Migrate from Dispatch to Mailchimp

Dispatch contacts migrate directly as Mailchimp subscribers within the target audience. Email address is the unique identifier; contacts without email are flagged for manual review before import. Standard fields (first name, last name, phone, address, company) map to Mailchimp merge fields. When multiple contacts share an email, the most recent record is retained and duplicates are reported.

Dispatch company records become merge field data attached to contacts in Mailchimp — COMPANY_NAME maps to a merge field. If splitting by company into separate Mailchimp audiences, each company generates a segment or a distinct audience. Company details domain and industry map to merge fields. For contacts with multiple companies, the primary company fills the COMPANY field and other names are stored in a merge field as a comma-separated list.

Jobs have no Mailchimp equivalent. We export job records as CSV for reference and apply job status or service type as Mailchimp tags on the associated contact so segmentation by service history remains possible. Job priority and assigned technician are also turned into tags, such as TECH_ASSIGNED:JohnDoe, and the most recent job number is stored in a merge field, enabling filtering by urgency and service rep.

Every Dispatch custom field on a contact (territory, preferred_contact_window, fleet_id, etc.) requires a corresponding Mailchimp merge field to be pre-created before data loads. Merge field type (text, number, date, phone) is inferred from Dispatch's field data type. We audit all Dispatch custom fields, consolidate duplicates, and prioritize them for Mailchimp merge field creation. If the total exceeds Mailchimp's 40‑field limit, we split contacts into separate audiences by company or territory.

Company-level custom fields in Dispatch (billing_region, service_contract_type) map to contact-level merge fields in Mailchimp so the data is queryable per subscriber. Each company field's data type determines the merge field type (text, number, date). If many company-level fields exist, we prioritize those used for segmentation and store the rest in a JSON‑encoded text merge field for future reference.

Dispatch service notes are exported as CSV with the contact email as the link. Key note content is summarized as tags (e.g., INSTALL_COMPLETE, MAINTENANCE_VISIT) in Mailchimp so marketers can filter by service history. Note timestamps are kept in the CSV and optionally loaded as a date merge field. For contacts with multiple notes, the most recent note drives the primary tag while older notes remain in the exported file.

The Dispatch technician or owner assigned to a contact's job becomes a tag on the Mailchimp subscriber — TECH_ASSIGNED:{technician_name} — enabling segmentation by service representative for follow-up campaigns. If a job has multiple assigned technicians, each name is added as a separate tag. The technician name is also stored in a text merge field for rep‑based reporting, and contacts without an assigned tech receive a generic UNASSIGNED tag.

Dispatch job attachments (photos, signed forms, equipment images) have no Mailchimp equivalent. We download and re-upload to Mailchimp Content Studio if images are needed for campaign content; otherwise they are exported as a file package for reference. Attachments are renamed with contact email and job number and uploaded to Mailchimp Content Studio. A link is stored as a merge field, and a tag (e.g., ATTACHMENT_PROVIDED) is added to the subscriber.

Dispatch contact-to-job roles (Primary Contact, Billing Contact, Site Supervisor) map to Mailchimp tags so segmented campaigns can target specific roles within a service relationship. Each role is translated to a distinct tag such as ROLE_PRIMARY, ROLE_BILLING, ROLE_SITE_SUPERVISOR. Contacts with multiple roles receive multiple tags, allowing campaigns to personalise content based on the recipient’s function. Role tags are combined with service‑type tags for granular targeting.

Dispatch contact status values map to Mailchimp subscriber statuses — Active migrates as subscribed, Inactive or archived as unsubscribed, ensuring GDPR-compliant status in Mailchimp. Bounced or cleaned addresses are imported as unsubscribed to protect deliverability, while pending double‑opt‑in contacts are loaded as ‘pending’ if your Mailchimp audience supports that status. All status changes are logged for audit and reconciled with Dispatch’s last‑modified date.

Job priority (Emergency, High, Standard, Low) is applied as a tag on the associated contact so service-critical accounts can be identified for urgent campaign outreach. Each priority level becomes a distinct tag such as PRIORITY_EMERGENCY, PRIORITY_HIGH, PRIORITY_STANDARD, PRIORITY_LOW. The most recent priority is stored in a merge field for reporting, and contacts without a priority receive a default tag DEFAULT_PRIORITY. This lets marketers filter audiences by urgency.

Dispatch contact address fields (street, city, state, zip, country) map to Mailchimp's native address merge fields, enabling location-based segmentation in Mailchimp without custom merge field setup. If a contact has multiple addresses, the primary address fills the native address field and secondary addresses are stored in a text merge field as JSON. Address components are validated before import to avoid malformed records.