MailChimp - Salesforce Integration
MailChimp is one of the most popular all-in-one marketing platforms with tools for contact management, campaigns and data analysis.
So, it’s no wonder that an integration with Salesforce is requested by many companies.
At first, the request was a simple one:
The ability to integrate Mailchimp audiences, segments and contacts with Salesforce leads and contacts. But as expected, the demand for new features grows as company processes grow.
There are very few ready-made MailChimp - Salesforce integration tools to choose from:
So, it’s no wonder that an integration with Salesforce is requested by many companies.
At first, the request was a simple one:
The ability to integrate Mailchimp audiences, segments and contacts with Salesforce leads and contacts. But as expected, the demand for new features grows as company processes grow.
There are very few ready-made MailChimp - Salesforce integration tools to choose from:
- MailChimp Integration App by MailChimp
- ChimpConnect
- General integration tools (Example - Zapier)
1. MailChimp Integration App by MailChimp
Unfortunately, this app does not meet the expectations of users. The utter dissatisfaction is clear in the 2.5 star average rating of over 270 users.
One would expect that with time, the problems would have been solved and new features added, but here we are.
There are a few good things about it:
One thing that many Salesforce users don’t realize is that you can solve some of the biggest problems of this integration and even add many new features according to your business needs by building queries and automations.
You can do this by contacting a certified developer like RIBERATEC with your requirements.
Some features that are lacking in MailChimp Salesforce integration, which we have developed
1.Automatically syncing tagged Salesforce Contacts to Mailchimp -
Use case:
Contacts or Leads in your Salesforce are divided into groups or tags, based on the tag of the related Account. You would like to maintain these tags in Mailchimp.
Steps to add this feature:
a.List out the contact groups / tags -
Example
Group 1 - people living in California, email Address field = not Empty, industry = medical services or Technology
Group 2 - people living in NewYork, email Address field = not Empty, industry = medical services or Technology
b.Create checkbox formula fields on the Contact object in Salesforce
AND( MailingState = 'California',
NOT(ISBLANK(Email)),
HasOptedOutOfEmail = FALSE,
OR(ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Technology'),
ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Medical Services')
)
)
AND( MailingState = New York,
NOT(ISBLANK(Email)),
HasOptedOutOfEmail = FALSE,
OR(ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Technology'),
ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Medical Services')
)
)
One would expect that with time, the problems would have been solved and new features added, but here we are.
There are a few good things about it:
a. You can sync Mailchimp lists with Salesforce leads, campaign members or contacts.
b. It’s completely free to use.
One thing that many Salesforce users don’t realize is that you can solve some of the biggest problems of this integration and even add many new features according to your business needs by building queries and automations.
You can do this by contacting a certified developer like RIBERATEC with your requirements.
Some features that are lacking in MailChimp Salesforce integration, which we have developed
1.Automatically syncing tagged Salesforce Contacts to Mailchimp -
Use case:
Contacts or Leads in your Salesforce are divided into groups or tags, based on the tag of the related Account. You would like to maintain these tags in Mailchimp.
Steps to add this feature:
a.List out the contact groups / tags -
Example
Group 1 - people living in California, email Address field = not Empty, industry = medical services or Technology
Group 2 - people living in NewYork, email Address field = not Empty, industry = medical services or Technology
b.Create checkbox formula fields on the Contact object in Salesforce
AND( MailingState = 'California',
NOT(ISBLANK(Email)),
HasOptedOutOfEmail = FALSE,
OR(ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Technology'),
ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Medical Services')
)
)
AND( MailingState = New York,
NOT(ISBLANK(Email)),
HasOptedOutOfEmail = FALSE,
OR(ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Technology'),
ISPICKVAL( Account.Industry, 'Medical Services')
)
)
c.set up the Mailchimp queries using the formula fields created in the previous step.
- Go to the MailChimp for Salesforce app.
- Choose your Audience. Then click Create a new tag, name the tag and click Add.
- Make sure there is a checkbox next to the tag you want to use. Click Next.
- Select the object where you built your formula field.
- Choose your formula field from the dropdown, set operator = Equals and value = True.
- Review your query results and confirm it is working.
- Click Next.
- Give a name to your query and schedule it to run daily.
- Click Save and run.
Now all new contacts added to Salesforce which meet the criteria we have set will automatically sync to Mailchimp with the appropriate tag.
More complex use cases include:
2.Automatically create a Salesforce Campaign when a campaign is created in MailChimp – This means
a.Creating a Salesforce Campaign if a MailChimp Campaign record does not exist.
b.Updating data on the Salesforce Campaign with the data from the MailChimp Campaign object if a Salesforce Campaign record exists.
3.Merging Metrics for Mailchimp Campaigns together with other Salesforce Campaign metrics –
The Mailchimp package comes with a custom object called MC Campaigns which holds the metrics you want to report on. If all of your other campaign data is in the standard Salesforce Campaign object, reporting becomes cumbersome.
And if you do decide to move to another marketing automation tool, all your campaign metrics which are in the Mailchimp package will be lost when you install the package from Salesforce.
4.Setup Mailchimp and Salesforce to automatically add people to campaigns and update their Campaign Member Status based on their engagement with emails they receive.
More complex use cases include:
2.Automatically create a Salesforce Campaign when a campaign is created in MailChimp – This means
a.Creating a Salesforce Campaign if a MailChimp Campaign record does not exist.
b.Updating data on the Salesforce Campaign with the data from the MailChimp Campaign object if a Salesforce Campaign record exists.
3.Merging Metrics for Mailchimp Campaigns together with other Salesforce Campaign metrics –
The Mailchimp package comes with a custom object called MC Campaigns which holds the metrics you want to report on. If all of your other campaign data is in the standard Salesforce Campaign object, reporting becomes cumbersome.
And if you do decide to move to another marketing automation tool, all your campaign metrics which are in the Mailchimp package will be lost when you install the package from Salesforce.
4.Setup Mailchimp and Salesforce to automatically add people to campaigns and update their Campaign Member Status based on their engagement with emails they receive.
2. ChimpConnect
ChimpConnect offers a better integration service out of the box. If all you need is Syncing Mailchimp Audience, Segments, Campaigns, and Members as Contacts and leads to Salesforce, then, it would be okay for you.
But if you need more complex business scenarios as we have listed above, it’s not the tool for you because ChimpConnect doesn’t offer an Open API.
Your only choice is to use the features it offers.
The tool costs $39/company/month to use.
But if you need more complex business scenarios as we have listed above, it’s not the tool for you because ChimpConnect doesn’t offer an Open API.
Your only choice is to use the features it offers.
The tool costs $39/company/month to use.
3. General integration tools
Zapier, for example, offers “zaps” with triggers from one application, and corresponding actions in the second application.
But not just that, the steps involved in each zap count.
In the free plan, you can only test out single-step integrations ( ie, 1 trigger resulting in 1 action). Multi-step zaps are only available for paid subscriptions.
One issue with Zapier is the inability to build workflows with exceptions or criteria.
What if I need to sync only Salesforce contacts within a certain region or industry to a campaign?
It would require contacting the company to make this request and then, the price of building this new request would be included in the subscription fee.
For companies and team, there are two subscription plans available
$828/ year or $1,188/year, taxes and VAT not included yet.
In the free plan, you can only test out single-step integrations ( ie, 1 trigger resulting in 1 action). Multi-step zaps are only available for paid subscriptions.
One issue with Zapier is the inability to build workflows with exceptions or criteria.
What if I need to sync only Salesforce contacts within a certain region or industry to a campaign?
It would require contacting the company to make this request and then, the price of building this new request would be included in the subscription fee.
For companies and team, there are two subscription plans available
$828/ year or $1,188/year, taxes and VAT not included yet.
In conclusion, although it seems MailChimp Integration app is the poorest in terms of available features out of the best, it is in reality the best value:
When you choose RIBERATEC as your Salesforce developer, we assess your requirements, and develop solutions that evolve with your company . We charge a ONE-TIME fee and the features we develop are yours to use for life.
- It is free to use.
- You can build as many usage scenarios as you need with the help of a certified Salesforce developer.
When you choose RIBERATEC as your Salesforce developer, we assess your requirements, and develop solutions that evolve with your company . We charge a ONE-TIME fee and the features we develop are yours to use for life.