Migrate from Keap to Mailchimp

Keap Contacts map to Mailchimp Subscribers within an Audience. We use email address as the dedupe key and import contacts in tag-segmented batches so that each Mailchimp Audience contains contacts from the corresponding Keap tag group. Standard fields (first name, last name, email, phone, address) map to Mailchimp's merge field equivalents (FNAME, LNAME, EMAIL, PHONE, ADDRESS). Custom fields from Keap map to Mailchimp merge fields, but text-area fields exceeding 255 characters must be truncated or split into multiple merge fields, which we flag during scoping.

Mailchimp has no native company or account object. Keap Companies are stored as values in a Company Name merge field on the Subscriber record, or in a Notes section if the company name exceeds what fits in a standard merge field. For contacts with multiple associated companies in Keap, we flag this as a many-to-one scenario that requires the customer to decide which company to promote during migration. If the customer needs full company-level reporting, Mailchimp's Basic tier and above supports multiple audiences, which can be used to segment by company.

Keap tags map directly to Mailchimp tags on each Subscriber record. We export the complete tag taxonomy from Keap and apply tags to Mailchimp subscribers in the same groupings. Mailchimp's tag model supports multiple tags per subscriber, matching Keap's tag capability. We batch contacts by tag during import to avoid Mailchimp's per-minute tag operation limits on larger audiences. If Keap tags number in the hundreds, we consolidate to the top 50-100 most-used tags and flag overflow for manual cleanup.

Mailchimp has no native pipeline or deal tracking object. We raise this as an explicit scoping decision before migration. Options include: importing pipeline stage as a subscriber tag (e.g., DealStage-Present, DealStage-Won), creating a custom merge field for deal value, or excluding opportunities entirely. We document the customer's choice and implement accordingly. If the customer needs CRM-level pipeline management post-migration, we recommend pairing Mailchimp with a lightweight CRM like Pipedrive or HubSpot Starter, which is a common hybrid pattern for Keap ex-customers.

Keap automation sequences store step definitions in a proprietary format inaccessible via API. We export sequence names, step counts, and trigger condition summaries as a written inventory document for the customer to use when rebuilding in Mailchimp Customer Journeys. The rebuild requires manual recreation because Keap's tag-triggered, time-delayed sequences with conditional branching do not have a direct Mailchimp equivalent. We deliver a row-per-sequence document mapping each Keap sequence to the closest Mailchimp Customer Journey trigger and action pattern.

Mailchimp does not have an invoice or order management object. Keap invoices are flagged as out of scope for this migration. We export invoice records as a CSV reference file for the customer's accounting team to handle separately in their accounting software. Invoice totals and statuses are not migrated into Mailchimp; if the customer needs invoice history accessible in the marketing platform, a note field or custom merge field can be populated with a summary, but full invoice records require an external accounting tool.

Mailchimp's e-commerce features (available on Standard and Premium tiers) support products and abandoned cart automations, but the product catalog must be built manually or imported via Mailchimp's CSV product import. We export Keap products as a CSV with name, SKU, price, and description for manual upload into Mailchimp's product catalog. Product images and advanced catalog features do not transfer and require re-upload.

Mailchimp does not have a task management object equivalent to Keap's CRM tasks. We raise task records as out of scope for the standard migration, but we export them as a CSV file for the customer's reference if they need to migrate to a separate task management tool. If the customer is adopting a hybrid setup with Mailchimp for email and a separate CRM for task management, we can include task records in the migration scope for that destination system.

Keap notes associated with contacts migrate as subscriber notes in Mailchimp if the customer is on the Standard tier or above. Notes are imported as note entries on the subscriber profile, preserving the note body and author. Free-form notes without an associated contact date are imported with the creation timestamp. Note attachments do not migrate; we flag any contacts with attachments for manual follow-up.

Keap email campaign metadata (name, status, recipient tag, send date) migrates as a campaign history reference. Email body content can be exported via Keap's REST API, but HTML assets, images hosted on Keap's CDN, and embedded content do not transfer cleanly. We export campaign content as HTML text files for manual re-upload into Mailchimp's campaign builder. The campaign name and send history serves as a reference for the customer to recreate campaigns in Mailchimp with similar audience segments.

Keap custom fields discovered via the /retrieveContactModel endpoint map to Mailchimp merge fields. Mailchimp merge fields have a 255-character limit on text fields, which means long-text area fields from Keap must be truncated or split into multiple merge fields. We flag any custom field exceeding 255 characters during discovery and ask the customer to decide whether to truncate, split, or exclude. Date fields map to Mailchimp date merge fields, number fields map to number merge fields, and checkbox fields map to Mailchimp radio or dropdown merge fields depending on the source field type.

Mailchimp uses a permission-based team model without per-user seat billing on the free and Essentials plans. Keap users and team member accounts are not migrated as Mailchimp users; instead, the customer provisions Mailchimp user accounts post-migration. We export the Keap user list as a reference CSV for the customer to use during Mailchimp team setup.