INTRODUCTION
According to a competitor report by Datanyze, Mailchimp is the No. 1 email marketing software with more than 68% of the market share. The report also reveals that more than 925,000 companies use the platform.
Since it launched in 2001, Mailchimp has evolved from a standalone email marketing site into an all-in-one marketing platform with features like social media compatibility, e-commerce integrations and web development. Its arsenal of email marketing tools also continues to expand to help businesses of all sizes reach and retain customers.
Following are some new features and updates to Mailchimp for 2022.
INTUIT ACQUIRES MAILCHIMP
Intuit Inc. completed its acquisition of Mailchimp at the end of 2021. According to the announcement, the union of the two companies will deliver an AI-driven, end-to-end customer growth platform for small and mid-market businesses.
One benefit of the partnership is the integration of Mailchimp into the QuickBooks platform. If your business uses QuickBooks, you can now import those contacts into Mailchimp where they can be segmented based on different attributes. You can then optimize your marketing efforts by sending tailored email campaigns to those groups.
Essentially, this provides businesses with a customer relationship management (CRM) solution they may not have had before.
The two companies also plan to implement deeper integration. This could involve syncing customer purchase data between the two platforms and offering custom marketing recommendations.
MAILCHIMP ADDS NEW E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS AND INTEGRATIONS
Mailchimp has been rapidly expanding its e-commerce features in recent years. Last year, for instance, it launched Mailchimp Stores, an online storefront that has a product catalog and order management tools.
You can create the site in a matter of minutes, and Mailchimp will automatically generate a product listings page, individual product pages and SEO tools. Mailchimp Stores also are integrated with marketing features like automated emails, social posting and digital ad options.
This year, Mailchimp launched a new streamlined integration with Stripe that allows businesses to sync Stripe data with Mailchimp. While the two were previously integrated, the recent update automatically synchronizes information so marketers can use it more quickly.
For instance, businesses can create behavior-based email automations based on customers’ real-time interactions with Stripe. These could include automated messages for purchases, customer loyalty offers or new subscriptions, to name a few.
Shopify Plus stores and Mailchimp can now be directly integrated as well, which eliminates the need for third-party tools or manual data transfers. Similar to Stripe, the integration allows small and medium-sized businesses to leverage data to enhance their marketing efforts.
Once connected, businesses can take advantage of Mailchimp’s pre-built segments and behavioral targeting features for their automated email marketing campaigns.
NEW CUSTOMER JOURNEY AUTOMATIONS
If you’re not familiar, “Customer Journeys” is the name for Mailchimp’s automated email campaigns. While this paid feature has been around since 2020, Mailchimp recently added new pre-built journey templates to its collection. Many of the new additions align with Mailchimp’s recent e-commerce push.
For instance, “send order confirmation” and “abandoned cart reminder” are designed for businesses with an e-commerce component. Other e-commerce-related templates include options for re-engaging contacts who haven’t made a recent purchase. You also can send shipping and refund confirmations, among others.
Meanwhile, other types of businesses can take advantage of the templates that drive audience actions, such as increasing the open rate by split-testing the subject line or improving conversion rates by testing content. You also can create a split test drip campaign, which tests the timing between each email in the automation.
A complete list of pre-built journeys can be found in the new “Overview” tab in the “Automations” section of your Mailchimp account.
To start a customer journey, select the pre-built template you’d like to use. From there, click continue and fill in the required information. You will need to confirm or assign the starting point (e.g., how people enter the automation), create the emails and select the timing for most Customer Journeys. If you prefer to stray from the templates, click “Create Journey” to build your own custom journey.