How do you break the big news to your customers? A good acquisition email requires finesse, transparency, and empathy.
One of the pivotal moments in an acquisition is the moment you let your customers in on the news. This announcement requires finesse, transparency, and empathy.
Just like any major organizational news, it's important to ensure that your announcement reaches them before they hear it from external sources. A formal email sent to all customers can help you control the message. You can transfer the key values, goals, and other details of the acquisition in the email.
In this post, we delve into the art of announcing an acquisition to your customers.
An acquisition is a remarkable milestone in a company's history and it's important to nail down a good communication strategy for such an important occasion.
If done right, an acquisition announcement email can be a chance for you to reconnect with your audience and improve customer engagement.
To begin, you need to see the whole picture — how does the deal affect customers, what benefits do they get, what are the downsides, and what changes should they expect?
Answering these questions will help anticipate reactions and present your message in the most effective and tangible way.
The acquisition of a SaaS product can have unique implications and considerations for product users (compared to the acquisition of other types of companies) and you need to make sure to address them in the email.
After all, these people are trusting you with their business. They deserve to know the details.
Here are some important points to include:
Don't forget to say thanks to your customers.
You can also brighten up the email by adding a simple visual — logos of both companies.
To establish a personal connection, imbibe creativity and emotion in your email copy — give a little backstory of the company or founders, talk about how far you've come.
Here are the important sections you should include in your acquisition announcement email:
In the next section, you'll find examples of emails that bring out both informative and emotional sides well.
Figma, a web application for interface design was acquired by Adobe, a software solutions provider for creative professionals.
This email is a great example of an acquisition announcement that has the right amount of facts and emotions, without getting the readers overwhelmed with details. It briefly explains how the acquisition will work operationally.
Although it's a long email, it has a good narrative structure and leaves the reader feeling more confident in the brand. The email talks about the brand's mission and why the acquisition will only add to the great experience customers are currently receiving.
What could be improved?
The text could have been formatted better, using more bullet points and bolded text to make the email more readable.
Leadpages, a drag-and-drop website builder, was acquired by Redbrick, a Canadian portfolio of digital companies.
This announcement, featured in the company newsletter, emphasizes clearly how the acquisition will help customers and highlights what will remain the same. The CTA leads to the announcement blog post.
We like how the email is well formatted — bolded text in the beginning explaining what the email is about, bullet points, and lots of white space.
Subject line: Cron × Notion
Cron, a next-gen calendar platform, was acquired by Notion, the connected workspace and productivity platform.
What stands out in this email is how the author describes the collaboration between the two companies and their shared vision. It also mentions what the customers should know about the functioning of the product. Links to an announcement post and a PR article are added within the copy.
Mailchimp, the pioneer email marketing platform, was acquired by Intuit, a global technology platform.
The email starts with Mailchimp's story and how the founders worked towards the brand vision over the years. It clearly mentions how only the ownership has changed and that there is no change in the product, resources, pricing, and support.
What could be improved?
Since it's a long email, adding an image at the beginning of a heading mentioning what the email is about would have been better. The copy could have also included briefly what the acquiring company is about.
SnapShooter, a backup and recovery solutions provider, joined DigitalOcean, a cloud service provider for web hosting.
This acquisition announcement email is straightforward and answers all the questions a user might have. It conveys who the acquiring brand is, what will change for the users, and what will remain the same.
Thanks to Shreelekha Singh of Floik for contributing this example.
Sleeknote, a customer engagement tool for online retailers, was recently acquired by Drip, a marketing automation software.
This is an example of a short acquisition announcement email. It simply states that the company has been acquired and links to the full announcement post.
Although we are fans of short, plain text emails, we believe this email could have included a few pointers on how the customer will or will not be affected by the acquisition.
Thanks to Kinga Edwards of Brainy Bees for contributing this example.
Kosy, a virtual collaboration software, joined Kumospace, a communication platform for remote teams.
After mentioning the acquisition, the email expresses gratitude to the readers for being part of the journey. It then talks about the acquiring company and how they share the same brand values as of Kosy.
The email mentions a timeline for when the product will cease operations and what changes the user will need to make. The readers are informed that a separate email will be sent with detailed instructions. This is a great way to craft a concise announcement email.
Clover, a visual planning app, was acquired by Figma.
The entire email is about what the acquisition means for the customer — what will change, instructions for the transition, and billing. The email also gives a clear timeline for when the product will be sunsetted and other dates the user should be aware of.
Subject line: Exciting news from SparkPost!
SparkPost, an email-sending and deliverability platform merged with MessageBird, an omnichannel communications platform.
This email talks about the vision of the company and mentions that the customers will benefit from the partnership. It links to an announcement blog post at the end.
What could be improved?
They could have mentioned the technical details of how the acquisition will affect the product's functionality.
Subject line: BIG news from Iteratively — we're joining forces with Amplitude 🎉
Here's an example from Userlist's angel investor, Patrick Thompson. Their company, Iteratively, joined forces with Amplitude in 2021.
This is another example of a short announcement email having just enough details for the customer. We like how they express the brand values of both companies and how they were an early partner of the acquirer. The email thanks the reader for their support and links to a post for more details.
Thanks to Tristan Bailey of Holdingbay for contributing this example.
Subject line: SquadCast joins Descript. Record, edit, and publish in one tool
SquadCast, a remote recording studio, joined Descript, an all-in-one platform for video and podcast editing.
What stands out in this announcement email is the title. The benefits of the two products are mentioned, which makes it easy for the reader to understand the acquisition news instantly. The email goes on to mention how customers will be affected by this transition and leads to articles which can help them with the next steps.
Along with a CTA to the announcement post, the email also invites the reader to attend their town hall meeting to know more.
Subject line: A Letter To Our Shine Community
Shine, a platform for inclusive mental health and wellness support, joined Headspace, an app that helps users achieve better mental health.
The email opens with the important news about the acquisition. It then proceeds to talk about the founders' motivation for creating Shine and their journey for the past six years. They then talk about how this acquisition is a move toward their common goals of providing better mental health resources for everyone.
What could be improved?
Subject line: More BIG News From Netlify!
Netlify, a website development platform, acquires Stackbit, a visual editing solution.
This email explains what Stackbit is and how its features can help Netlify users with detailed pointers. We like how the email explains both the features and benefits of the product. It gives a brief explanation of the product strategy behind the acquisition and how the new set of tools can help them build better digital experiences. The CTA leads to the announcement blog.
Calendly, an online appointment scheduling software, acquired Prelude, a scheduling automation company for recruiting teams.
The email talks about how Calendly shares similar values with Prelude and how the acquisition can benefit recruiting teams. It also mentions how Prelude solves challenges in the industry and has integration features. The email links to the announcement post.
Thanks to Chris Zacher for contributing this example.
ActiveCampaign, an email automation software acquired a similar tool, Postmark.
They announce this acquisition in their newsletter - DMARC digests. It briefly describes the strategy behind the acquisition and how it will help customers. A CTA to the announcement blog post by the founder is given at the end.
Thanks to Samuel Hulick of Self-Serve SaaS for contributing this example.
Here's the acquirer's version of Squadcast's acquisition announcement email. It dives straight to the point and lets readers know how the acquisition will affect users in terms of pricing. It then links to three different resources where the readers can know more about the acquisition and continue with the next steps.
Subject: A New Era: [Your Company Name] Joins Forces with [Acquiring Company Name]
Dear [First name],
We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone in the journey of [Your Company Name]. We have recently been acquired by [Acquiring Company Name], a move that will bring numerous benefits to our valued customers.
This strategic acquisition marks an exciting chapter in our story, one that promises enhanced capabilities, expanded resources, and a wider range of solutions to meet your evolving needs.
What does this mean for you?
Our shared goal remains focused on your success. We want to assure you that our commitment to your satisfaction, through our product's reliability and quality remains unwavering.
We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and are grateful for your continued trust and support. Thank you for being an integral part of our journey!
If you have any immediate questions, please feel free to reach out to us at [customer support email/phone number].
Here's to an exciting future together!
[Your Contact Information]
Announcing an acquisition to your customers is not just about sharing news; it's about inviting them to be part of the journey ahead. As we've explored in this post, the art of crafting an acquisition announcement email involves more than just words – it's about conveying a sense of continuity, partnership, and mutual benefit.
The best tip for anyone dealing with a major business announcement is to be as open and transparent as you possibly can and to make the communication of the announcement as high a priority as the deal points of the transaction.
We hope you feel inspired by the above examples.
Thanks for reading!
About the author
Hibathu Naseer is a content marketer who specializes in writing actionable and value-driven long-form content for B2B SaaS brands. She also creates lead magnets and email newsletters that bring in and nurture leads.
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