(This post will make more sense when I refer back to it in a future post covering the topic of Process Slop)
If you’re like me, you probably like playing with AI tools.
Recently, I had a play with Le Chat (Mistral AI).
When testing I like to put in some pretty standard HubSpot related prompts just to see the kind of output I get.
Here’s a typical prompt I test with: “What are some common HubSpot workflow approaches for managing life cycle changes?”
At the end of this post, after the dotted lines I’ve pasted the output from the chat verbatim (I kept prompting to get 60 suggestions, but I’ve only put 20 below).
At first pass, you might read through the list and think, “Oh, actually that’s not too bad,” or maybe “It’s better at least than the usual AI generated content slop I see in my LinkedIn feed.”
But read a bit more closely and you’ll see most of it is just noise.
The first two are actually not too bad, and they kind of give you some cues on how to implement.
But 3 and 4 are potentially unhelpful because most of the time you’ll just use Lifecycle settings to manage those changes (as opposed to using a workflow).
After that they get more vague and unhelpful.
At best they are OK ideas, but at worst they’re busy work and confusing.
Take number 5: “Re-engage inactive customers or leads by sending them targeted content and updating their lifecycle stage based on their renewed engagement.”
OK. Can’t disagree with the idea I guess, but how do you implement it?
How do you define ‘inactive customers’ and what is the ‘renewed engagement’ criteria. And how do you match that with ‘targeted content’?
The idea is simple. The execution is hard.
So this is the first problem – vague ideas that sound useful, but no guidance on when to use or how to implement.
To be fair to Le Chat, you can then ask it to expand on any of the points and then you’ll get some guidance.
But take a typical marketing team member, who is new to HubSpot. They’re looking for help, and turning to AI as an option (as they should be), but getting this kind of guidance.
If they don’t know the platform well, they might proceed with the suggestions 3& 4 and build workflows to set Lifecycle stages.
Not the end of the world I guess, but certainly adds unnecessary maintenance debt.
It gets worse of course though. Here’s the second problem…
Consider a time poor content writer for an agency, tasked with getting this week’s HubSpot related blog post out.
They look at a list like this and think, “This isn’t too bad. I’ll use this as the basis for my post.”
They don’t copy it outright of course, because this is ‘ideation’.
Instead, out of the 60 or so, they pick the top 20, tweak them a bit, and there’s their blog post done.
Next they’re into ‘content repurposing’ and the list becomes a downloadable checklist, social thread, and god help us, a webinar ‘event’.
The slop cycle has come full circle. It’s only a matter of time before the blog post ends up feeding further AI crawlers, and the noise perpetuates.
We’ve all seen this ‘content’ getting spewed out over the past year(s).
But it’s getting worse, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any end in sight.
Prompt: What are some common HubSpot workflow approaches for managing life cycle changes
Everything below is verbatim from Le Chat:
Managing lifecycle changes in HubSpot typically involves using workflows to automate processes and ensure that contacts are moved through the lifecycle stages appropriately. Here are some common HubSpot workflow approaches for managing lifecycle changes:
- Lead Qualification Workflows:
- Automatically update a contact’s lifecycle stage from “Lead” to “Marketing Qualified Lead” (MQL) based on specific criteria, such as form submissions, page views, or email engagement.
- Sales Handoff Workflows:
- Move contacts from “Marketing Qualified Lead” to “Sales Qualified Lead” (SQL) when they meet certain qualification criteria, such as requesting a demo or meeting specific lead scoring thresholds.
- Opportunity Creation Workflows:
- Update the lifecycle stage to “Opportunity” when a deal is created in HubSpot, indicating that the contact is actively being pursued by the sales team.
- Customer Onboarding Workflows:
- Transition contacts to the “Customer” stage once a deal is marked as “Won.” This can trigger onboarding emails or tasks for the customer success team.
- Re-engagement Workflows:
- Re-engage inactive customers or leads by sending them targeted content and updating their lifecycle stage based on their renewed engagement.
- Evangelist Identification Workflows:
- Identify and update contacts to the “Evangelist” stage based on their advocacy activities, such as referring new customers or promoting your brand on social media.
- Other Lead Status Workflows:
- Update lifecycle stages to “Other” for contacts that don’t fit into the standard stages, such as partners, vendors, or job applicants.
- Data Cleanup Workflows:
- Regularly review and update lifecycle stages to ensure data accuracy, such as moving inactive leads to a “Subscriber” stage or removing invalid contacts.
- Nurturing Workflows:
- Send a series of nurturing emails to leads who have downloaded a specific piece of content, gradually moving them through the lifecycle stages as they engage with more content.
- Event-Based Workflows:
- Update lifecycle stages based on event attendance, such as webinars or in-person events, moving attendees to a more qualified stage like MQL or SQL.
- Feedback Collection Workflows:
- Automatically send feedback requests to customers after a purchase or support interaction, and update their lifecycle stage based on their satisfaction scores or Net Promoter Score (NPS).
- Upsell/Cross-sell Workflows:
- Identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling to existing customers and update their lifecycle stage to reflect their potential for additional purchases.
- Churn Prevention Workflows:
- Monitor customer activity and trigger re-engagement campaigns for customers who show signs of inactivity, potentially moving them back to an “Opportunity” stage if they re-engage.
- Partner Management Workflows:
- Manage partner relationships by updating their lifecycle stages based on joint marketing activities, co-selling opportunities, or referrals.
- Content Engagement Workflows:
- Track engagement with specific types of content (e.g., blog posts, videos) and update lifecycle stages based on the level of engagement and interest shown.
- Subscription Renewal Workflows:
- Automatically send renewal reminders to customers whose subscriptions are about to expire, and update their lifecycle stage based on whether they renew or churn.
- Lead Reassignment Workflows:
- Automatically reassign leads to different sales reps based on changes in lifecycle stages, ensuring that the right team members are working on the most qualified leads.
- Customer Success Workflows:
- Trigger tasks for the customer success team based on lifecycle stage changes, such as following up with new customers or checking in with long-term clients.
- Welcome Series Workflows:
- Send a series of welcome emails to new subscribers or leads, gradually introducing them to your brand and moving them through initial lifecycle stages.
- Product Usage Workflows:
- Monitor product usage and trigger workflows that update lifecycle stages based on how actively customers are using your product, identifying potential upsell opportunities or churn risks.
- Anniversary/Milestone Workflows:
- Send anniversary or milestone emails to customers (e.g., one year since sign-up) and update their lifecycle stage based on their continued engagement or additional purchases.
- Abandoned Cart Workflows:
- For e-commerce, send reminders to contacts who have abandoned their shopping carts and update their lifecycle stage if they complete the purchase.
- Webinar Follow-up Workflows:
- Send follow-up emails to webinar attendees with additional resources and update their lifecycle stage based on their engagement with the follow-up content.
- Survey-Based Workflows:
- Send surveys to contacts at various lifecycle stages and update their stage based on survey responses, such as moving satisfied customers to an “Evangelist” stage.
- Content Download Workflows:
- Update lifecycle stages when contacts download high-value content, such as whitepapers or e-books, indicating a higher level of interest.
- Event Registration Workflows:
- Automatically update lifecycle stages for contacts who register for events, and send them relevant pre-event information.
- Post-Event Engagement Workflows:
- Follow up with event attendees post-event and update their lifecycle stage based on their engagement with follow-up content or offers.
- Customer Health Score Workflows:
- Calculate a customer health score based on various engagement metrics and update lifecycle stages accordingly, identifying customers who may need additional support.
- Referral Program Workflows:
- Encourage customers to refer friends or colleagues and update their lifecycle stage to “Evangelist” if they successfully refer new business.
- Seasonal Campaign Workflows:
- Run seasonal or holiday-specific campaigns and update lifecycle stages based on engagement with these time-sensitive promotions.
Etc, etc
