IP warming and marketing efforts, reducing potential delays.
Assign Roles and Responsibilities: Clarify team roles within CRM, Tech, and Project Management to streamline onboarding. Also, identify key stakeholders for CRM management, campaign building, and front/backend integrations.
Develop a Comprehensive Onboarding Timeline: Create a detailed plan that covers all critical steps, including IP warming (if applicable), data integrations, channel enablement, and thorough QA testing. Ensure you have the necessary resources available during the first few weeks.
Step 3: Playtime!
Now that your data is charged up and your processes are in place, it’s time to bring your marketing to life. Think of Email, SMS, and Mobile as your controller buttons—each one lets you activate key parts of your marketing strategy.
Establish New Sending Sub-Domains: Define your unique sub-domains for each purchased IP to enhance deliverability, especially when on a tight timeline.
Create a Detailed IP Warming Plan: Develop a clear schedule and campaign strategy for IP warming (ex. volume, provider splits, etc.). This gradual increase in email volume helps inbox providers recognize and trust your dedicated IP addresses, which is crucial for optimal deliverability.
Plan Campaign Timing and Understand Volume: Align your initial campaigns with your IP warming schedule. Be aware of your typical (and maximum) daily sending volumes to ensure a smooth ramp-up.
Set Realistic Engagement Expectations: During the IP warming phase, avoid comparing metrics to your existing engagement benchmarks, as performance may vary initially.
Review Historical Metrics for Accuracy: Understand how your previous email vendor reported metrics (e.g., inclusion of bot clicks). This will help you set accurate benchmarks with Braze.
SMS
Submit Carrier Approvals Early: It’s important you submit your Wireless Carrier Approval (WCA) form as soon as possible because the review process can take between 6-10 weeks, and in rare cases even longer!
Ensure Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Compliance: There are many things that go into being TCPA compliant, but the two big ones are: 1) obtain prior express written consent and 2) provide a clear and easy way for recipients to opt-out. These are typically achieved through a clear double opt-in strategy, and the use of keywords like "STOP."
Provide a Clear Privacy Policy: A clear privacy policy ensures transparency, helping users understand how their data will be used, which builds trust and reduces opt-outs. It also ensures compliance with regulations like TCPA and GDPR, protecting your business from legal risks and potential fines.
Mobile
Define Your Marketing Strategy: With a marketing strategy and plan well-defined you will be prepared to know what events and custom attributes you want captured and tracked in your application. Without a marketing strategy, it’s like playing darts blindfolded.
Request Push Notification Permissions Thoughtfully: Use a soft prompt before triggering the system opt-in request to increase acceptance rates.
Device Token Management: Be prepared to regularly update and clean device tokens to avoid sending messages to inactive users.
Plan for OS-Specific Differences: iOS and Android handle push notifications differently, including notification grouping, priority settings, and background processing.
Step 4: The Fun Continues
Of course, there’s always more to explore with Braze! But for now, consider this your quick-start guide to turning your new marketing platform into a true marketing MVP.
If you're planning to onboard —or recently did—let’s chat. We’re here to help you turn setup into sustained success. You can reach us at BrazeHelp@CovalentMarketing.com.
