How to Run Monthly NPS Campaigns with Zapier or Make

Running monthly NPS campaigns can be a daunting task for marketing teams, especially when manual efforts slow down feedback collection and response management. 🚀 In this article, you’ll learn how to run monthly NPS campaigns with Zapier or Make, two of the leading automation platforms tailored for startups and marketing departments.

We will cover hands-on, step-by-step strategies to build robust automation workflows integrating essential tools like Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot. Whether you’re a startup CTO, an automation engineer, or part of marketing operations, this guide will empower you to streamline your NPS surveys and feedback collection effectively.

Prepare to discover practical examples, detailed workflow breakdowns, error handling tips, security best practices, and scalability strategies that make your NPS campaigns scalable and efficient.

Understanding the Importance of Automating Monthly NPS Campaigns

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a vital metric to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction. However, running monthly NPS campaigns manually can result in missed feedback, delayed follow-ups, and poor data management.

Automation helps you:

• Ensure Consistent Outreach – Trigger surveys automatically every month.
• Efficiently Manage Responses – Store, analyze, and act on data quickly.
• Improve Team Collaboration – Notify sales or support teams instantly of critical feedback.
• Save Time – Free marketing teams from repetitive tasks, focusing on strategy.

Marketing departments benefit by having real-time insights and better customer engagement without increasing manual workload.

Tools and Services to Integrate in Your NPS Automation Workflow

Effective NPS campaign automation involves the right combination of tools:

• Zapier / Make: Core automation platforms connecting various apps.
• Gmail: To send personalized survey invitations.
• Google Sheets: To store survey responses and track metrics.
• Slack: To notify teams about new feedback or trending issues.
• HubSpot: To integrate customer data and automate follow-ups based on scores.

These integrations allow seamless execution of sending, capturing, and acting on NPS data.

Building the Monthly NPS Automation Workflow: Step-by-Step

1. Triggering the Campaign Monthly 📅

The workflow starts with a schedule trigger set to run monthly – for example, the 1st of every month at 9 AM.

Zapier: Use the “Schedule by Zapier” trigger selecting “Every Month.”
Make: Use the “Scheduler” module with a monthly interval.

2. Extracting Customer List from Google Sheets or HubSpot

Next, the automation pulls the list of customers to survey.

• If using Google Sheets: The workflow reads rows of customer email, name, and other relevant fields.
  Example in Zapier: “Google Sheets – Lookup Spreadsheet Rows” with parameters:
    – Spreadsheet: Monthly NPS list
    – Worksheet: Customers
    – Lookup Column: Status (filter to ‘active’)
• If using HubSpot: Use the “HubSpot – Search Contacts” module filtering by lifecycle stage or tags to extract only relevant customers.

3. Sending NPS Survey Invitations via Gmail

The core step is sending the survey email. Personalize it with customer data and unique survey links.

Zapier Gmail “Send Email” Action Configuration:

• To: Customer email from previous step
• Subject: “We’d love your feedback – Quick NPS Survey”
• Body: “Hi {{FirstName}},

  We’d appreciate if you could take 2 minutes to answer our Net Promoter Score survey here. Your feedback helps us improve!

  Thank you!
  The Marketing Team”

Make Gmail module: Use similar fields with dynamic mapping.

4. Capturing Survey Responses Automatically

Survey responses can be collected via a survey platform (like Typeform, Google Forms, or HubSpot Surveys) which pushes data back into Google Sheets or directly to the automation platform.

Example: Using Google Forms + Google Sheets Integration
The Google Form feeds responses straight into a linked Google Sheet, which the automation watches.

5. Processing Responses – Scoring and Filtering

The workflow fetches new form responses and applies logic:

• Convert responses to NPS segments: Promoters (9–10), Passives (7–8), Detractors (0–6).
• Filter detractors for immediate follow-up.

Zapier Example: Use “Filter” step to route based on score value.

6. Notifying Teams with Slack

Instant Slack notifications ensure the marketing or support team reacts quickly to negative feedback.

Slack Message Example:
Channel: #nps-alerts
Message: “New NPS Detractor: {{CustomerName}} scored {{Score}}. Please follow up ASAP.”

7. Updating CRM Records in HubSpot

The final step updates HubSpot contacts with latest NPS score and notes to centralize customer health data.

HubSpot ‘Update Contact’ action:
Fields updated: NPS Score, Last Survey Date, Feedback Notes.

Detailed Workflow Example in Zapier

1. Trigger: Schedule by Zapier – Run monthly
2. Action: Google Sheets – Lookup customer list
3. Action: Gmail – Send personalized survey email
4. Trigger: New Google Sheet row (response)
5. Filter: NPS score < 7 (Detractors)
6. Action: Slack – Notify #nps-alerts channel
7. Action: HubSpot – Update contact record

Error Handling and Robustness Strategies

Running NPS campaigns at scale requires mindfulness about:

• Retries and Rate Limits: Both Zapier and Make have rate limits (e.g., Gmail has limits around 100–150 emails/day for free accounts). Implement exponential backoff with delays to avoid hitting limits.
• Idempotency: Use unique survey IDs to prevent duplicate processing, especially when polling Google Sheets.
• Error Logging: Use email alerts or Slack messages for failures, for example, email delivery issues or API errors.
• Data Validation: Validate email formats and survey score fields before proceeding.

Security and Compliance Considerations 🔐

Handling NPS data involves Protected Information and customer privacy:

• API Keys and Scopes: Use environment variables or secure vaults to store API credentials. Limit scopes to necessary permissions only.
• PII Handling: Avoid logging sensitive customer details in public or shared logs.
• Data Storage: Ensure Google Sheets or HubSpot data access complies with your company privacy policy and regulations such as GDPR.

Scaling and Adaptation Strategies for Growing Teams

As your survey volume grows, consider:

• Queues: Batch sending emails to stay within limits and avoid spam flags.
• Concurrency: Use tools that support parallel executions when processing large response sets.
• Webhooks vs Polling: Prefer webhooks where supported (e.g., Google Forms responses via webhooks) for real-time processing to save API calls.
• Modular Workflows: Separate concerns – one workflow for sending surveys, another for handling responses.
• Versioning: Keep backup copies of workflows before changes and test in sandbox environments.

Testing and Monitoring Tips

• Use test email addresses and sandbox data when configuring sends and processing.
• Monitor execution logs via Zapier or Make dashboards for errors and anomalies.
• Set up alerting (email or Slack) for workflow failures.
• Schedule periodic audits of customer lists and data accuracy.

Comparison Tables

Zapier vs Make vs n8n for NPS Automation

Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
Zapier	Free up to 100 tasks/month; Paid plans start at $19.99/month	Easy to use, large app ecosystem, extensive templates	Limited customization, moderate pricing, rate limits
Make (Integromat)	Free up to 1,000 operations/month; Paid from $9/month	Visual builder, complex scenarios, extensive integrations	Learning curve steeper, API limits apply
n8n	Open-source, self-hosted (free); Cloud plans from $20/month	Highly customizable, no vendor lock-in, code execution support	Requires self-hosting/maintenance, steeper technical skills needed

Webhook vs Polling for Data Retrieval

Method	Latency	Resource Usage	Reliability	Use Case
Webhook	Real-time (seconds)	Low	High (depends on endpoint availability)	Best for event-driven updates (new survey responses)
Polling	Delayed (minutes to hours)	Higher (repeated API calls)	Moderate (missed data risk reduced with frequent polls)	Useful when webhooks unavailable or legacy systems

Google Sheets vs Database for NPS Data Storage

Storage Option	Cost	Scalability	Ease of Use	Security
Google Sheets	Free with Google Workspace	Limited to ~5 million cells	Very easy for non-technical users	Moderate; depends on Google account security
Database (PostgreSQL, MySQL)	Variable; hosting costs apply	Highly scalable for large datasets	Requires technical knowledge	High; stricter access controls possible

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion: Streamline Your Monthly NPS Campaigns with Automation

Running monthly NPS campaigns with platforms like Zapier or Make revolutionizes how marketing teams collect and act on customer feedback. By building automated workflows integrating Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot, you can ensure consistent survey outreach, rapid response to detractors, and synchronized CRM data updates.

Remember to design your automation with error handling, security, and scalability in mind to keep operations robust as your customer base grows. Begin by implementing a simple scheduled trigger and gradually enhance your flows with filters, notifications, and data processing.

Ready to optimize your customer feedback loop? Start building your NPS automation workflow today and transform data collection into actionable insights!