What is a workflow rule?
Workflow rules in Zoho CRM are designed to enhance productivity of the users and reduce manual work by automating routine activities in a business process. They allow you to create rules that can trigger different action types to produce a desired output. They also allow you to perform automatic actions on specific records based on specific filters, and automate your sales, marketing, and support.
You can send emails, update fields, create records, automate tasks, add tags, and much more with the help of workflow rules.
For example, consider a travel company named Zylker Travels. They design and arrange different types of tour packages, such as domestic tours, international tours, field tours, educational tours, adventure tours, religious tours, etc. While their packages are available to be booked, they want to send email alerts to customers every time they book a tour package with them. They also want to automate the process of sending alerts to the sales rep every time there is a big deal in the pipeline say, ₹100000.
All these needs can be taken care by the workflow rules, which not only automates this whole process for Zylker travels, but also helps increase the overall productivity of the sales reps.
What happens if an existing workflow Rule in Zoho CRM is updated or deactivated?
The way an update modifies an existing workflow rule depends on the type of actions associated with it.
There are two types of actions in a workflow: Instant Action and Scheduled Action.
When you modify a workflow rule with instant actions (say you edit criteria or add/remove instant actions), the change is effective immediately. All records that are created in CRM post this modification will start following the latest rule.
When you modify a workflow rule with scheduled actions, records that have met the criteria for the workflow rule but are just waiting in the pipeline for the scheduled action to take place will continue to follow the previous version of the rule. For example, you have written a workflow rule in which you wish to automate a follow-up email five days after the rule trigger date. A lead has entered this workflow and is waiting in the pipeline for the email to be triggered. If you modify the rule on the third day of waiting for this record, it still will send the email to the lead. This is because a workflow rule is not directly coupled to records, but is instead tied to the actions. If any record is already in the pipeline for an action to occur at certain time, it will continue to exist though the workflow itself is modified or changed.
The modified workflow rules will be applicable to new records, rather than those already in queue for scheduled actions to occur.
How can I view workflow usage stats?
The workflow usage is designed to give you the total record counts at each configuration stage in a workflow rule.
What is workflow execution "Based on recommendation"?
Automatic actions can be performed on the records before, after, or on the day of recommendation.
For example, if Zia recommends the product for a contact who has purchased it in the past, you can send an email or SMS to the customer informing them about this. Such notifications can be automated through workflow rules Based on recommendation.
How many conditions can be added in a Workflow rule?
Multiple conditions in a workflow rule help you address cases where you have clearly defined action items for the records, that met the specified criteria and the ones that do not.
For each rule, you can add a maximum of 10 conditions each in the Enterprise Ultimate editions and 5 conditions each in the Standard and Professional editions.
Can I trigger a call with the help of a workflow rule?
No, you cannot trigger a call directly from a workflow rule.
However, you may create a workflow automation for the Calls module to manage calls within CRM efficiently. This will automatically perform actions whenever a call is received, made, missed, or scheduled. This significantly reduces the manual effort required to update or add details about individual calls.
Alternatively, you may add call to a workflow as an instant action that prompts the user to make a call via pop-up notifications, emails, or both, when the conditions are fulfilled. This increases the sales follow-up rate.