Putting the "Fun" in Fundraising and Communications
January 10, 2020
Putting the "Fun" in Fundraising and Communications
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Standard
Overall Satisfaction with Mailchimp
Mailchimp is used by two departments in our organization: Communications and Development.
Communications utilizes the platform to all our institutional marketing needs. It is the primary marketing tool for our company. We sell tickets to performances, administer surveys, pre & post-show informational emails, and weekly newsletters. The Development department uses Mailchimp for email fundraising campaigns & solicitations.
The platform addresses our need for a single unified contact management and communications system shared across multiple departments. One of the biggest advantages to Mailchimp is the integration with Salesforce/Patron Manager via the "PatronChimp" plugin. This allows us to build contact reports within Salesforce and turn them into Segments for use in Mailchimp, making the mailing list segment dynamic: the list auto-updates based on customer behavior and relationships. Another advantage to this setup the bi-directional updating of contact lists: when emails bounce or recipients unsubscribe via Mailchimp, the contact information is auto-updated in Salesforce.
Communications utilizes the platform to all our institutional marketing needs. It is the primary marketing tool for our company. We sell tickets to performances, administer surveys, pre & post-show informational emails, and weekly newsletters. The Development department uses Mailchimp for email fundraising campaigns & solicitations.
The platform addresses our need for a single unified contact management and communications system shared across multiple departments. One of the biggest advantages to Mailchimp is the integration with Salesforce/Patron Manager via the "PatronChimp" plugin. This allows us to build contact reports within Salesforce and turn them into Segments for use in Mailchimp, making the mailing list segment dynamic: the list auto-updates based on customer behavior and relationships. Another advantage to this setup the bi-directional updating of contact lists: when emails bounce or recipients unsubscribe via Mailchimp, the contact information is auto-updated in Salesforce.
- Incredibly easy to create well-designed emails from practical templates
- Easy use of merge tags, including custom merge tags
- I would like to see some more user-friendly ways to integrate with social campaigns
- Mobile design is good, however more mobile-specific templates would be useful.
- Cloud-based so all users across departments have access to the same data
- Bi-directional list updates integrate with our Salesforce CRM, saving time, increasing productivity, and ensuring customer satisfaction
It may sound inconsequential, but one of the best features of Mailchimp is how the platform anticipates user workflow and includes fun tips & tricks along the way. The user interface is literally "fun" to use, which as I mentioned earlier, takes a lot of the stress and pressure out of working with the platform. Compared to Constant Contact, I find Mailchimp more user-friendly, especially when it comes to list segmentation and integration with our Salesforce CRM.
Our primary benefit lies in the integration with our Salesforce CRM. As a performing arts organization with a large audience and donor base, we have many different kinds of customers to interact with. Mailchimp allows us to utilize the power of our own CRM, creating as many reports needed to reach specific customer segments. The bi-directional integration means that if an email recipient wants to change preferences, our CRM is automatically updated; likewise, as the Salesforce report changes with new additions or changes to contact information, the Mailchimp segment connected to that report changes automatically as well. This integration prevents all our communications, and enables us to build trust with users, while increasing engagement and doing what we need to do best: selling tickets and soliciting donations.
Our most successful campaigns utilize the list segmentation and merge-tag features of Mailchimp. We have learned through using the platform, that the more specific you can be with each recipient, the more engagement you will get: customers want to feel like you know who they are and what they want. As long as you are putting decent data into your CRM (or mailing list), you have the ability to use merge tags to leverage that data in your email communications. Customers who receive communications when they anticipate them, and with personalized merge tags that make them feel like you know them, will engage deeper with the company - which translates to more sales and more donations.