FAQs: Workflow for Emails

FAQs: Workflow for Emails

1. How to automate different Email Templates based on the fields selected?

In any business, communicating with the customer is the most important activity. If your business deals with a countable number of customers it is easy to compose an email manually. But if there are multiple customers with multiple requirements, it is impossible to follow up with them manually. Email templates associated to workflow rules will provide solution to these kinds of situations. With email templates you can automate the same message to multiple recipients upon triggering a workflow rule. Email templates can be created in three ways: 
  1. Create from scratch

  2. Using predesigned templates

  3. Inserting HTML 


To create Templates:

  1. Go to Setup > Customization > Templates > Email.

  2. Click +Template, select the desired module.

  3. From the Template Gallery choose the suitable template, or create from the scratch.

  4. Create multiple templates based on your requirements.   

 

To create a workflow rule,

    1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules + Create Rule.

    2. Provide the necessary details and click Next

    1. Choose the desired option under WHEN, to execute the rule trigger.

    2. In Conditions choose 'Leads matching certain criteria', and select the fields accordingly. 

    1. Choose 'Email Notification' from Instant Action for immediate action or choose scheduled action to execute the rule after some time.

    2. Select the template that matches the field chosen above.

    3. Click Associate and Save.

Similarly create separate workflow for each of the template created and map them to the workflow rules. After configuring workflow rules with email templates, the system sends dynamic emails based on the field selected by the customer. 

2. Can I create a case for the Contact every time I receive an email?

Yes, you can create a workflow to create a new case when an email is received from a contact: 
    1. Choose the execution condition as when an email is received.
    2. Choose Contacts as the module to apply the rule to.
    3. Choose email field conditions if required.
    4. Choose Function as an Instant Action.
    5. Create a new function for the Contacts module.
    6. Copy and paste the following code to the Deluge editor:
            mp=map();
            mp.put("Status", "New");
            mp.put("Case_Origin", "Email");
            mp.put("Subject", "New email received");
            mp.put("Related_To", id);
            createcase=zoho.crm.createRecord("Cases", mp);
            info createcase;
    7. Click Edit Arguments and name the argument 'id'. Mark the Contact ID field for the argument and save the changes.

3. How can I track the last time an email was sent to or received from an email?

You can track the last time of sending an email by creating a custom date field in the module and performing a field update action using a workflow.
Step 1:
    1.  Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
    2. Choose the module and edit the layout.
Add the date or date/time field to the module and save the changes.
Step 2:
    1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules > Create New Workflow Rule.
    2. Choose Emails as the module.
    3. Choose the initial condition as when an outgoing email is sent
    4. Add condition 1 as apply to all.
    5. Choose Field Update as an Instant Action
    6. Choose New Update, select the date field, and set the value as Execution Day
    7. Enter a name for the field update and save the changes. 
Similarly, if you want to track both incoming and outgoing email activity time, you can create the same type of workflow rule for incoming emails and choose the same field update as described above.


4. Can I create a workflow rule to send an automatic follow-up emails if response is not received?

Yes, you can create a workflow and define the condition as when a sent email is opened and not replied for the specified number of days. 

5. How can I identify the record that did not reply to an email?

You can add the individual module record's url to the template that you create and replace the actual record ID in the URL with a merge tag for the module's record ID.

For example, for a workflow rule created for the Leads records, you can randomly select a
 
lead record and copy the URL of the record. Go to the email template that you are going to use for the email notification and edit the template. Paste the URL that you copied from the record into the template. Remove the record ID from the URL and replace it with the Leads ID merge tag and 
save the changes.



6. Can we automatically notify the manager if a salesperson does not reply to a client email?

Yes, you can set the condition as when the received emails are not replied to. After this you will have an option to create an email notification as an instant action and add the manager's email address as the recipient. You can then choose an email template for the notification.


7. Can workflow for email be configured for modules other than Leads or Contacts?

Yes, you can select Leads, Contacts, unknown, or custom modules. You can choose an unknown module when the sender is new or has not yet been added to your CRM account. Note that if you have selected an unknown module, it is mandatory to set conditions based on email fields. For example, you can set rules like if an email from an unknown sender is sent to the CEO's email address then a certain action must be performed.

8. Can workflow rule for email be made active for few users only?

Yes, you can set the workflow rule to only apply to selected users.

You can create a workflow rule for outgoing emails and enter the following conditions: "When the sender isn't" and type the email addresses for the users you do not want the workflow rule to be triggered for.
 

9. Do I need IMAP integration for configuring workflows for email?

There are two points you need to consider before creating workflow rule for emails:
  1. If the workflow rule is created for emails that are sent from the CRM account, then IMAP integration is not needed. 
  2. If you use other email options then you must configure IMAP integration to sync the incoming emails with your CRM account. The workflow will be triggered based on the defined criteria.

10. How do I create a workflow rule for emails?

Workflow for email allows you to automate a set of actions based on incoming and outgoing emails. Based on status of the emails you can create tasks, discontinue email sequence, stop a drip campaign. 


To create a workflow rule for the emails:
    1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
    2. Click Create Rule.
    3. In the Create New Rule page:
    • Select Email from the Module dropdown list.
    • Enter the Rule Name and Description.
    • Click Next.
    4. Select Incoming email or Outgoing email and the condition for When do you want to execute the rule?
    5. Click Next.
    6. In Condition:
    • Click Yes or No for Would you like to set conditions for email fields?
    • Specify the email fields if you chose Yes.
    • Select the module in Apply this rule to.
    • Select All for Which (module) you want to apply this rule to? or specify the conditions.
    • Click Next.
    7. Select an Instant Action.

    8. Click Save.

11. What actions can be triggered based on status of an email?

The following actions can be automated based on emails:

  • Creating a task

  • Updating a field

  • Notifying a user

  • Triggering a custom function

  • Triggering a webhook


12. What is the purpose of creating workflows for email?

Configuring workflows based on the email status and responses received from the recipients allows you automate actions, such as:

  • Sending notifications to users when an email is not replied

  • Updating fields based on email status in a module

  • Creating automatic tasks for reps based on the subject of an email

  • Sending notifications when an email is bounced

  • Creating tickets based on the emails sent

Read more about creating workflow rules for emails.


13. How do I send an email automatically when a lead is created?

Workflow rules help you automate the process of sending an email to a lead as soon as they are added to CRM. Before you set up the workflow rule, you must create the email template.

To do this:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Customization > Templates > Email.
  2. Click + New Template.
  3. Select the module to create the email template for from the dropdown list and click Next to open the Template Gallery page.
  4. Design a template from scratch or choose a pre-designed template and click Save.

 

To set up the workflow rule:

  1. Navigate to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
  2. Click Create Rule.
  3. Select the Leads module in the Create New Rule pop-up and enter the rule name and description.
  4. Select On a record action for When do you want to execute this rule? and click Create.
  5. Specify the All Leads as the Condition.
  6. Choose Email Notification under Instant Action.
  7. Select the email template and click Associate.
  8. Click Save.

14. How do I send automated birthday wishes or reminders?

You can send automated birthday wishes or reminders by setting up a workflow rule to create scheduled actions.


Set the workflow rule to execute during a certain date (contact's birthday). Set the workflow to recur every year.

15. What types of conditions can be set for workflow rule for emails? 

You can set conditions either for a specific email field or a module.
 
  • Based on the email field : You can select a specific email field as a condition. For example, if the attachment contains "proposal" or if the sender is " someone@domain.com " then execute the rule. The email fields you can choose are: attachment name, CC, sender, sent to, has attachment, and subject. If you have set more than one condition, you can choose if the rule should execute when "all" or "any" condition/s is satisfied.

 

  • Based on the module : You can select the module for which you want the rule to be executed. You can select Leads, Contacts, Unknown, or Custom modules. You can choose an unknown module when the sender is new or not yet added to your CRM account. Note that if you have selected an unknown module, it is mandatory to set conditions based on email fields. For example, you can set rules like if any email from an unknown sender is sent to the CEO's email address, then certain action must be performed.



Read more about the workflow for emails here .

16. I want to be automatically notified of idle records in CRM. Say, when a lead has remained in a particular state for over 14 days, an email should be automated to sales managers in CRM. Is this possible?

Yes. You can automate an email notification if a lead has remained in a particular state for a long period of time, say 14 days. Use scheduled actions in workflow rules to do this. Here's how you create scheduled actions in workflow rules: 
  1. Click Settings > Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
  2. Click Create Rule.
  3. Under the Create New Rule Popup, choose Record action, select Field Update and pick the Lead Status field. 
  4. Under Which, choose All Records.
  5. Add a Scheduled action to be executed 14 days after the Rule Trigger Time. 
    To this, associate a custom function as seen in this image.  

After setting up this rule, if the Lead Status field is updated, the email as configured in the custom function will be automated 14 days from the date of modification (rule trigger time). 

  • The criteria (input.status != "Qualified") ensures that the scheduler does not automate the escalation email once the lead has reached the end state. Example, you wouldn't want an escalation email to be sent in the case of qualified leads. So, you can exclude the "Qualified" status from the workflow rule; this way, the rule is executed only for records that have remained in other states for more than 14 days - such as Not Contacted, Junk and so on. 

17. How many emails can be sent per day using the workflow alerts?

You can send either (No. of Users x 100) or 5000 emails, whichever is lower, using workflow alerts in the Paid Accounts.
In the Free Accounts, the limit is 200 emails per day while for the trial accounts, it is 10 emails per day.

18. How can I automate the sending of emails? Say, for instance, sending a welcome email or scheduling emails to be sent to leads.

You can both automate and schedule the sending of emails using workflow automation. You can create a workflow rule for the leads module and choose to trigger an email when the lead has been created. Learn more about creating workflow rules here.

I would like to have a unified email address that is the same for both business and customers. For instance, when I change the email address of the business, I have to go to the customers associated with that business and change those addresses too. Can this be done?

You can do this by using custom functions. Read more about how to create and use custom functions here. 

​
We hope that this list of frequently asked questions about workflow for emails are informative. If you still have questions that haven't been addressed, please let us know here. We will be happy to discuss them with our subject matter experts and add them in the future. And please don't forget to share your rating below!


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