Migrate from Fireberry to Mailchimp

Schema discovery and contact hygiene audit

We connect to the customer's Fireberry instance and run a schema discovery pass that enumerates every active object, custom field, and Component definition. We cross-reference this against the contact export to identify any custom field that is referenced in the data but not defined in the schema. We simultaneously audit the contact list for missing emails, duplicate records, inactive contacts (no engagement in 12+ months), and contacts with hard bounce flags in Fireberry. The discovery output is a migration manifest listing every field to be mapped and a hygiene recommendation for the customer's approval before any export begins.

Mailchimp audience setup and merge field provisioning

We create the destination Mailchimp Audience (or confirm an existing one if the customer already has Mailchimp). We provision all merge fields during this step: standard Mailchimp fields (FNAME, LNAME, PHONE, ADDRESS) plus any custom MERGETAG fields corresponding to Fireberry custom fields. We configure dropdown merge fields with their option sets, date fields with the correct format, and any boolean fields as Yes/No text. We verify the audience against Mailchimp's plan limits (Free: 500, Essentials: up to 100,000, Standard: up to 500,000) before proceeding.

Domain authentication verification

We guide the customer through Mailchimp's domain authentication process: adding DKIM and SPF records to their DNS, configuring DMARC alignment, and verifying the sending domain in Mailchimp's DNS validation check. This step cannot be skipped and typically takes one to three business days depending on DNS propagation. We do not begin the contact import until Mailchimp confirms authentication status. If the customer is migrating from a shared Fireberry sending domain, we also document the implications for deliverability.

Contact export, transform, and import

We export Fireberry Contacts with all standard fields and any discovered custom fields. We apply the hygiene pass (removing or flagging contacts per the customer's hygiene decision). We transform the export into Mailchimp's bulk-import format (CSV with email address as the primary key). We resolve Company names to tags, Deal pipeline and stage to tags, and Owner email to either a tag or merge field. We import via Mailchimp's bulk import API, chunking by batches of 5,000 contacts to stay within rate limits. Each batch emits a success/rejection count; rejected records (duplicates, invalid email formats) are logged for manual review.

Tag taxonomy activation and segment validation

We activate the tag taxonomy created during import (Company tags, Deal stage tags, Owner tags) and validate that Mailchimp's tag-based segments correctly return the expected contact counts. We spot-check 20-30 migrated contacts against the Fireberry source to verify field-level accuracy (name spelling, phone number format, merge field values). We validate that the unsubscribe status has been correctly set for any contacts who had opted out in Fireberry. Any mapping corrections happen in this step before cutover.

Cutover, automation inventory handoff, and validation

We freeze writes in Fireberry (or the last-modified timestamp is captured for a delta migration if the freeze is not feasible). We run a final delta import for any contacts modified during the migration window. We confirm Mailchimp audience size matches the expected record count. We deliver the automation inventory document listing every Fireberry Workflow with its trigger, conditions, and actions and a recommended Mailchimp Customer Journey equivalent. We do not rebuild automations in Mailchimp as part of the migration scope. We run a 48-hour post-migration monitoring window for bounce rate and delivery anomalies.