Integrating Salesforce and MailChimp

Now that we have prepped for our MailChimp to Salesforce Integration  [if you haven’t, see our prep article here] let’s dive into setting up MailChimp for Salesforce and considerations for populating the groups you have previously created.

Integration Logistics:

1.       Download MailChimp for Salesforce from the AppExchange.

•       Our best practice is to create an Integrations or System User with a Salesforce License for all integrations downloads so staff turnover (aka User deactivation or deletion) does not affect data coming in from integrations. Make sure you set password to never expire. Extra credit = one user per unique integration.

2.       Follow Integrations Steps, Allow MailChimp for all Users

•      See MailChimp article on documentation here

MailChimp for Salesforce is downloaded, what’s next?

Lead Creation

This option in MailChimp allows you to automatically add new subscribers to Salesforce as Leads. It is a powerful tool and before you turn on Lead Creation for this Integration here are a few questions you should ask yourself and your org:

1.        Do we already use Leads in Salesforce?
2.       If so, how are we tracking them?
3.       If not, do we want to use Leads?
4.       Do we have a form on our website [or somewhere] that is feeding into MailChimp?
5.       If so, do we want everyone that fills out our form to end up in Salesforce? Who will manage these new web-created leads? When do we convert them into Contacts?

Mapping Fields

Mapping fields into Salesforce is a reflection of the data you have already collected in MailChimp and where it will live in Salesforce. This can also be a good time to reflect on what information you currently have, what is extraneous and what are you missing.

•       As you are setting up the MailChimp Integration from Salesforce, MailChimp will prompt you to map fields. This means for every list that exists in MailChimp [at this point hopefully it is a low number!] each field will have to be mapped to a Salesforce Contact and Lead field [even if you end up not using leads you should still map to the lead object in this phase].
•       First Name, Last Name and Email will automatically be mapped, but any other data points you collect on your subscribers will need to be mapped over to their corresponding Salesforce field.

Subscriber Syncing

Once the Integration has been setup, all subscribers in MailChimp that have already been entered into Salesforce will be linked.

Page Layout Adjustments

Follow the official MailChimp documentation to make sure you can see all components on the page.

Filling your MailChimp Groups:

Remember those MailChimp Groups we created to represent your internal constituent names [Partner, Donor, Member, etc]? Now it’s time to use the MC for Salesforce Query capabilities to pull the correct people into the right place.

Other Salesforce Considerations:

1.       How are you currently tracking your constituent types in Salesforce?

•       This will affect how you query your Salesforce data from the MailChimp for Salesforce App.
•   For example, if you are tracking Contact Types as a picklist on the Contact Object you can query based on the Contact Object.
•   However, if you haven’t developed a system to track this on the Contact Object yet and it is easier to manually add people to a Campaign in Salesforce [for example, you just had an all Member event and they already live in a Campaign], you will use the Campaign Member object to setup your query.

Still reading? BrightStep can help troubleshoot some of the nuances of this integration, and make sure you read the detailed integration documentation produced by MailChimp.

About Theresa Hall

Theresa Hall has deep skills in digital marketing and nonprofit community management that she applies to her work with all clients. She has three years of experience helping nonprofits maximize their systems through the use of Salesforce. Building on a digital marketing consulting role and international development fieldwork, Theresa most recently served as the Community Engagement Manager for the Full Circle Fund - a foundation and member-led capacity building initiative for nonprofits. She loves implementing and designing systems for scaling nonprofits and coaching leaders through the highs/lows that come with doing work you love. Theresa graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Marketing and Spanish and completed her Masters in Social Entrepreneurship from Hult International Business School . In her free time, you can find her further north camping and enjoying the crazy terrain California has to offer. Theresa is a Certified Salesforce Administrator.