What happens if I delete an audience in Salesforce?
Summary of the Problem
You need to understand what happens when you delete a Mailchimp audience, either from Salesforce or directly in Mailchimp, and what restrictions might prevent you from completing the deletion.
The Solution
Deleting an Audience in Salesforce
When you delete an audience in Salesforce, the deletion happens in the background and removes the audience from Mailchimp immediately. The system will permanently delete:
- The audience itself
- All audience members
- Campaign history associated with the audience
- Email activity records
You'll need to type "DELETE" to confirm, as this action cannot be undone.
Deleting an Audience in Mailchimp
If you delete an audience directly in Mailchimp, it will be removed from Salesforce the next time the primary sync runs. The integration automatically detects missing audiences and marks them for deletion in Salesforce.
Important: You cannot selectively choose which audiences to sync. The integration syncs all audiences within a connected Mailchimp account.
Common Deletion Errors from Mailchimp
When attempting to delete an audience, Mailchimp may block the deletion for these reasons:
1. Recent Sending Activity (The 7-Day Rule)
If you sent or scheduled an email to that audience within the last 7 days, Mailchimp temporarily prevents deletion. This ensures accurate tracking of delivery rates, bounces, and reports.
The Fix: Wait 7 days after your last send, then try deleting the audience again.
2. Active Automations or Customer Journeys
If your audience is connected to any automation flow (including classic automations), deletion is blocked.
The Fix: Go to your Campaigns page, find all active or paused automations linked to that audience, and delete the automation flows first.
3. Published Websites or Landing Pages
If you have a published landing page or Mailchimp website configured to add signups to that specific audience, deletion is prevented.
The Fix: Unpublish the website or landing page before attempting to delete the audience.
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