How to Run Monthly NPS Campaigns with Zapier or Make: Step-by-Step Automation Guide

Running effective Net Promoter Score (NPS) campaigns is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and improving your product or service. 🚀 However, running these campaigns manually every month can be tedious and error-prone. In this guide, we will explore how to run monthly NPS campaigns with Zapier or Make to automate your marketing processes efficiently.

By the end of this article, startup CTOs, automation engineers, and operations specialists working with marketing departments will have a practical, technically detailed understanding of building automation workflows that integrate Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, HubSpot, and more.

Understanding the Problem: Why Automate Monthly NPS Campaigns?

NPS campaigns traditionally involve collecting feedback from customers regularly, segmenting responses, and responding appropriately. Manual handling leads to delays, inaccuracies, and lost insights.

Automating monthly NPS campaigns benefits the marketing team by:

• Ensuring consistent, timely delivery of surveys
• Automatically recording responses for analysis
• Triggering internal alerts for promoters, detractors, and passives
• Reducing manual workloads and human error

With tools like Zapier and Make, integrating email, CRM, spreadsheets, and messaging becomes seamless.

Tools and Services Integrated in Automation Workflows

• Zapier: User-friendly automation platform for connecting apps without code.
• Make (ex-Integromat): Visual automation builder with advanced conditional logic.
• Gmail: Sending personalized NPS survey emails.
• Google Sheets: Recording responses and campaign data.
• Slack: Real-time alerts to marketing and customer success teams.
• HubSpot: CRM integration for enriching customer data and follow-ups.

How the Workflow Works: Overview from Trigger to Output

A typical monthly NPS automation workflow includes:

1. Trigger: Monthly scheduled trigger or CRM event.
2. Data Preparation: Pull customer data from HubSpot or Sheets.
3. Survey Email Dispatch: Send personalized NPS survey emails via Gmail/Sender.
4. Response Collection: Capture responses via Google Forms or survey links.
5. Data Logging: Add responses to Google Sheets for tracking and reporting.
6. Internal Notifications: Send Slack alerts based on score thresholds.
7. Follow-up Actions: Create HubSpot tasks or segments for targeted marketing.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough: Building an NPS Campaign Automation in Zapier

Step 1: Set a Monthly Schedule Trigger

Use Zapier’s Schedule by Zapier trigger set to run on the first day of each month at a preferred time (e.g., 9:00 AM).

Fields:

• Frequency: Monthly
• Day of Month: 1
• Time of Day: 09:00

Step 2: Retrieve Customer List from Google Sheets

Add a Google Sheets “Lookup Spreadsheet Rows” action to pull subscriber emails and customer info.

Sheet configuration:

• Spreadsheet: Monthly NPS Customer List
• Worksheet: Customers
• Lookup Column: Email

Step 3: Send Personalized NPS Survey Email via Gmail

Use Gmail’s “Send Email” action.

Email fields:

• To: Customer email from previous step
• Subject: “We’d love your feedback: Monthly NPS Survey”
• Body: Personalized greeting + survey link + thank you message

Step 4: Collect Responses via Google Forms or Direct Submit

Design the NPS survey in Google Forms and link it in the email.

Responses are automatically added to the linked Google Sheet.

Step 5: Monitor Responses and Log in Google Sheets

Create a Zap that triggers on new row added to the Google Sheet responses sheet.

This Zap can parse the NPS score, comment, and customer info.

Step 6: Send Slack Notifications Based on NPS Scores 🚦

Add a Slack “Send Message” action with filter:

• If NPS <= 6 → Send alert to Detractors channel
• If NPS 7–8 → Passives channel
• If NPS 9–10 → Promoters channel

Slack message example: “New Detractor Alert – Customer: {{CustomerName}}, Score: {{NPS_Score}}, Comment: {{Comment}}”

Step 7: Create Follow-Up Tasks in HubSpot

Use HubSpot’s CRM action “Create Task” assigned to customer success managers for detractors and passives.

Fields configured:

• Task title: “Follow up on NPS feedback”
• Priority: High for detractors, Medium for passives
• Associated contact: Customer email

Workflow Node Breakdown with Examples

Zapier Scheduler Node

Trigger with schedule:
Frequency: monthly, Day: 1, Time: 09:00

Google Sheets Lookup

List all active customers:
Spreadsheet ID: XXXXXX
Worksheet: Customers
Lookup by email column with no filter for active customers

Gmail Send Email

Dynamic To field mapped from Sheets.
Subject: “Your Monthly NPS Feedback Matters”
Body includes: “Hi {{FirstName}}, please take a minute to answer our survey: [Survey Link].”

Slack Send Message (Conditional)

Filter: Score <= 6
Channel: #customer-detractors
Message: Personalized with variables

HubSpot Create Task

Automated task creation for follow-ups based on score.
Owner assignment by team rules.

Common Errors and Robustness Tips

• Rate Limits: Gmail and HubSpot APIs may throttle requests; implement retries with exponential backoff.
• Idempotency: Ensure that repeated webhook calls do not duplicate records by using unique IDs or timestamps.
• Error Handling: Use Zapier’s Paths or Make’s error handlers to branch workflows on failure.
• Data Validation: Validate email formats and valid NPS score ranges to avoid malformed data.
• Monitoring: Enable email/SMS alerts on automation failure for quick troubleshooting.

Security Considerations

• Store API keys securely using Zapier or Make’s built-in encrypted credential storage.
• Limit API token scopes to only required permissions (e.g., send email, read sheets).
• Mask PII (Personally Identifiable Information) when logging data in external databases or Slack.
• Use OAuth where possible for token refresh.

Scaling and Adapting the Workflow

• Queues & Concurrency: Use batch operations or queue triggers if customer base grows above API limits.
• Webhooks vs Polling: Prefer webhooks for instant survey response processing; polling increases API usage.
• Modularization: Break workflow into reusable components like one Zap for sending, another for response processing.
• Versioning: Maintain version control on templates and workflow configurations.

Testing and Monitoring Automation

• Use sandbox/demo data before launching monthly campaigns.
• Verify each step using Zapier run history or Make operation logs.
• Set up notifications for failed runs with error context.

Comparison Table: Zapier vs Make vs n8n for NPS Campaign Automation

Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
Zapier	Starts free; Paid from $19.99/mo	User-friendly; wide app integrations; reliable	Limited advanced logic; task-based pricing can get expensive
Make	Free tier; paid from $9/mo	Powerful scenario builder; flexible error handling	Higher learning curve
n8n	Open source (free self-hosted)	Highly customizable; no vendor lock-in	Requires hosting and maintenance

Comparison Table: Webhook vs Polling for Response Collection

Method	Latency	Resource Usage	Complexity
Webhook	Near real-time	Low – event-driven	Requires endpoint configuration
Polling	Delayed by polling interval	High – periodic checks	Simple to implement

Comparison Table: Google Sheets vs Database for Response Storage

Storage Option	Setup Complexity	Scalability	Accessibility
Google Sheets	Easy; minimal setup	Limited (~5 million cells max)	Collaborative, web-based
Database (e.g., PostgreSQL)	More complex; requires infra	Highly scalable	Requires API access or client tools

Frequently Asked Questions about Running Monthly NPS Campaigns with Zapier or Make

Conclusion

Automating your monthly NPS campaigns with Zapier or Make empowers marketing teams to consistently collect valuable customer feedback while reducing manual effort and operational errors.

From scheduling surveys, collecting responses, to triggering real-time alerts and follow-ups in HubSpot, these automation platforms simplify end-to-end workflows with integrations across Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and CRM tools.

Next steps: Choose your preferred platform, build modular workflows using the step-by-step instructions, thoroughly test with sandbox data, and monitor your runs with alerts enabled.

Start automating your NPS campaigns today to foster stronger customer relationships and drive continuous business improvement!