What happens when I first connect my Mailchimp account in Mailchimp Settings?
When you first connect to Mailchimp, the Primary Sync runs in the background. The primary sync pulls Mailchimp data down to Salesforce.
The first time the sync runs, it will only do the following to establish your Mailchimp data in Salesforce:
- Creates custom Mailchimp Audience record(s) in Salesforce to mirror those already present in Mailchimp
- Downloads all the audience members from Mailchimp into a custom object called Mailchimp Members
- Finds existing contacts or leads by matching the member's email to the Salesforce standard Email field then relates the Member record to the contact
- Downloads Mailchimp Mailings into their custom object in Salesforce
Note: From here, the primary sync is incremental, meaning it only syncs Mailchimp records that have changed or are new since the last primary sync. This is usually scheduled hourly.
Other features can be configured as needed after the primary sync is complete:
Salesforce to Mailchimp (optional features that can be scheduled or immediate):
- Importing Salesforce data to Mailchimp members with data wizards (Recommended)
- Mapping Salesforce contact and lead fields to Mailchimp member merge fields (Salesforce to Mailchimp mappings)
- Setting up advances features like Invocable Actions
Mailchimp to Salesforce (optional features that are added to the primary sync):
- Matching incoming members on other email fields found on your contacts or leads
- Creating new contacts or leads if the member's email is not found in Salesforce
- Mapping Mailchimp merge fields so they update the related contact/lead during the primary sync (Mailchimp to Salesforce mappings)
- Setting up advanced features like Email Opt Out and storing email activity in Salesforce
The important thing to remember is that the Primary Sync is all the Mailchimp to Salesforce data syncing, and you have options on how you push data Salesforce to Mailchimp.
Most people start with the data wizard, as it is robust and simple to set up. We recommend starting there!
