Zapier Fundamentals Course: A small business use case study
While major global corporations make use of Zapier every day, so do the sole operators and the teams in the twos and threes — getting access to the same kind of robust workhouse that keeps teams with the thousands running like clockwork.
Without a tool like Zapier, customised automation that builds the machine for larger companies has been inaccessible at the smaller end of the market due to pricing, complexity, or infrastructure. With Zapier, the door’s wide open.
Our new Zapier Fundamentals Course kicks that door open even wider, giving you all the power you need to streamline and automate your own day-to-day operations. Whether you’re looking to clean up your admin processes, increase your sales capacities, automate your customer service or strengthen your data management, Zapier brings the flexibility necessary to custom-design Zaps built for your workflow. This course will show you, step-by-step, exactly how to build custom automations that just work, day in, day out.
With that in mind, today we’re going to take a look at how one small business could use Zapier to do all of the above.
Case study focus: Local service provider with a team of 5 employees
Incoming leads
Before Zapier: Potential customers fill out a webform expressing interest in a quote. That webform data is manually reviewed by the admin team, who passes it on to the sales manager. The sales manager then reaches out to the customer with a custom quote.
With Zaps in place: Completed web form entries trigger a Zap that creates a new Insightly (insert CRM of your choice) contact. Another Zap can be triggered when that new contact is created, sending a new Insightly task to Todoist, and creating a follow-up action for the sales manager.
Take it a step further: Building an automated quote system that uses Zaps to trigger the flow of information internally and then back to the lead can remove the input of both the admin staff + sales team all the way through to a custom quote generation.
Customer service
Before Zapier: Customers who needed assistance would reach out via phone or email, with customer service matters decentralised, and room for manual error in responding to service requests wide open.
With Zaps in place: Customer service enquiries can come via webform, email or helpdesk to trigger a Zendesk or Freshdesk ticket upon submission, alerting the required members of the team to a new customer service task. Once these tickets have been automatically generated, Zapier can also make tasks that flow to Asana, with alerts back to Slack, automating the workload division process and paving the way for prompt responses. Zapier can also handle social media customer service enquiries, with a new email or Slack message triggered with any Twitter mention for prompt review.
Take it a step further: Implement a customer service-oriented chatbot on the company’s social media presences can be linked to Zapier to trigger task-related outcomes as a result of round-the-clock customer communication.
Internal communication
Before Zapier: Internal workflow tools sat disconnected from each other, requiring manual updates across the team when work took place in a CRM vs. an inbox vs. a team chat app.
With Zaps in place: The team chat space (Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.) becomes connected to other work apps including Google Sheets, Trello, Gmail, Google Calendar, Airtable, Calendly and Asana. Zaps trigger alerts to the team when activity takes place in one of the workhorse spaces, feeding data between apps and keeping business IP up-to-date without manual input. Each team member saves time on every task throughout the day with the need for manual updates significantly reduced.
Take it a step further: With the ability to connect Slack to over 2,000+ apps, Zapier can bring a live overview of every aspect of business functionality into one easily accessible workspace.
Looking to dive into the magic of what Zapier can do for your business, without the hefty price tag of bringing someone else in to create that magic? This fundamentals course has all you need to go from ‘what’s Zapier?’ to Zap-making like a pro in just a few hours.
See you on the inside.
PS — Whenever you’re ready, there are some extra steps you can take to make your business an automated powerhouse:
1. Join the Automation Hackers community
It’s our Facebook community for business owners who want to automate — Click Here.
2. Get your free Automation Checkup
In a free call, I can show you what you can [and should] be automating in your business — Book Here.
3. Work with me and my team privately
Using my Automation Deep Dive method, we’ll create an Automation Blueprint unique to your company. Just send me a message with the words ‘Deep Dive’ and some details about your business, with what you’d like to focus on, and we can take it from there!
