## Introduction
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a crucial metric for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, running consistent monthly NPS campaigns manually can be time-consuming and error-prone, especially for growing marketing teams aiming to keep a steady pulse on customer sentiment without overloading their workload. Automating these campaigns with platforms like Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat) empowers marketing departments to efficiently collect, organize, and act on NPS data with minimal manual intervention.
This article provides a detailed, actionable guide for startup teams, automation engineers, and operations specialists on building a robust monthly NPS automation workflow leveraging popular tools such as Google Sheets, Gmail, and Slack, integrated via Zapier or Make.
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## What Problem Does This Automation Solve?
Running monthly NPS surveys manually involves:
– Segmenting customer lists.
– Sending survey emails regularly.
– Collecting responses.
– Tracking and analyzing results.
– Notifying stakeholders.
These repetitive tasks are vulnerable to human error, can delay feedback collection, and drain valuable team hours.
This automation streamlines:
– Scheduled dispatch of NPS surveys.
– Automatic aggregation of responses.
– Real-time reporting and team notifications.
Beneficiaries include marketing managers, customer experience teams, and product owners who need timely, accurate NPS insights to prioritize actions.
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## Tools and Services Integrated
– **Zapier** or **Make (Integromat)**: Workflow automation platforms.
– **Google Sheets**: Centralized spreadsheet for customer data and response tracking.
– **Gmail** (or another email provider): Sending personalized NPS survey emails.
– **Typeform, SurveyMonkey, or Google Forms**: Hosting the NPS survey questionnaires.
– **Slack**: Real-time alerts to the marketing or customer success team.
This guide focuses on using Google Sheets, Gmail, and Slack with Typeform as the survey tool, and execution either via Zapier or Make.
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## How the Workflow Works: Trigger to Output
1. **Scheduled Trigger**: On the 1st of every month, the automation kicks off.
2. **Retrieve Customer List**: Pull eligible customer contacts from a Google Sheet.
3. **Send Survey Email**: Gmail sends personalized NPS survey invitations with unique Typeform links.
4. **Wait & Collect Responses**: Responses submitted in Typeform.
5. **Record & Analyze Responses**: Responses get appended to Google Sheets; basic NPS calculations performed.
6. **Notify Team**: Slack alert with summarized results and feedback highlights.
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## Detailed Step-By-Step Automation Tutorial
### Prerequisites
– A Google Sheet containing customer emails and identifiers.
– A Typeform or similar survey configured to collect NPS data.
– Access to Zapier or Make.
– Gmail and Slack integration enabled.
### Step 1: Setup Your Customer Database in Google Sheets
Format your Google Sheet with columns such as:
– Customer Name
– Email Address
– Last Survey Date
– Survey Link (optional, if personalized)
Ensure the sheet is clean and up-to-date.
### Step 2: Create Your NPS Survey in Typeform
– Design a Typeform survey asking: “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”
– Include optional comment or feedback fields.
– Configure the form to generate unique URLs per respondent if personalization is needed.
### Step 3: Build the Automation Workflow
#### Using Zapier
##### 3.1 Scheduled Trigger
– Use the built-in Schedule by Zapier app.
– Set the zap to trigger monthly on the desired date and time.
##### 3.2 Retrieve Customers from Google Sheets
– Add ‘Google Sheets – Find Many Spreadsheet Rows’ action.
– Filter for customers who didn’t receive a survey last month (optional check on ‘Last Survey Date’).
##### 3.3 Send Emails with NPS Survey Link
– For each customer row, use ‘Gmail – Send Email’.
– Customize the email body with the customer name and survey URL.
– To generate unique survey links per recipient, you can use URL parameters in Typeform or create pre-filled links.
##### 3.4 Update Survey Dispatch Date
– After sending, update the ‘Last Survey Date’ column to today’s date.
##### 3.5 Capture Survey Responses
– Use ‘Typeform – New Entry’ trigger.
– For each new response, append data to a ‘Responses’ tab in Google Sheets.
##### 3.6 Calculate NPS Score Automatically
– Use Google Sheets formulas or add a Zapier step (e.g., ‘Formatter’ and ‘Code by Zapier’) to calculate NPS:
– Promoters: 9-10 scores
– Passives: 7-8 scores
– Detractors: 0-6 scores
– NPS = %Promoters – %Detractors
##### 3.7 Send Slack Notification
– Add ‘Slack – Send Channel Message’ action.
– Summarize the current NPS result and notable feedback comments.
#### Using Make (Integromat)
##### 3.1 Scheduled Trigger
– Use the ‘Scheduler’ module set to run monthly.
##### 3.2 Google Sheets – Get Rows
– Connect and query customers.
##### 3.3 Iterator Module
– Iterate through each customer record.
##### 3.4 Gmail – Send Email
– Use Gmail module to send personalized emails.
##### 3.5 Google Sheets – Update Row
– Update the ‘Last Survey Date’ in the sheet after sending.
##### 3.6 Typeform Watch Responses
– Module to watch for new Typeform responses.
##### 3.7 Google Sheets – Add Row
– Append each new response to the responses tab.
##### 3.8 Tools – Aggregate Data
– Use iterators and aggregators to calculate NPS.
##### 3.9 Slack – Send Message
– Send message with summarized NPS data to Slack channel.
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## Breakdown of Each Step or Node in the Automation
| Step | Purpose | Key Configuration Notes | Common Pitfalls |
|——-|———|————————|—————–|
| Schedule Trigger | Kick off automation monthly | Confirm timezone and exact trigger time | Misconfigured timezone can shift send times |
| Google Sheets Retrieve Rows | Fetch eligible customers | Use filters for current month, avoid duplicates | Incorrect filters can resend surveys too soon |
| Gmail Send Email | Deliver personalized survey links | Use dynamic fields for name and unique URLs | Exceeding Gmail daily send limits; avoid spammy content |
| Google Sheets Update Row | Mark survey sent date | Update immediately after send to prevent repeats | Failing to update causes duplication |
| Typeform Watch Responses | Capture new NPS submissions | Confirm webhook or API permissions | Missed webhook triggers if integration not authorized |
| Google Sheets Append Row | Collect all responses in one place | Ensure columns match response fields | Incorrect mapping leads to data inconsistency |
| Calculate NPS | Automate score calculation | Use scripts or formulas for accuracy | Formula errors could give misleading scores |
| Slack Notification | Provide team visibility | Format messages clearly with scores and quotes | Overly frequent messages may annoy teams |
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## Common Errors and Tips to Make It More Robust
– **Email Delivery Issues**: Monitor bounce rates and Gmail daily quotas. Use domain authorization (SPF/DKIM) to improve deliverability.
– **Survey Link Errors**: If survey links aren’t unique, responses can be confused. Use query parameters in Typeform for respondent identification.
– **Data Sync Delays**: Responses might take time to sync; ensure polling intervals in Make/Zapier are frequent enough.
– **Handling Unsubscribes**: Integrate an opt-out mechanism to respect customer preferences and comply with regulations.
– **Error Handling**: Implement error notifications in the automation framework to alert when something breaks (e.g., failure to send email).
– **Backup Data**: Schedule periodical backups of customer and response data.
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## Adapting and Scaling the Workflow
– **Add More Channels**: Integrate SMS or in-app notifications for survey delivery.
– **Advanced Analytics**: Connect response data to BI tools (e.g., Google Data Studio, Power BI) for visual reporting.
– **Segmentation**: Filter customers based on behavior or demographics to run targeted NPS surveys.
– **Multi-language Support**: Automate sending surveys in multiple languages.
– **Incorporate Follow-ups**: Add automated workflows to reach out to detractors with customer service escalation.
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## Summary
Automating monthly NPS campaigns using Zapier or Make significantly reduces operational overhead while improving the consistency and reliability of customer feedback collection. By leveraging integrations between Google Sheets, Gmail, Typeform, and Slack, marketing teams can easily launch personalized surveys, capture and analyze responses, and instantly notify stakeholders with meaningful insights.
Implementing this automation empowers companies to respond proactively to customer needs, align product improvements with real feedback, and drive customer-centric growth.
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## Bonus Tip: Use Dynamic Survey Links with Unique Identifiers
To gain granular insights and tie responses back to individual customers, append unique identifiers as URL parameters to your Typeform link. For example:
`https://yourtypeformlink?cid={{customer_id}}&email={{customer_email}}`
Then, configure your survey to capture these hidden fields invisibly. This strategy enables precise response attribution without burdening the customer with extra input, enhancing data quality for segmentation and follow-up campaigns.