Lead Nurturing: A Complete Guide to HubSpot Workflows

Marketing is a complex aspect of business that leaves many owners perplexed when it comes to the topic of lead nurturing. On one hand, you want to provide relevant content that helps you connect with your potential customer and guide them along their journey in regards to your business. On the other hand, the amount of outreach and research you would have to do on each of your leads would take up all of your time and it makes more sense to automate the process. However, why does it have to be one or the other? Why can’t you automate the process while still providing a valuable customer experience?

What Is a Workflow?

A workflow is essentially a certain set of automated actions that are triggered by an event or specified date and then executed when those conditions are met. Say, for example, that a visitor signs up for an Ebook. From that point of signup, a predetermined set of actions will be taken automatically in response to that action that will engage the user and provide them with more information about your services or similar product offerings. This is an extremely valuable tool in terms of marketing automation as it will allow you to take action with any potential lead no matter where they are currently standing with your business.

Types of Workflows

As you may have noticed from the description above, there is not just one workflow that works for everything. Workflows are designed to target individual needs and interact with leads based on their current level of interest and interaction with your company. Therefore, there are different types of workflows designed to meet certain requirements. Let’s take a few at some of the most common types that are effective with lead nurturing.

Workflows for Marketing

• Drive New MQLs- If your goal is driving more marketing qualified leads, using a workflow that engages existing leads with content that is relevant to their current interest in your business. Since they are most likely considering your services, stick with informational content that explains your business before you dive into offers.
• Re-Engagement Campaigns- You don’t want leads that aren’t interested in your business. Re-engage with them and provide them with valuable offers. If they don’t answer, allow them to opt out.
• Blog Subscribers/Get New Blogs- Using a workflow that warmly welcomes new blog users and provides them with valuable content as well as information regarding their subscription will retain new leads.
• Post-Event Workflows- It’s always great to reach out after an event. These workflows can help you thank attendees, provide them with additional information and products, and further cultivate your relationship with them.
• Workflow Triggered By Content Downloads- Workflows triggered by content downloads allow you to gauge where your lead stands with your business and allows you to deliver further information based on their current level of engagement.

Workflows for Sales

• Communication With Prospects- If you have leads that have consistently shown interest in you and your services, workflows that reach out with more information and product offers will help to draw them in and teach them about the benefits of your service.
• Lead Nurturing Content and Case Studies- For those who have gone a step further and who have interacted with you and your products, you’ll want to nurture these products by providing them with special product offers and case studies that will transform them from a lead into a customer.
• Abandoned Cart Workflows- Abandoned cart workflows help to improve sales by reminding users who have abandoned their shopping carts to return and complete their purchase. Incentive is usually caused by a special discount.
• Upselling Based on Past Purchases- Your journey with a customer doesn’t end when they’ve purchased a product of yours. Follow up with a workflow that shows your appreciation and recommends even more products that would be great for them.
• Increasing Efficiency- Workflows can improve sales efficiency by connecting leads with sales representatives. Depending on certain criteria you set for your leads, workflows connect those leads with sales reps that will work best with them, making your job easier.

Workflows for Customer Success

• Welcome and Training- When a lead becomes a customer, it’s important to provide even more information and welcome them to your business. This properly kickstarts your relationship with your customer that will keep them with your business in the future.
• Ongoing Customer Communication- Keeping a line of communication open is vital to customer success. Build a workflow that reaches out to customers and keeps them informed about your products and your business.
• Opportunity to Buy More If They’re Satisfied- Once a customer makes a purchase, you want to make sure that they continue to purchase more products. Develop a workflow that lets each of your customers know about new product and service releases and encourages them to purchase more if they were satisfied with their last purchase. Make sure that the workflow keeps previous purchases in mind when targeting specific customers.
• Helps Them Stay in the Loop- Transparency fosters trust. You want to keep customers up-to-date with a workflow that informs them about everything going on in your business. This way, they know that they are kept in mind when any business decisions are made.
• Provides Opportunity to Reach Out If Needed- Building upon the previous point, customers need to know that you are available. Have a workflow that reinforces the idea that they can reach out when they need their questions or concerns answered.
• Refer-a-Friend Opportunities- Customer referral programs are successful because customers love receiving discounts and you love receiving new leads and customers. Consistently promote your referral program through workflows to keep your referral system functioning and strong.

Workflows for Internal Use

• Assign Leads to Owners- Certain individuals within your business will be better suited to work with certain leads than others. Workflows can help to better connect certain leads with specific owners to improve the success of their transition from a lead into a customer.
• Scoring Leads- Lead activity can tell us a lot about their potential as a customer. By analyzing their activity on your website, you can give them a score that will allow you to better assign them to workflows that will lead to better lead nurturing.
• Changing Contact Properties- Workflows are aptly named because they are constantly changing. So too will your marketing strategy, which is why it is necessary that you are flexible with your marketing strategies and able to change your contact properties in order to meet new strategies.
• Sending Notifications- Workflows work both ways. While they help to reach out to leads and customers, they also work to remind your team of important events and updates regarding business and leads. Pay attention to these internal workflows as well as your external workflows.

Setting Up Your Workflow

Now that you have a better idea of how workflows can automate lead nurturing processes, here is a guide on how you can set up your own workflow.

The Set-Up Process

• Navigate to Workflows- Whether you are logged into your HubSpot or your Sales Hub Professional account, find the automation tab and click on workflows.
• Click ‘Create Workflow’- Once you have navigated to the workflow dashboard, click on the ‘create workflow’ button located in the top right corner of the page. You will be given options to create a workflow from scratch, to create a workflow that is based on a certain date, or to create a workflow based on a date that is specific to a certain customer.
• Name Workflow- Enter a name that is appropriate for your desired workflow.
• Set Enrollment Triggers- Select the specific triggers that will enroll contacts into your current workflow. You will be given a variety of different trigger options tailored to your needs based on your customer base.
• Establish Goals- Make sure you know exactly what it is that your workflow is aiming to do and how it will work to achieve that.
• Add Actions- Once you’ve established triggers, you can then add actions that will be met at specific dates that will enhance your current workflow and engage your leads.
• Configure Settings- With a basic outline, you can configure your settings to do things such as operate on certain days of the week, leave out certain contacts, and alter the overall function of your workflow.
• Test- You can click the test button in the right-hand corner of your page to see if your workflow functions properly. However, make sure to use a test email or you could risk damaging your workflow by sending it out to real contacts.
• Turn on- To turn on your workflow, simply click on the review button to look over your settings and then click on activate once you are satisfied with the reviews.

It’s that simple! HubSpot workflows are amazing tools that will allow you to reach out to customers and leads, nurture your relationships and improve sales, and do so in a way that is efficient and time-saving. Interested in what you’ve read so far? You can book a HubSpot audit today to figure out how you can begin implementing these valuable tools into your own marketing strategy.