{"id":21668,"date":"2020-01-28T14:59:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T14:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/workflow"},"modified":"2026-09-15T12:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:49:08","slug":"workflow","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/workflow","title":{"rendered":"Workflow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad alignright wp-image-13747 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/workflow-1.jpg\" alt=\"Workflow\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/workflow-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/workflow-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>workflow<\/strong> is an organized sequence of activities, decisions, and states through which a task, request, or item moves from a starting point to a defined outcome. It specifies what must happen, in what order, under which conditions, and which person or system is involved.<\/p>\n<p>A workflow can be manual, digital, or combine both types of action. <strong>It does not necessarily imply automation<\/strong>: an approval performed by a person can also be part of the flow, while certain repetitive tasks can be executed through rules or integrations.<\/p>\n<p>A workflow represents a specific part of an operation. A process usually covers an objective and a broader set of activities; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/automation\">automation<\/a> uses technology to perform some of them with less manual intervention.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Elements of a workflow<\/h2>\n<p>The level of detail depends on the model&#8217;s purpose. An initial outline may show only the main stages, while an implementation needs precise conditions, owners, data, and exceptions. <strong>These six elements can describe a workflow:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Start:<\/strong> event, request, or condition that initiates the flow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Activities:<\/strong> manual or automated tasks needed to move the item forward.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sequence and dependencies:<\/strong> order of activities and requirements that must be met before each one begins.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decisions and rules:<\/strong> conditions that open different paths, assign priorities, or determine whether the flow continues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Owners and systems:<\/strong> people, teams, and applications that perform or supervise each activity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>States and outcome:<\/strong> situations through which the item passes and the condition that marks the flow as completed, rejected, or stopped.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A diagram can make the workflow easier to understand, but <strong>the drawing does not replace operational definitions<\/strong>. Deadlines, permissions, input data, possible errors, and criteria for handling exceptional cases should also be documented.<\/p>\n<h2>Applications of workflows in digital marketing<\/h2>\n<p>In digital marketing, workflows coordinate activities related to contacts, content, campaigns, and data. They can be used for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/lead-nurturing\">lead nurturing<\/a>, but their application is not limited to sending automated messages.<\/p>\n<p>Common uses include these five:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Contact management:<\/strong> validate data, prevent duplicates, assign owners, and update statuses within a CRM.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Opportunity follow-up:<\/strong> create tasks or communications according to previously defined actions and conditions, while respecting consent and frequency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Content production:<\/strong> coordinate writing, review, approval, publication, and updating with identified owners.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Campaign operations:<\/strong> organize requests, assets, budgets, tagging, checks, and approval before activating a campaign.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incident management:<\/strong> classify measurement errors or page problems, assign them, and verify their resolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Membership of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/buyer-persona\">buyer persona<\/a>, a score, or a recorded action can be used as a condition, but <strong>none of these signals represents a person&#8217;s actual intent on its own<\/strong>. A workflow does not guarantee a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/conversion\">conversion<\/a> either: its result depends on the rules, message, data, context, and subsequent experience.<\/p>\n<h2>How to design and evaluate a workflow<\/h2>\n<p>Automating a poorly defined flow can repeat errors at greater scale. It is advisable to understand the current journey first and decide which activities require human judgment. <strong>The design can be organized into six phases:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Define the objective and scope:<\/strong> specify which item moves through the flow, where it starts, when it ends, and what remains outside it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Map the current situation:<\/strong> identify activities, waits, handoffs, systems, and exceptions before proposing changes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Assign rules and responsibilities:<\/strong> establish who acts, what data they need, and which condition determines each path.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Select the automation:<\/strong> automate only sufficiently stable tasks and retain human controls when impact or ambiguity requires them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Test scenarios:<\/strong> check normal paths, incomplete data, duplicates, integration errors, cancellations, and re-entry.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Measure and review:<\/strong> observe times, bottlenecks, errors, and outcomes, and document changes made to the flow.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Metrics should match the objective. Reducing execution time does not prove that the outcome is correct, and increasing the number of processed items can hide errors or a worse experience. <strong>Evaluation should combine efficiency, quality, compliance, and recoverability.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Current tools for managing workflows<\/h2>\n<p>There are platforms specializing in marketing, application integrations, and business process automation. <strong>Current options include these five:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/workflow-automation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HubSpot<\/a>:<\/strong> creates workflows linked to records and marketing, sales, service, and operations activities within its CRM platform.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/business.adobe.com\/products\/marketo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adobe Marketo Engage<\/a>:<\/strong> includes campaign automation, contact management, and journeys aimed primarily at B2B marketing operations.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/zapier\">Zapier<\/a>:<\/strong> connects applications through triggers, actions, and rules to transfer data or perform tasks across services.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/n8n\">n8n<\/a>:<\/strong> builds node-based flows and integrations and offers both a hosted service and deployment on private infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en\/power-platform\/products\/power-automate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Power Automate<\/a>:<\/strong> creates flows across services and desktop processes within the Microsoft ecosystem and other compatible applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The choice depends on the systems to be connected, volume, permissions, traceability, maintenance, and available technical knowledge. <strong>A tool with more connectors does not guarantee a suitable workflow<\/strong> if its rules, owners, or exceptions are not defined.<\/p>\n<p>Workflows should be reviewed when forms, fields, policies, owners, or integrations change. Credentials, execution logs, and retry mechanisms also require control. <strong>The value of a workflow comes from making an operation understandable and verifiable<\/strong>, not from automating as many tasks as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a workflow is, its elements, marketing applications, design, evaluation, and current tools for managing workflows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79667,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1318],"class_list":["post-21668","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-automated-integration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/21668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=21668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}