Send Out Workflow Actions Based on Contact Time Zone

Effective communication strategies heavily rely on the settings for workflow in marketing automation. These settings are important in determining the success or failure of an automation system.

How to Use Workflow Settings

Go to Automation and click “Workflow”. Choose the workflow you want to edit. Click “Settings” between Actions and History.

How To Use Workflow Settings

Main category settings in the workflow include:

1. Communication Management 

This begins with managing communication.

Time Window:

A crucial setting in marketing automation is the Time Window, which can be configured as 'Any Time' or 'Specific Time.' Opting for 'Specific Time' is valuable when dealing with clients in different time zones, ensuring messages are sent at optimal reading times.

Any Time – There is no restriction on when messages can be sent.

Specific Time - When the Time Window is set to "Specific Time," messages are only sent if they fall within the designated time frame. Messages outside this window will wait until the next available window for delivery.

Usage For Time Window Setting

Any time:

Case 1: Critical updates or notifications, regardless of the time, setting the workflow to 'Any Time' ensures messages are sent promptly.

Case 2: To ensure immediate delivery of In international businesses with customers across multiple time zones, using the 'Any Time' setting ensures messages are delivered without delay, aligning with each customer's local time.

Case 3: When dealing with time-insensitive content such as monthly newsletters or general announcements, using the 'Any Time' setting allows messages to be sent without constraints of a specific time window.

Specific Time:

Case 1: When sending marketing communications like promotional emails or special offers, configuring the workflow to 'Specific Time' enables you to send these messages during peak engagement hours, maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Case 2: When sending regular daily or weekly updates, opting for the 'Specific Time' setting ensures consistency and predictability for your recipients, establishing a reliable schedule for the delivery of updates.

Case 3: In time-sensitive workflows such as flash sales or limited-time offers, utilizing the 'Specific Time' setting ensures that customers receive the messages precisely at the intended time, maximizing the effectiveness of the time-bound promotions.

What happens if a message is scheduled outside the set Time Window?

Messages scheduled to be sent outside the specified Time Window will not be delivered immediately. Instead, they will be queued and sent at the beginning of the next Time Window according to the specified settings.

Can I set different Time Windows for different days of the week?

The time window setting applies uniformly to all days of the week within a workflow. It is not possible to specify different Time Windows for different days within the same workflow.

Is the Time Window setting based on my or the contact's Time zone?

The Time Window setting in your workflow follows the Time zone setting specified in your Workflow Settings, which can be either Account Time zone or Contact Time zone.

NOTE: YOU’LL SEE AN ENTRY FOR WHETHER AN ACTION WAS UNDERTAKEN IN THE ACCOUNT TIME ZONE OR CONTACT TIMEZONE: 

How Does Time Zone Work? 

When the Time zone setting is set to "Account Time zone," the Wait steps and Time Window executions in the workflow are processed according to the time zone specified for the account. account's time zone.

How Does Contact Time Zone Work?

When the Time zone setting is set to "Contact Time zone," the Wait steps and Time Window executions in the workflow are based on each individual contact's time zone. If a contact has a specific time zone assigned, the workflow will execute based on that time zone. However, if a contact doesn't have a specific time zone specified, the workflow will default to using the time zone for execution. 

Uses For Time Zone Settings

Case 1: For businesses operating primarily in a specific geographical location, configuring the workflow to use the account time zone ensures that all communications align with the business hours, promoting consistency and relevance in messaging.

Case 2: When running a scheduled event, such as a webinar or live Q&A, according to your business time zone, setting the workflow to the account time zone guarantees that participants receive timely reminders and follow-ups at the correct times.

Case 3: Setting the workflow to an internal communication process for a company operating within a single time zone ensures that all employees receive the intended communications, fostering effective and consistent internal messaging.

Contact Time Zone:

Case 1: For global businesses with customers across different time zones, setting the workflow to contact Time zone ensures that communications are conveniently sent to each customer according to their specific time zone.

Case 2: When running a drip marketing campaign for a global audience, setting the workflow to contact Time zone ensures that customers receive emails at a suitable time in their own time zone, increasing the chances of engagement.

Case 3: By setting the workflow to contact Time Zone, personalized birthday or anniversary messages can be delivered to customers at the beginning of their special day, regardless of their location.

If a contact has no specific time zone, which will be used?

When the Time zone is set to "Contact Time zone" and a contact doesn't have a specific time zone, the workflow will default to using the Account Time zone.

What happens if I change my Account Time zone while a workflow is still running?

Changes in the Account Time zone will not impact contacts already in active workflows; the change will only affect new entries to those workflows.

Can I set different time zones for different steps within a workflow?

Time zone setting applies to the entire workflow, rather than individual steps within the workflow.

Sender Email:

This feature enables you to establish a default 'From' name and email address for your emails, which can be overridden by specific email actions within the workflow when necessary.

Email: You have the option to set a default name and email address for your emails, but you can also customize and change them by specifying the desired from name and email in the email actions.

Uses For Sender Email:

Case 1: More effective communication for customer service-related workflows

User 2: When a CEO or department head sends an email during the onboarding process, it adds a personal touch.

Case 3: If you have partnerships in your workflow, using a designated email address for that program can make things clearer.

Can I set different sender emails for different actions within the same workflow?

You can change the sender email in your workflow by specifying a different name and email address for each email action.

What happens if my Sender Email is not verified?

To ensure successful email delivery, make sure your email service provider verifies the sender's email address. If the email is not verified, there may be delivery issues.

Can I use different Sender Emails for different workflows?

In each workflow, you have the option to set different sender emails. You can change the default sender email by adjusting the settings of each specific workflow.

Contact Management

Allow Multiple

By enabling the "Allow Multiple" setting, a contact can revisit a workflow after completing or being removed from it. However, if the contact is currently active in the workflow, it will be skipped if they try to re-enter.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE WORKFLOWS THAT USE APPOINTMENT OR INVOICE-BASED TRIGGERS, CONTACTS CAN ENTER MULTIPLE TIMES REGARDLESS OF THE “ALLOW MULTIPLE” SETTING. EVEN IF “ALLOW MULTIPLE” IS NOT ENABLED, THESE SPECIFIC TRIGGERS WILL OVERRIDE THE SETTING AND ALLOW THE SAME CONTACT TO ENTER MULTIPLE TIMES AFTER COMPLETING OR BEING REMOVED FROM THE WORKFLOW.

This setting is often misunderstood. It does not allow a contact to re-enter a workflow while they are still active. Instead, it enables the re-enrollment of a contact who has either completed the entire workflow or has been manually removed from it.

Uses For Allow Multiple Settings:

Case 1: For recurring annual campaigns, such as a 'Happy Birthday' or 'Annual Membership Renewal' notification, enabling 'Allow Multiple' will let the contact enter the workflow again every year.

Case 2: When onboarding new users, enabling 'Allow Multiple' can be beneficial if you make updates to the workflow with new information or steps. It allows contacts who have already completed the workflow to re-enter and experience the updated version.

Case 3: Allowing contacts to re-enter the workflow gives them a second chance to engage with your content if they didn't interact with it the first time.

What happens if a contact is currently in the workflow and the same contact tries to enter again?

If 'Allow Multiple' is turned on, a contact will not re-enter the workflow if they are currently active. This setting only permits re-entry once the contact has finished or been removed from the workflow.

If 'Allow Multiple' is turned on, will a contact go through the workflow again immediately after they finish?

The contact will re-enter the workflow only if the entry trigger happens again after they have completed or been removed from the workflow.

Can I set 'Allow Multiple' for specific contacts only?

'Allow Multiple' is a setting that applies to all contacts in a specific workflow. If you want different behaviors for different contacts, you can create separate workflows.

Stop Response:

If enabled, when a contact responds to a message sent from the workflow, it will end the workflow for that contact.

This feature lets a workflow end for a contact as soon as they respond to a message sent from the workflow. It's useful when the workflow's progress relies on the recipient's response or when you want to avoid overwhelming them with additional messages after they have replied.

Uses For Stop-On Response Setting:

Case 1: Imagine you have a customer feedback survey workflow. Enabling 'Stop On Response' allows the workflow to end for customers who respond to the first survey question via email. This prevents sending them additional survey questions and respects their time while avoiding potential annoyance.

Case 2: In a sales campaign, if a lead responds positively to your initial outreach email, 'Stop On Response' can stop further automated emails. This ensures the lead doesn't receive irrelevant content and allows for a more personalized sales approach.

Case 3: For support ticket workflows, if a customer responds to your initial troubleshooting email, enabling 'Stop On Response' can end the workflow. This prevents them from receiving further automated troubleshooting steps that may no longer be necessary.

What types of responses will trigger 'Stop On Response'?

Any response from the contact, whether it's an SMS, email, GMB Message, Facebook Message, or call sent from the workflow, will activate the 'Stop On Response' feature.

Does 'Stop On Response' end the workflow for all contacts if one contact responds?

When 'Stop On Response' is enabled, it only ends the workflow for the contact who responded. Other contacts in the workflow are not affected and will continue their workflow progress.

Can I resume the workflow for contact after 'Stop On Response' has been triggered?

Once 'Stop On Response' is triggered, the workflow ends for that specific contact. If you want the contract to go through the workflow again, you can re-enter them, but only if the 'Allow Multiple' setting is enabled.

3. Conversation Management

Auto Mark as Read:

This setting determines whether automated messages sent from a workflow are marked as read or unread in the conversation tab. By default, messages sent from a workflow appear as unread. If you enable the 'Auto Mark as Read' setting, all outgoing automated messages will be automatically marked as read, keeping the conversation tab clean and organized.

Uses For Auto Mark as Read Setting:

Case 1: When you have a workflow that sends multiple automated messages, like a step-by-step onboarding sequence for new customers, enabling 'Auto Mark as Read' keeps your conversation tab tidy. All outgoing automated messages will be marked as read, avoiding clutter from unread messages.

Case 2: In high-volume workflows, such as large marketing campaigns, enabling 'Auto Mark as Read' reduces the number of unread messages in your conversation tab. This makes it easier to manage and respond to incoming messages from customers or leads.

Case 3: For workflows that send periodic reminders or updates, such as payment reminders or product updates, enabling 'Auto Mark as Read' ensures that outgoing automated messages don't add to the unread messages in your conversation tab.

Does 'Auto Mark as Read' apply to incoming messages as well?

'Auto Mark as Read' specifically applies to outgoing automated messages sent from the workflow. It does not mark incoming messages from contacts as read.

Can I choose which types of messages are marked as read with the 'Auto Mark as Read' setting?

'Auto Mark as Read' applies to all types of outgoing automated messages from the workflow, including emails, SMS, calls, and voicemails.

4. Workflow Sequence Management

You can set this in the ‘Set Event Start Time’ action, providing more precise control over workflow timings.

Can I use different settings for different workflows?

Yes, each workflow can have its settings based on specific requirements.

What if I choose the wrong settings?

Workflow settings can be updated anytime, so don't worry if you make a mistake or your needs change. However, changes will only apply to new entries into the workflow, not contacts already in it.

Is there a best practice for setting the Time Window?

The 'best' setting depends on your audience, campaign, and goals. However, it's generally best to send communications when your audience is most likely active.