Introduction

Welcome to this guide on how to effectively test your CRM workflows! If you're looking to make sure your marketing efforts hit the mark every time, you're in the right place. Whether you're new to CRM or have been using it for a while, this article will walk you through the steps to ensure your workflows work perfectly before they go live. You'll learn why testing your workflows is so important and how to do it properly, even when dealing with personalized content and specific triggers that need to function flawlessly.

Ever wondered how to make sure the emails or messages you plan to send out look right to each of your contacts? Or maybe you're curious about the best way to see your workflow in action without sending it to everyone on your list? This guide has got you covered. You'll find out why hitting the 'Send Test' button might not be enough and what you can do instead to get a true picture of how your workflow will perform in the real world.

We'll take you through creating a test contact and adding it to a workflow, step by step, so you can see exactly how your messages will appear and work for your recipients. Plus, we'll tackle some common issues you might run into and answer questions like, "Can I test a workflow without making a test contact?" and "How do I know if my workflow triggers are working correctly?"

By the end of this guide, you'll be equipped to thoroughly test your CRM workflows, ensuring they're ready to go and will achieve the impact you're aiming for. Testing is key to successful workflows, and we're here to help you get it right. Let's dive in and make your CRM workflows the best they can be!

Understanding Workflow Testing

Overview

Testing workflows within the CRM is a critical step in the workflow creation process. It allows users to preview and evaluate how their workflows will run in a live environment without actually sending them out to their entire contact list. This section will explore the importance of testing and the basic method for conducting a test.

Detailed Explanation

When you create a workflow, especially one that includes personalized elements like usernames or appointment dates, it's essential to see how these elements will appear to your contacts. However, simply using the 'Send Test' feature might not always give you an accurate representation. This is because the test feature often does not populate personalized data, such as usernames or appointment times, since it does not pull this information from a specific contact record.

Conducting a True Live Test

Overview

To conduct a more accurate test that reflects how your workflow will operate in a live environment, you need to insert yourself as a contact into the workflow. This section will guide you through creating a test contact and adding it to a workflow for testing purposes.

Step-by-Step Guide

Create a Test Contact:

• Navigate to the 'Contacts' section of the CRM.

• Create a new contact entry for yourself, including any relevant details that your workflow will utilize (e.g., name, phone number).

Add Your Test Contact to a workflow:

• Scroll to the 'Active workflows' section within your test contact's profile.

• Click 'Add' and select the workflow you wish to test from the dropdown menu.

• You can either start the workflow immediately by leaving the start time blank or schedule it for a later time by selecting a specific start time.

• Click 'Add' to officially enroll your test contact into the workflow.

• Click 'Add' to officially enroll your test contact into the workflow.

Evaluate the workflow:

• As your test contact, you will now receive all communications and go through the workflow as any other contact would.

• This allows you to see firsthand how personalized data is populated and whether all triggers and actions within the workflow function as intended.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Common Challenges

• Personalized Data Not Populating: Ensure that the test contact has all necessary information filled out in their profile.

• workflow Not Activating: Verify that the workflow is active. If it's not, you will be prompted to activate it before testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I test a workflow without creating a test contact?

• A: While you can use the 'Send Test' feature, creating a test contact provides a more accurate representation of the live workflow experience.

Q: How do I know if my workflow triggers are working?

• A: By following the live test process outlined above, you can observe firsthand whether triggers and actions within your workflow execute as expected.

Conclusion

Hey there! Thanks for checking out our guide on how to test your CRM workflows the right way. We've walked through why it's super important to make sure your workflows work perfectly before they go live. This means checking that all the personalized stuff, like names and dates, shows up right for your contacts. We also showed you how to do a real-life test by adding yourself as a test contact and then putting that contact into a workflow. This way, you can see exactly how everything will look and work for real people. Plus, we covered some common problems you might run into and how to fix them. Testing your workflows this way makes sure they do what you want them to do, helping you avoid any surprises. Thanks for sticking with us, and here's to making your workflows awesome!