Building Recurring Annual Messaging in Workflows

Establishing the Workflow

Creating an annual communication workflow involves a series of essential steps to ensure smooth execution. Here's a detailed guide to help you through the process.

Defining the Trigger: Begin by choosing an appropriate trigger for your workflow. For illustration purposes, let's select the "Contact Tag" trigger. Set the filter to "Tag Added." In this scenario, we’ll use the tag "campaign 19." This setup means the workflow will initiate when a contact is marked with the "campaign 19" tag.

Pause Until January: Introduce a "Wait" action to hold the workflow until January.

 Set the workflow to resume at 9 AM to ensure timely communication.

Verify Membership Status: After the waiting period, incorporate a condition to check if the contact still holds the "campaign 19" tag.

If the tag remains, proceed with the communication steps down the "Yes" path.

Deliver the Communication: Within the "Yes" path, set up steps to send both a text message and an email to the contact. Tailor the content of these messages to align with your communication goals.

Wait for 365 Days: Once the messages are sent, add another "Wait" step, this time for 365 days.

This ensures the workflow pauses for a full year before re-evaluating the membership status.

Create a Recurring Cycle: Finally, introduce a "Go To" action at the end of the workflow. Configure this action to loop back to the initial "Wait Until January" step, allowing the workflow to repeat annually.

Testing the Workflow

Before activating your workflow, it's important to test it thoroughly to ensure it functions as intended. Create a test contact and apply the relevant tag to trigger the workflow manually for this test case. Utilize the CRM's testing features to simulate the workflow’s timing, ensuring it pauses, sends messages, and repeats after the designated period.

Resolving Frequent Problems 

• Workflow Not Triggering: Double-check that the contact is properly tagged and that the tag name is spelled correctly.
• Messages Not Sending: Review the settings and content of your email and text message steps to ensure they are properly configured.
• Workflow Not Repeating: Confirm that the "Go To" action is correctly set to loop back to the "Wait Until January" step.

Questions & Answers Guide 

• Can I personalize the message content? Absolutely, you can customize both the text and email messages to match your specific needs.
• What happens if a contact is no longer a member? The workflow includes a condition that checks membership status. If a contact is no longer tagged, the workflow will skip sending messages.
• Is it possible to run this workflow more frequently? Yes, you can modify the wait times and conditions to accommodate different frequencies, such as monthly or quarterly communications.