Working With Workflows

This blog explains how to use workflows to automate successful marketing campaigns in an easy way.

Covered in this article

What Are Workflows and Why Are They Important?
Tips On Creating A Workflow
The Benefits Of Automating Marketing Campaigns
The Benefits Of Using HubSpot

What Are Workflows and Why Are They Important?

The standard definition of a workflow is an organised, repeatable business process that transforms assets, services and/or data. Simply put, a workflow is a list or a worksheet consisting of the stages that need to be consecutively completed in order for work to get done.

With workflow, the emphasis is on flow. A complete workflow can be achieved alone or with many individuals. By nature, workflows follow in sequence and are linear, with pre-determined outcomes and rules.

Examples of team workflow are publicity checklists or employee onboarding, while blogging is an example of workflow done alone.

But in the working world, workflows tend to be more complex than just a blog. For example, employee onboarding may require several tasks, reports, departments and meetings.

These, in turn, call for coordination so they can be correctly supervised, achieved and adjusted for maximum efficiency.

So, what are the elements and origins of workflows?

Workflows were created in response to the rapid growth of personnel and machinery as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Workflows answer the questions: What exactly are the jobs being done, who does what task, and how long does each task take?

By assessing the work to do, you have a better handle on how it gets done, its challenges as well as the solutions.

Tips On Creating A Workflow

1. Isolate Your Assets

In order to refine and bolster workflows that already exist, you need to get to the bottom of how they are actioned. Workflows may be paper-based, and/or underpinned by digital elements like emails, and/or comprise flows of information to and from senders and recipients.

So, workflows involve people as well as operation processes. Start by finding out your team’s current working process and go from there. For remote workers and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), ask the team to record a screencast to further define their activities.

Then you can work out the problems with current processes, and make improvements.

2. Specify the tasks that need to be completed

Carefully considered workflows are structured with sequential tasks to be completed in parallel, or conditional tasks that need to be finished before moving on to the next one. Whereas unstructured workflows take a linear track to completion.

Understanding the task structure and the exchange of information is vital in devising an online workflow.

3. Determine which person is responsible for what task and allocate specific roles

After working out each task’s description and purpose, examine who does the workflow. Identify the stakeholders their roles, and the data they need to do their jobs. Then, establish clear functions and responsibilities for each task.

4. Visualise activity by making workflow charts

Digital and visual depictions of paper-based workflows help you with business process modelling – from simple, user-friendly management tools to more complex, elaborate ones.

5. Assess the workflow you created

Testing your model is key to transferring it to the digital realm. What might look perfect on the outside may contain errors inside. To know its flaws and pinpoint problems, involve the team comprising the workflow. They should know what works and what fails. Use their feedback to tweak your workflow to perfection.

6. Familiarise your team with the digital workflow

What might work in theory may bomb in the real world. Your team may be resistant to change and fear the unknown. So, instil confidence and familiarity with new ways of working by introducing a thorough training programme.

Circulate your workflow diagrams to give your team a visual sense of the workflow and its benefits, and their roles in it.

7. Implement the workflow

After trialling the workflow, it’s time to use it. Real-time testing with a small team is best at first. Based on the outcome, move forward with it and make it company practice, or keep it for further tweaking…

You can then keep the successful workflow model to use as a template for new updates when the need arises, or start from scratch when there are policy shifts or more criteria.

The next step? Transforming that model to a workflow in automated software.

The Benefits Of Automating Marketing Campaigns

Process automation has several benefits for companies and entities. You increase workforce momentum by allocating resources to the most crucial tasks at hand. Software that leverages marketing and sale operations to create leads increases the bottom line and minimises downtime.

Software deliverables push the most appropriate content to the right audience at the best time and allow you to adjust the content by monitoring clients’ reactions to it. This is where HubSpot Workflows make it so much easier to keep all your marketing campaigns on a single platform for optimal service delivery.

HubSpot Tools

HubSpot is driven by inbound service models to fast-track airtight, intuitive marketing end goals. It encompasses customer support, SEO, live chat, web analytics, lead generation, social media marketing, content management and customer relationship management.

For injections of smooth and seamless sync-ups between sales and marketing drives, HubSpot is the perfect all-inclusive workflow tool. It boasts features like hubs for marketing, sales and service, plus CRM (customer relationship management).

Reasonably priced and user-optimised, HubSpot lets you easily take action on your contacts, companies, deals, quotes, and tickets. You only pay for the contacts you market to, eliminating spending on unsubscribers, bounces and one-off tickets.

HubSpot’s agility integrates third-party services and features for WordPress, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SugarCRM and NetSuite, among others.

Chief among HubSpot’s CRM software tool hallmarks are:

HubSpot Snippets

Using snippets reduces downtime – snippets are text blocks of around 500 characters you can add to company records, emails, chats, CRM prospects and live chats.

Email Template Creation

Pre-written emails can be customised or sent without changes, saving you time. This helps with following up on leads - HubSpot sends these emails to contacts when your leads are most interactive with their inbox, boosting email open rates.

HubSpot Document Tool

Archival content creation for your sales and marketing team. This tool alerts you when contacts click on your content, tracking your aggregate metrics for lead generation.

HubSpot Workflows

HubSpot lets you manage your workflow actions and set the time of their execution. It also lets you set enrollment triggers and associate campaigns and enables salesforce enrolment.

Enrollment Triggers

These are sets of rules that automatically or manually enrol records in workflows when they meet specific criteria.

Workflow Actions

These are HubSpot functions executed by the workflow for enrolled records, including record management, internal and external timing communications, and timing delays.

Deleting and Restoring Workflows

HubSpot lets you delete workflows in bulk or individually, and restore them within 90 days of being deleted.

The Benefits Of Using HubSpot

HubSpot can be as granular or as big-picture as you need it to be. Its UX (user experience) is fresh and easy to follow and doesn’t feel like it’s been hastily assembled through acquisitions.

Hubs can be bought together or separately, and HubSpot’s rich insights grow your business strategies to new heights. Integrations, hubs and tools are aligned for maximum customer personalisation.

HubSpot lets you stand out in a market flooded with “me too” CRM offerings. It ignites conversion rates from click to buy by using its ads optimisation feature. This signals Google that a contact’s stage has changed, and further refines Google’s algorithms. No more guessing when it comes to each user’s position in their buying journey. HubSpot’s tracking and analytics put paid to that.

HubSpot Academy is education gold and its software training, projects, certifications and courses are designed for newbies and professionals. New courses are released on a regular basis. HubSpot User Groups (HUG) are multiple, worldwide and ideal for best practice learning, knowledge sharing and networking.

HubSpot makes identifying prospects easier by tracking and monitoring IP addresses from companies visiting your website. It’s up to you to decide when the best time is to approach them for leads. When HubSpot gets new info about leads, it updates your records automatically. Your sales team has refreshed lead info at their fingertips, 24/7.

HubSpot makes scheduling meetings as easy as pie with its meeting tool, which syncs contact links and appointments with your HubSpot calendar. The calendar allows you to see when landing pages, social media posts, blogs and emails have been scheduled and published.

HubSpot’s calls-to-actions make for compelling, alluring CTAs which you can test, and then track locations, clicks, views and other metrics. In addition, it lets you edit your website with the click of a button.

HubSpot’s support system is second to none and superfast, and it strives to always improve its services. It releases a monthly list of product updates, allowing you to achieve more by using the latest tools.

HubSpot’s ABM (account-based marketing) tools include cutting-edge properties like AI-powered recommendations and account-level targeting, as well as ABM dashboard and company scoring.

HubSpot chatbots enable your real-time conversations with potential clients to convert leads and close deals with personalised detail. HubSpot also segments contacts based on their communication preferences, gender and location to target your marketing efforts with laser accuracy. No more contact unsubscribing!

Here’s to the flow in workflow with HubSpot!