Syncing FAQ

What can I expect when syncing people via SugarChimp?

SugarChimp is a bi-directional sync between Mailchimp and your CRM. You can expect to have the best, cleanest data on both platforms at all times, regardless of where changes are being made.

 

The integration will create records when they do not exist, and update appropriate records when they do. All syncing works on a list to list basis, tying a target list in the CRM to a Mailchimp audience. We sync only the built-in people You can sync as many lists and people as you like between the two systems, regardless of which plan you choose. 

 

How does SugarChimp know not to create duplicate records? 

SugarChimp matches records between the two systems based on email addresses. We do this because email addresses are unique in each Mailchimp audience. However, you might have multiple records in your CRM sharing a common email address. Because of this, we take significant care to give you the highest integrity data in both the CRM and Mailchimp. For more specifics, let's look at what happens when records are updated in each of the two platforms. 

 

When a CRM Record is Updated

 

SugarChimp will only update Mailchimp with qualifying CRM record changes. Here are the qualifications that must be met:

• Record has a good, valid, opted-in email address
• Record is on a synced target list in your CRM

If more than one record on a synced target list share an email address, then Mailchimp will display the latest updated information from the CRM. 

When a Mailchimp Record is Updated

 

When data is updated in Mailchimp, we check many things in the CRM to decide who gets updated. There are different configuration options for how this behavior works. The default behavior when we receive an update from Mailchimp is as follows:

 

1. Check how many records are matching on the target list in CRM?

• If there is only 1 record matching on the target list, then we update that record's data. 
• If there is more than 1 record matching on the target list - do nothing
• If there are no matches on the target list, go to the next check

2. Check how many records are matching across all of your CRM? 

• If there is only 1 record matching in your CRM, add it to the target list and update it
• If there is more than 1 record matching in your CRM, do not update it
• If there are no matching records in your CRM, create a new record with the data, of the default type

Is SugarChimp/Mailchimp GDPR compliant? 

GDPR compliance will depend on how you choose to use Mailchimp in regards to consent to market and handling data privacy requests. SugarChimp gives you the tools to stay GDPR complaint while using Mailchimp with your CRM. You can see this in more detail here: SugarChimp and GDPR

Does SugarChimp manage unsubscribes and bounces? 

SugarChimp updates your CRM with information from Mailchimp campaigns, including opt outs and hard bounces. By default, email addresses are marked as 'opted-out' in the CRM when they unsubscribe from a Mailchimp campaign and 'invalid' when they bounce. Contacts and leads are then removed from synced target lists and cannot be sent back to Mailchimp unless they are manually updated as opted back in. 

How often are updates made between the two systems? 

Behind the scenes, SugarChimp uses all the tools at its disposal to integrate the two systems as efficiently as possible. This includes logic hooks and schedulers in the CRM, along with webhooks in Mailchimp.

SugarChimp checks the CRM for updates to records using Logic Hooks. Every scheduler run, 5-10 minutes, it will send all the updates across to Mailchimp. 

Mailchimp pushes changes to your CRM via webhooks. These fire immediately and should be reflected in the CRM within a few seconds. In order for this to work correctly, Mailchimp will need to be able to reach your CRM instance. If your CRM network is private, you will need to look at options for receiving Mailchimp's webhooks.

My subscribers in SugarCRM are not syncing to Mailchimp, but the Health Status page shows they should have already been synced!

1. If you have required fields on your Mailchimp list and you have not mapped those fields using the SugarChimp Field Mapping tool this will cause MailChimp to not accept the subscribers. You can check to see if you have required fields by going to Mailchimp, go to your list, then go to the Settings tab and "List Fields". If any of the "required" checkboxes are checked, you will either need to uncheck the box in Mailchimp or map the field in Sugar using the SugarChimp Field Mapping tool.
2. The other reason your subscriber may not be added is due to Mailchimp's email validation rules. Generally Mailchimp will not accept non-person-specific emails such as sales@ info@ contact@ etc.

My Sugar and Mailchimp list counts do not match. What's wrong?

There are many legitimate reasons why your list counts do not match exactly. This is very common. Read why your list counts do not match up. 

When I sync from Mailchimp to Sugar, the email address fields are empty.

• This usually happens when your email address field is labeled something other than the default "Email Address" in your list. To resolve this, navigate to Mailchimp merge tags and update the email address label to Email Address.  You can then delete any contacts/targets/leads that were created in your CRM and then sync the list again.
• This could also happen if you are using a Workflow in your CRM that triggers on contacts/targets/leads creation. A workaround for this issue is to set a delay on the workflow of 0.1 seconds. This will allow the record to be saved correctly before being changed.