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21 Days of Automation
The first task I completed this morning was one which was created for me by Zapier, based on some pre-scheduled out-reach to a client, and ensures I’m keeping a regular cadence with my customers.
The zap uses an Airtable trigger to create Gmail drafts in my inbox for me to send to customers I haven’t talked to in a while. This zap solves two problems for me, as a Solutions Architect.
- It ensures that I can get on with all of the reactive work that comes in, and prioritise that above all else
But also
- It keeps me from losing touch with customers who may not need to contact me for reactive issues but would like to hear from me on any number of topics ranging from product updates to my thoughts or analysis on their implementation
The beauty of this, and the key reason I don’t just schedule a weekly task that might vaguely instruct me to “follow up with client-list” is that the email draft has the following traits:
- Specific — It is related specifically to an individual client I have not spoken to in a set amount of time. Therefore I can be sure I’m giving all of my customers equal attention.
- Timely — Because it’s time-based it has two benefits — It is based on the last time I spoke to the client, so it allows me to define what a regular cadence should be, and commit to delivering on it. In addition to this, it ensures I’m not overloaded with out-reach on any given day, and as a result, it means…
- I don’t hate out-reach. Out-reach can be an incredibly daunting task, but if you combine it with automation, it can allow you to reap the benefits of building a relationship with your customers, while also significantly reduce the administrative and research overhead.
- Finally, I think the reason that this works for me is that because I’m creating a ready-to-send draft in my inbox.
- I still get final edit of the email, and as a result, I can always ensure it is authentic and human, instead of automated, forced and weird
Feel free to use my zap and Customer Success Tasks template (which I will talk about in another post) if you think you could benefit from talking to your customers more.
STEP 1: CONFIGURE YOUR BASE IN AIRTABLE
STEP 2: CONFIGURE YOUR ZAP TO SEND AN EMAIL WHEN A RECORD APPEARS IN THIS VIEW
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