This guide provides step-by-step instructions to connect your Mailchimp account to Flow and sync customer contacts automatically.
Time required: 15 minutes
User role: Administrator
Module: Integrations
Overview
The Mailchimp integration adds customers who consent to email marketing to your Mailchimp audience and unsubscribes them automatically when they opt out in Flow.
Before You Start
The following will need to be completed before connecting Mailchimp:
| Prerequisite | Details |
|---|---|
| ✅ Mailchimp account | With permission to manage the audience you will sync to |
| ✅ Mailchimp audience | The audience (list) new customers will be added to |
| ✅ Custom merge fields | Create FLOWUUID, OPID and USERTYPE in your audience if you plan to map them (see step 3) |
| ✅ Administrator access in Flow | Required to manage integrations |
Steps
1. Connect Mailchimp in Flow
- Go to System Configuration > Integrations
- Select Mailchimp
- Click Connect
- Sign in to Mailchimp when prompted and authorise access
2. Configure the New Customer Sync
- In the Mailchimp integration settings, open New Customer
- Select Mailchimp Audience: Choose the audience new customers are added to
- Toggle the workflow on
Note: Only customers who consent to email marketing in Flow are added to Mailchimp, in line with consent regulations. Customers who decline email marketing are not synced.
3. Map Flow Fields to Mailchimp (optional)
- In New Customer, open Map Flow fields to Mailchimp
- Map Flow customer fields to your audience's merge fields:
| Flow field | Suggested Mailchimp field |
|---|---|
| First name | First Name (FNAME) |
| Last name | Last Name (LNAME) |
| Phone number | Phone Number (PHONE) |
| Date of birth | Birthday (BIRTHDAY) |
| Flow UUID | Flow UUID (FLOWUUID) |
| OpenPlay ID | OpenPlay ID (OPID) |
| User type | User Type (USERTYPE) |
Important: Custom merge fields such as FLOWUUID must exist in your Mailchimp audience before mapping. Create them in Mailchimp under Audience > Settings > Audience fields and *|MERGE|* tags.
4. Enable Unsubscribe Automation
- Open Customer unsubscribe: Email
- Select Mailchimp Audience: Choose the same audience as step 2
- Toggle the workflow on
Important: Without this workflow enabled, customers who opt out of email marketing in Flow will remain subscribed in Mailchimp.
Result
New customers who consent to email marketing appear in your Mailchimp audience as subscribed contacts within a few minutes, with mapped fields populated.
Troubleshooting
A new customer has not appeared in Mailchimp?
Check the customer consented to email marketing in Flow. Customers without email consent are not synced.
Merge field data is missing on a contact?
Confirm the field mapping in step 3 and that the merge field exists in your Mailchimp audience settings.
A customer opted out but is still subscribed in Mailchimp?
Check Customer unsubscribe: Email is toggled on and pointed at the correct audience. The unsubscribe is sent when the customer record is updated in Flow.
Can I sync SMS marketing consent to Mailchimp?
No. Mailchimp's API does not support SMS consent management. Use the Dotdigital integration if SMS marketing automation is required.