Migrate from Skyward CRM to Mailchimp

Skyward CRM Contact records map to Mailchimp Members within a primary Audience. We extract first_name, last_name, email, phone, and address fields and format them as a CSV compatible with Mailchimp's import endpoint. Contacts without a valid email address are excluded from the import and logged in a skipped-records report. Skyward contact owner assignments do not map to Mailchimp equivalents because Mailchimp does not have per-record owner permissions; we store the original owner as a tag or custom field if the customer requires audit traceability.

Skyward CRM Lead records merge into the same Mailchimp Audience as Contacts because Mailchimp has a single member record type. We preserve the original Skyward lifecycle stage (lead, qualified, converted) as a Mailchimp tag applied to each Member. Lead status fields from Skyward migrate as custom merge fields or tags depending on the customer's segmentation preferences. Where a Lead and a Contact share the same email address, we treat them as a single Member and consolidate the tags from both records.

Mailchimp does not have a native Company or Account object. Skyward CRM Company records contribute their company_name to a Mailchimp merge field (company_name) and a tag applied to every Member associated with that company via the Skyward contact-to-company relationship. We extract the contact-to-company associations from Skyward during the contact query, group contacts by their parent company, and apply a consistent tag pattern (e.g., CompanyAcme) to each Member. If the customer uses multiple companies per contact, we generate multiple tags.

Skyward CRM custom fields discovered during the scoping phase map to Mailchimp merge fields. Mailchimp imposes a 255-character limit on text merge fields. Any Skyward custom field exceeding 255 characters is truncated with a suffix indicator (e.g., _truncated) and logged for the customer's review. Picklist fields from Skyward map to Mailchimp radio or dropdown merge field types; multi-select picklists map to Mailchimp checkboxes. We configure merge fields in the Mailchimp Audience before the contact import begins.

Skyward CRM activity records (calls, emails, meetings, tasks, notes) do not have a native Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp's activity data is campaign-centric (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) rather than a general interaction log. We do not migrate activity history. For customers who need interaction history for marketing attribution, we recommend linking Mailchimp campaign activity back to a CRM post-migration. We deliver a written inventory of all Skyward activity records by type and date range for the customer's admin to review.

Skyward CRM Deals and pipeline stages have no Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp is not a sales pipeline tool. We do not migrate Deals. During scoping, we document the deal count, total pipeline value, and pipeline stage distribution so the customer understands what will be absent in Mailchimp. If the customer intends to use a lightweight CRM alongside Mailchimp post-migration, we identify the recommended contact fields and tag structure to carry forward deal context.

Skyward CRM partner management records use a non-standard schema including partner type, commission structure, and shared lead attribution. Mailchimp has no native partner or affiliate concept. We extract partner records and apply a partner-type tag (e.g., Partner, Referral, Reseller) to each Member who was associated with a partner in Skyward. Commission and attribution data is documented in the field-mapping spreadsheet for the customer's admin to evaluate in a downstream commission tracking system. We do not create new CRM records for partners inside Mailchimp.

Skyward CRM does not expose email engagement status via a documented API. We work with the customer to identify any contacts known to have unsubscribed or bounced from internal records, email campaign history in Skyward, or customer-provided lists. These email addresses are imported as Mailchimp suppression list entries before the primary contact import, preventing accidental re-subscribe during migration. Mailchimp's suppression list handles unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-complain records separately; we configure the correct suppression type per the customer's source data.