In digital marketing, automation is the key to success. If you had to manually manage every single message you send to your audience, chances are you would be hopelessly overwhelmed. It’s also possible that eventually you would make a mistake and potential customers could receive messages out of order or not at all.
That's why digital marketing solutions have increasingly emphasized automation techniques in their offerings. Social networks like Facebook enable users to schedule their messages ahead, while email marketing tools automatically keep an 'unsubscribed' list to prevent faulty sends. But nowhere is automation more important than in inbound marketing, which is where HubSpot enters the equation. Keep reading to learn how to use the Workflows Tool in HubSpot for maximum success.
HubSpot's Workflows Tool: An Overview
HubSpot developed workflows to enable marketers to scale their efforts. They automatically achieve processes in the background, often based on starting conditions for individual leads. Through a simple search-and-click mechanism, users can set up a starting condition such as a potential customer filling out a form or joining a list, and specify actions that should occur in relation to that specific user based on the condition.
In essence, it's a simple, linear 'if-then' formula: if a lead takes an action or something within their properties change, and action occurs. Then, a set time frame after the first action, a second takes place, and so on until the end condition is met. This tutorial offers an overview of how to use the tool.
Used correctly, workflows should be a powerful part of your marketing efforts. Here are three ways in which you can take advantage of their functionality:
1) Email Nurturing
For inbound marketers, the most natural use for a workflow is to allow it to drive your lead nurturing campaign. The starting condition in this case is the moment at which a member of your target audience becomes a lead, by entering your main lead list or filling out a form on the website. Each following step is an email set to send out at a specific date and time that is based on the initial action.
For example, a visitor may turn into a lead based on filling out a form required to download a whitepaper. Via a workflow, HubSpot users can set up sequential emails to go out immediately after signing up, one week later, two weeks later, and so on. When setting up these types of workflows, it's important to always follow lead nurturing best practices.
2) Lead Scoring
HubSpot's workflows can also be used to set up a lead scoring system. Not every lead is created equal, and assuming that every one will be qualified for a sales call after a certain amount of time may cause your sales team to waste time. Assigning point values to interactions your leads take that may be related to being increasingly sales-ready is known as lead scoring. It can be a significant asset in focusing on only the most relevant (and profitable) leads.
Using the workflows tool, you can set up manual scores for each action your users take. Leads who regularly open your emails, for example, may receive a low score each time they do so, while those who decide to register for a webinar will receive a higher score.
3) Internal Notifications
Of course, your sales team should not have to manually seek out leads with high scores in order to make the sales call. That's why workflows can also be used for internal notification systems. At its simplest, the concept works as follows: once a lead reaches a certain number of points, a workflow is triggered with that criterion as the starting condition. Then, an email gets sent to your sales team, notifying them that this lead is now qualified.
Internal notification workflows can also become more in-depth. If, for example, your sales team splits up its prospects based on territories or other qualifying criteria, you can use that information as a condition for the workflow to execute. Doing so requires setting up a few other steps within this workflow, but can be accomplished with just a few clicks.
Are you taking full advantage of HubSpot's Workflows tool? Hopefully, the above tips can help you set up workflows that benefit both your marketing and sales teams.