Migrate from GorillaDesk to Mailchimp

GorillaDesk Customer records map directly to Mailchimp Subscribers. Each customer with a valid email address becomes a subscriber in the target Mailchimp Audience. Customers without email addresses are flagged as incomplete and excluded unless a phone number is used for SMS-capable audiences.

Standard name fields on GorillaDesk customers populate Mailchimp's built-in FNAME and LNAME merge fields. These fields are included in all Mailchimp plans and do not require custom merge field creation. Name fields map 1:1 with no transformation. If a customer has only a single name (e.g., a mononym), FlitStack AI will place the entire value into the FNAME merge field and leave LNAME blank, ensuring the subscriber record remains valid.

The primary email address on a GorillaDesk customer record becomes the Mailchimp subscriber's email address (EMAIL field). This is the unique identifier in Mailchimp — duplicate emails are merged or rejected based on audience settings. Email format validation runs before import.

GorillaDesk phone numbers map to Mailchimp's PHONE merge field. This field is included by default in Mailchimp but must be enabled in Audience settings. Phone numbers migrate as text preserving all digits, dashes, and country codes stored in GorillaDesk. If a phone number includes an extension (e.g., 'x123'), FlitStack AI appends it to the PHONE field after a space, ensuring the full contact detail is available for SMS campaigns.

GorillaDesk stores address components separately (address_line_1, address_line_2, city, state, zip). Mailchimp's ADDRESS merge field expects a structured format (ADDR1, ADDR2, CITY, STATE, ZIP). We parse and reformat address components into Mailchimp's required structure before import. During parsing, any missing components (such as missing zip code) are left blank in the corresponding Mailchimp field, and a warning is logged for the admin to review and fill in manually if needed.

Any custom fields on GorillaDesk customer records require corresponding merge fields in Mailchimp. We create TEXT, NUMBER, DATE, or ADDRESS merge fields in Mailchimp Audience settings based on the source field's data type. Each custom field must be manually added in Mailchimp's audience field management before migration runs.

GorillaDesk notes attached to customer records have no Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp has no internal-notes field on subscribers. We can preserve note content as a Mailchimp tag (e.g., CUSTOM_NOTES) or store the content in a custom TEXT merge field if the admin specifies — otherwise notes are excluded.

GorillaDesk job records (completed services, materials used, job status, technician assignments) have no Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp tracks campaign engagement, not operational history. Service history cannot migrate — customers receive future emails, not historical job summaries. If you need to communicate past service details, consider exporting job summaries to a PDF and attaching them to a Mailchimp email, or using a CRM‑linked document automation tool to generate personalized reports per customer.

GorillaDesk users and technicians are internal staff records, not customer contacts. They do not map to Mailchimp subscribers. If a technician is also a customer (receives marketing emails), their record should exist as a separate customer contact in GorillaDesk — we migrate that contact, not the user account.

Billing and payment history in GorillaDesk has no Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp does not store financial transaction records. If payment status or billing plan is relevant for email segmentation (e.g., 'active customer' vs 'past due'), this must be surfaced as a custom field on the customer record before migration, then mapped as a merge field.