Beyond the API: Unify Your Campaigns with New Workflow Triggers
Discover how to unify your campaigns with our new workflow triggers. Automate actions from Google Sheets, contact filters, and inbound calls to create a central hub for all customer interactions.
Beyond the API: Unify Your Campaigns with New Workflow Triggers
Automation is the engine of modern marketing and sales. It saves time, ensures consistency, and helps you engage customers at scale. But for too long, that engine has often been powered by a single fuel source: the API call. This technical limitation can create silos, forcing teams to rely on manual data imports or clunky intermediary tools to get things done.
Today, that changes. We're thrilled to introduce a powerful new set of workflow triggers designed to break down those silos. With our new Google Sheet, Contact, and Inbound Call triggers, you can finally unify your campaign automation and transform our workflow builder into a true central hub for all customer interactions.
Why This Feature Matters
This release represents a strategic shift in our automation philosophy. We're moving beyond a single, developer-centric trigger to a suite of business-user-friendly options. This change empowers marketing operations managers, sales teams, and campaign managers to own their automation from end to end.
No more waiting for developer resources to connect a new lead source. No more manual CSV uploads. You can now directly integrate the tools and data you use every day—like Google Sheets and your own contact database—into your automated campaigns. This is a major leap forward for accessible, no-code automation and seamless data integration.
The Problem Before: Life with a Single Trigger
Until now, every workflow had to be initiated via an API or webhook. While powerful, this single entry point created significant friction for non-technical teams.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Manual Imports: You collect leads from a webinar in a Google Sheet, but then have to manually export a CSV and import it just to enroll them in a nurturing sequence.
- No Real-Time Follow-up: A high-value prospect calls your sales line. After the call, the rep has to manually log the interaction and trigger any follow-up tasks, creating delays and risking missed opportunities. There was no direct inbound call automation.
- Fragmented Workflows: You were forced to create separate, nearly identical workflows for different lead sources, making your campaigns difficult to manage and update.
These challenges created unnecessary work, slowed down response times, and kept your automation strategies from reaching their full potential.
Overview of the New Multi-Source Workflow Triggers
Our latest update introduces three powerful new marketing automation triggers to your workflow builder:
- Google Sheet Trigger: Starts a workflow when a new row is added to a connected Google Sheet.
- Contact Filter Trigger: Starts a workflow when a contact’s data changes, causing them to match a predefined filter.
- Inbound Call Trigger: Starts a workflow the moment a conversation with a voice agent on a specific number ends.
Crucially, you can now add multiple triggers to one workflow. This means a single, unified campaign can have multiple starting points, reacting intelligently to different customer actions and trigger events across your entire ecosystem.
Key Capabilities
Let's dive into what each of these new triggers can do for you.
Google Sheet Trigger: Your Spreadsheet is Now an Automation Engine
Say goodbye to manual data entry. With the Google Sheet trigger, you can connect any sheet in your Google Drive and automatically enroll contacts into a workflow whenever a new row is added. This is the key to seamless Google Sheet automation.
This is perfect for:
- Webinar & Event Registrations: Automatically send confirmation emails and reminders to attendees as they sign up.
- Lead Magnet Downloads: Instantly deliver your e-book or whitepaper and start a nurturing sequence when a new lead fills out a form connected to a sheet.
- Third-Party Form Submissions: Connect Google Sheets to your marketing campaigns by using it as a universal inbox for forms that don't have a direct integration.
Contact Filter Trigger: Automate Based on Real-Time Behavior
The contact list trigger is your tool for dynamic, behavior-based automation. It initiates a workflow not from an external event, but from a change in the contact's data within your platform.
You can trigger a workflow from a contact filter when a contact:
- Gets a New Tag: A user visits the pricing page, gets tagged "Pricing-Viewed," and is immediately enrolled in a workflow that sends them a case study.
- Reaches a High Lead Score: A contact's score crosses a certain threshold, triggering an internal notification to your sales team to reach out.
- Enters a Specific Lifecycle Stage: A contact is updated to "SQL," kicking off a workflow that assigns ownership and schedules a follow-up task.
Inbound Call Trigger: Turn Conversations into Immediate Action
Never let a warm lead go cold again. The Inbound Call trigger provides powerful inbound call automation by starting a workflow the instant a call to a specific phone number concludes. This allows you to automate actions after an inbound call with zero delay.
Use it to:
- Log Call Outcomes: Send a follow-up SMS to the caller asking for feedback or providing a link to resources discussed.
- Create Follow-Up Tasks: If the call disposition is "Interested," automatically create a task for the agent to follow up in two days.
- Nurture Missed Opportunities: If a call is missed, trigger a workflow that sends a "Sorry we missed you" text and notifies the on-call team.
Multi-Trigger Workflows: One Campaign to Rule Them All
The ability to use these triggers together in a single workflow is what truly unlocks next-level efficiency. Instead of building three separate workflows for three different lead sources, you can build one master workflow. This centralizes your logic, simplifies reporting, and makes your campaigns dramatically easier to manage and optimize.
Step-by-Step Usage: How to Start a Workflow from a Google Sheet
Getting started with the new workflow triggers is incredibly straightforward. Let's walk through a common use case: connecting a Google Sheet.
- Navigate to the Workflow Builder: Open the campaign where you want to add the trigger.
- Drag in the Trigger Node: From the "Triggers" section in the left-hand panel, drag the "Google Sheet" node onto the canvas. This will be a starting point for a new automation flow.
- Connect Your Account: If you haven't already, you'll be prompted to authenticate your Google account to grant access.
- Configure the Sheet: Select the specific spreadsheet and worksheet you want to use as your trigger source.
- Map Your Data: Match the columns in your sheet (e.g., "First Name," "Email Address") to the corresponding contact fields in the platform. This tells the system how to correctly import the data for each new contact.
- Connect and Launch: Wire the new trigger node to the first action in your workflow (like a "Send Email" node), save your changes, and activate the campaign.
That's it! Now, every new row added to that sheet will automatically launch the workflow. The process for the Contact Filter and Inbound Call triggers is just as simple—just select the saved filter or inbound phone number you want to monitor.
Real-World Example: A Unified Lead Management Workflow
Imagine you're running a multi-channel campaign to generate new leads. With the new workflow triggers, you can manage everything in a single, elegant workflow.
- Trigger 1 (Google Sheet): A "New Leads" Google Sheet is connected to your website's demo request form. When a new row is added, the workflow is triggered, a new contact is created, and they immediately receive a welcome email.
- Trigger 2 (Contact Filter): You have a saved filter called "High-Value Prospect" for existing contacts who have a high lead score but haven't engaged recently. When a contact in your database meets these criteria, this trigger starts them on a re-engagement path within the same workflow.
- Trigger 3 (Inbound Call): Your sales hotline number is set up with an inbound call trigger. When a prospective customer calls and the conversation ends, the workflow initiates an automated follow-up branch that logs the call activity and creates a task for the sales rep.
This single workflow seamlessly handles lead capture, re-engagement, and sales interactions, providing a complete, unified view of your customer journey.
Benefits: What This Means for Your Campaigns
- Eliminate Manual Work: Stop spending valuable time exporting and importing CSV files. Let direct integrations handle the data flow so you can focus on strategy.
- Create a Single Source of Truth: Consolidate your automation logic. Instead of juggling dozens of fragmented workflows, you can manage all your lead sources and follow-ups in one place.
- Achieve Real-Time Engagement: React instantly. Whether it's a new lead from a spreadsheet or a completed phone call, you can engage customers the moment they act.
- Simplify Workflow Logic: With multi-trigger workflows, your canvas becomes cleaner and easier to understand. This, combined with our recent enhancement to the Create/Update Variable node (which now supports multiple variables in a single step), helps you build powerful automation with fewer nodes and less complexity.
Best Practices
- Name Your Triggers Clearly: When using multiple triggers, label each node to reflect its source (e.g., "Webinar Sign-up Sheet Trigger," "High-Value Contact Filter"). This makes your workflow easy to understand at a glance.
- Plan Your Data: Before connecting a Google Sheet, ensure your column headers are clean, consistent, and easy to map. A little preparation goes a long way.
- Combine Triggers for a Full Funnel: Use a Google Sheet trigger for top-of-funnel lead capture, then use contact filter triggers within the same workflow to nurture those leads based on their subsequent behavior and engagement.
Conclusion: Your New Central Hub for Automation
You are no longer limited by a single, technical entry point. With the introduction of Google Sheet, Contact, and Inbound Call triggers, you can now build comprehensive, responsive, and truly unified marketing automation systems. The workflow builder is now your central hub for connecting all your customer touchpoints, from spreadsheets to phone calls.
Ready to unify your campaigns? Log in to the Workflow Builder and add your first Google Sheet, Contact, or Inbound Call trigger today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. The API/Webhook trigger remains a core part of the platform and can be used as a standalone trigger or alongside the new triggers in the same workflow.
You can add multiple triggers to a single workflow, allowing you to create comprehensive campaigns that respond to a wide variety of events from different sources.
The current version of the Google Sheet trigger event is designed to fire only when a new row is added to the bottom of your selected worksheet. It does not monitor for updates to existing rows.
Our system is designed to handle this gracefully. Typically, the contact can have concurrent journeys in the workflow. However, you can use built-in filters and checks to prevent a contact who is already active in a workflow from being re-enrolled if that fits your campaign logic.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the new workflow triggers available besides the API/Webhook?
We've introduced three powerful new triggers: the Google Sheet trigger (starts a workflow when a new row is added), the Contact Filter trigger (triggers when a contact's data matches a saved filter), and the Inbound Call trigger (triggers after a call to a specific number ends).
Can I use multiple triggers in a single marketing workflow?
Yes, you can add multiple triggers to one workflow. This allows you to create a single, unified campaign that responds to different events, such as a new lead from a Google Sheet and an inbound sales call, all within the same automation flow.
How does the Google Sheet trigger work? Does it watch for updated rows?
The Google Sheet trigger activates a workflow only when a new row is added to the bottom of the connected worksheet. It does not currently monitor or trigger on updates made to existing rows.
What is the benefit of using a Contact Filter trigger for automation?
The Contact Filter trigger enables dynamic, behavior-based automation. It starts a workflow based on changes to a contact's data within the platform, such as when they get a new tag, reach a high lead score, or enter a new lifecycle stage, allowing for real-time engagement.
How can I automate follow-ups after a phone call?
The new Inbound Call trigger allows you to automate actions the moment a call concludes. You can use it to instantly log call outcomes, send a follow-up SMS to the caller, create a task for the sales agent, or enroll a missed call in a nurturing sequence.
