How to Automate Notifying PMs When Features Are Underused with n8n

Identifying underused features quickly and keeping Product Managers (PMs) informed is crucial for improving user engagement and optimizing your product roadmap. 🚀 In this guide, we’ll dive into how to automate notifying PMs when features are underused with n8n, helping your Product teams respond proactively and efficiently.

This article is perfect for startup CTOs, automation engineers, and operations specialists looking to implement practical, actionable automation workflows. We’ll cover everything from connecting data sources such as Google Sheets and HubSpot, to sending timely alerts via Gmail and Slack. By the end, you’ll be ready to build robust automations that keep PMs in the loop and boost product adoption seamlessly.

Understanding the Problem: Why Automate Notifications for Underused Features?

Product Managers often struggle to track underused features manually, which can delay decision-making or cause missed growth opportunities. Automating these notifications offers several advantages:

• Proactive Product Management: PMs get alerts in near real-time to take immediate action.
• Improved User Engagement: Quick intervention on underused features can lead to educational campaigns or UI improvements.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: Teams can prioritize efforts where it matters most without manual overhead.

By leveraging n8n—a powerful open-source automation tool—you can build workflows that integrate popular services like Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot to efficiently detect underutilized features and notify the right team members.

Tools and Services Integrated in This Workflow

The automation workflow we’ll be building includes:

• n8n: Orchestrates the workflow with various nodes and integrations.
• Google Sheets: Maintains feature usage metrics uploaded regularly or fetched via API.
• Slack: Sends instant notifications to PM channels or individuals.
• Gmail: Sends detailed email reports to PMs for deeper insight.
• HubSpot: Optionally logs notifications or creates follow-up tasks in CRM.

End-to-End Workflow Overview

This workflow detects which features fall below a defined usage threshold and automatically notifies PMs. Here’s the high-level flow:

1. Trigger: Scheduled node triggers the workflow daily or weekly to check usage data.
2. Data Retrieval: Google Sheets node fetches current feature usage statistics.
3. Data Filtering: Function or IF node filters features with usage below the threshold.
4. Notification Preparation: Compose personalized messages with feature details.
5. Slack Alert: Sends short instant messages to a PM Slack channel or user.
6. Email Report: Sends a detailed email with feature usage analytics via Gmail node.
7. CRM Logging (Optional): HubSpot node logs the notification or creates a follow-up task.

Next, let’s break down each step, including configurations and tips to ensure a resilient and scalable automation.

Step-by-Step Breakdown of Each Node in n8n Workflow

1. Schedule Trigger Node

This node is the starting point, triggering the workflow at defined intervals.

• Settings: Set to run every day at 8:00 AM.
• Configuration: Use cron expression 0 8 * * * for daily triggers.

This ensures PMs receive timely notifications reflecting the latest usage data.

2. Google Sheets Node: Fetch Feature Usage Data

This node reads a spreadsheet containing feature usage metrics.

• Authentication: OAuth 2.0 credentials with read access to the specific Sheet.
• Operation: Use Read Rows with a range parameter, e.g., UsageData!A2:D100.
• Key Fields: Feature Name, Usage Count, Date, User Segments.

The spreadsheet is updated by your data team or automated ETL processes feeding real usage data.

3. Function Node: Filter Underused Features

This node evaluates which features fall below a predefined usage threshold.

• Code Example:

const threshold = 50; // minimum daily uses
return items.filter(item => item.json.usageCount < threshold);

Adjust the threshold as per your product’s normal usage patterns.

4. Set Node: Prepare Notification Messages 📣

Formats concise messages for Slack and detailed content for emails.

• Slack Message: Include feature name and current usage count.
• Email Body: Detailed analysis with usage trend, date, and user segments.

Example Slack message text:

Feature "Chatbot" is underused with only 23 daily active users.

5. Slack Node: Send Underuse Alert

• Authentication: Slack OAuth token with chat:write scope.
• Channel: Product team’s channel ID or direct message to PM user.
• Message: Use the prepared text from the previous node.

Slack notifications allow PMs to respond quickly or discuss the issue asynchronously.

6. Gmail Node: Send Daily Email Report

• Authentication: OAuth 2.0 with Gmail API scopes.
• To: PM distribution list.
• Subject: “Daily Report: Underused Features Alert”.
• Body: Include detailed feature usage data and suggested next steps.

This detailed report complements Slack alerts for PMs preferring email visibility.

7. HubSpot Node (Optional): Log Notification or Create Task

Logging notifications or tasks in CRM ensures follow-up and analytics.

• Operation: Create Engagement or Task related to the feature.
• Details: Include feature name, usage stats, and responsible PM assigned.

Handling Common Errors and Building Robustness

Automation in product environments must be resilient. Typical issues include API rate limits, intermittent failures, or malformed data.

• Error Handling: Use n8n’s error workflow feature to catch failures and send alerts to developers.
• Retries & Backoff: Configure retry policies with exponential backoff in nodes like Slack and Gmail to manage transient errors.
• Idempotency: Implement deduplication logic, e.g., tracking notified feature IDs via a database or Google Sheets to prevent duplicate alerts.
• Logging: Incorporate logging nodes that append workflow runs and errors to Google Sheets or external log management systems.

Scaling and Adapting the Workflow for Growing Product Teams

As your product scales, so will the volume and complexity of data. Consider these strategies:

• Webhooks vs Polling: Prefer webhooks to receive live data pushes instead of scheduled polling for real-time responsiveness.
• Concurrency and Queues: Use n8n’s queue features or external message queues to handle bursts of data without overwhelming APIs.
• Modularization: Break the workflow into reusable sub-flows to improve maintainability.
• Version Control: Use git integration or n8n’s built-in versioning to track changes and rollback if needed.

Security and Compliance Considerations 🔒

When building workflows involving sensitive data, keep security top of mind:

• API Keys and Tokens: Store credentials securely in n8n credential manager with minimal scopes required.
• PII Handling: Avoid including personally identifiable information in messages or logs unless encrypted and authorized.
• Access Control: Restrict who can view or modify the workflow in n8n to trusted personnel.
• Audit Logs: Maintain detailed audit trails for compliance audits and troubleshooting.

Testing and Monitoring Your Automation

Testing before production deployment minimizes disruptions.

• Sandbox Data: Use anonymized or test data sets during development.
• Run History: Leverage the n8n run history panel to validate node outputs and debug errors.
• Alerts: Configure email or Slack alerts for workflow failures or performance degradation.

Comparison Tables

Automation Platforms Comparison

Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free open-source; paid cloud starts at $20/month	Highly customizable, self-host, wide integrations, no vendor lock-in	Requires infra management if self-hosted, steeper learning curve
Make (Integromat)	Starts free; paid plans from $9/month	Visual editor, robust scheduling, many integrations	Limited self-hosting, rate limits on free tier
Zapier	Starts free; paid plans from $19.99/month	Very user-friendly, extensive app support, good documentation	Less flexible logic, limited complex workflow support

Webhook vs Polling Methods

Method	Pros	Cons	Best Use Case
Webhook	Real-time data, efficient resource usage	Requires endpoint setup, security concerns	Event-driven updates like feature usage tracking
Polling	Simple to implement, no public endpoints needed	Delayed updates, can strain API limits	Scheduled reporting or rarely changing data

Google Sheets vs Database for Usage Data Storage

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free up to quotas	Easy setup, accessible, integrates well with n8n	Limited scalability, slow for large datasets
Relational Database (e.g., PostgreSQL)	Costs vary (cloud hosting fees)	High performance, scalable, SQL querying	Requires setup and management, more complex

FAQ

Conclusion

Automating the process to notify PMs when features are underused with n8n enables your product teams to be more reactive and data-driven. By integrating tools like Google Sheets, Slack, and Gmail, you create a seamless pipeline that surfaces critical insights without manual effort.

Implement robust error handling, keep security top priority, and scale your workflow alongside your product growth. Start building your automation today and empower your PMs to optimize feature adoption more effectively.

Ready to boost your product engagement? Set up this n8n workflow and watch your team transform data into action!