📝 Introduction
Workflows in AskNicely allow you to automate actions based on survey responses—making it easy to follow up, close the loop, and keep your teams informed. This guide walks you through setting up, customizing, and optimizing workflows to streamline your customer experience operations.
🧭 Step-by-Step Instructions
🔧 Getting Started
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Navigate to the Workflows icon (⚡ lightning bolt) in your navigation bar.
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The Actions tab provides pre-built templates for follow-ups, review requests, blank comment reminders, and more.
🚦 Active vs. Inactive Workflows
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Use the toggle on the right side of each workflow to activate or deactivate it.
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Workflows only trigger on new responses—not retroactively on old ones.
🏷️ Organizing with Tags
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Add shared tags to group and filter your workflows.
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Type a new tag the first time you use it; saved tags will auto-suggest later.
⚙️ Setting Up a Custom Workflow
Click the Actions tab and select Custom Alerts.
1. Name & Trigger
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Name: Give the workflow a clear name for future reference.
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Trigger: Choose between Automatic or Manual execution.
2. Sending Cadence
Choose when the workflow should run:
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Only once per any Contact
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Only once per survey
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Every time a survey is answered or updated
3. Add Rules
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Click Add a Rule to define trigger conditions.
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Use AND and OR logic to combine multiple rules.
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Separate multiple values with a vertical bar
|.
✉️ Customizing Workflow Emails
🔄 To/From Settings
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Use
{email}and{name}to auto-fill customer details. -
Send to up to 5 emails in the "To" field.
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Use the CC+ Email for internal copies.
SES Users: You can send to up to 50 combined addresses if using SES-authenticated domains.
💬 Show Replies in AskNicely
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Enable this to attach email replies to the contact’s response card in AskNicely.
👤 From Email
- This is the email address that will appear in the from field
User Notification
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If on: choose a user from the dropdown to receive notifications when Contacts respond to Workflow emails.
📝 Subject & Body
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Use call fields to personalize your email (listed on the left side of the screen).
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Add multiple rotating templates if directing users to varied destinations (e.g. review platforms).
⏱️ Send Delay
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Add a delay in minutes to mimic natural response timing.
🖼️ Add Logo
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Choose between your company logo, the triggering survey’s logo, or omit the logo entirely.
✅ Saving & Activating
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Click Save to store the workflow.
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Head back to the Workflows tab and enable your Workflow
🧪 Testing Workflows
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Add yourself as a contact using the Add Contact button.
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Send yourself a survey using the Email/SMS options.
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Complete the survey to match your workflow rules.
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Confirm the email was received.
Pro Tip: Triggered workflows display a banner on the response card.
🔁 Follow-Up Blank Comments Workflow
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Select Follow Up Blank Comments on the Workflows screen.
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Customize timing and fields based on sentiment (Promoters, Passives, Detractors).
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Each sentiment requires its own workflow.
✨ Suggested Rule Example:
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Comment | Length is shorter than | 3 -
OR
Comment | is | N/A
This ensures short placeholder comments like "N/A" are included.
📚 FAQs & Common Issues
Q: Can I test workflows without sending real surveys?
A: No. Workflows must be triggered by actual responses.
Q: What’s the best cadence setting for follow-up alerts?
A: “Only once per survey” works best for most use cases.
Q: Why didn’t my workflow trigger?
A: Check that the workflow is active, the conditions are met, and the response is new. If no send delay is set, a Workflow will fire immediately for a completed survey. If the survey is not completed (the last Contact prompt is not completed), there will be a seven minute delay and then the Workflow will fire based on the current score at the time.
🔗 Next Steps & Related Articles