--- name: automated-follow-up-sequences description: Automate post-resolution follow-up sequences including CSAT surveys, issue recurrence checks, and feedback collection. Use when designing follow-up email sequences, configuring survey automation, managing feedback loops, reducing issue recurrence, or improving customer satisfaction through systematic follow-up. Triggers on phrases like "follow-up sequence", "CSAT automation", "post-resolution survey", "feedback collection", "issue recurrence", "follow-up email", "satisfaction survey", "customer feedback loop", "resolution confirmation". --- # Automated Follow-Up Sequences Systematically follow up with customers after ticket resolution to ensure satisfaction and detect recurrence. ## Workflow ### Follow-Up Sequence Design Trigger: New support process; quarterly follow-up optimization; CSAT improvement initiative: 1. **Sequence mapping**: Define follow-up touchpoints post-resolution — immediate confirmation (0 min), CSAT survey (24 hours), recurrence check (7 days), general check-in (30 days); design conditional branching based on responses. 2. **Template creation**: Write email templates for each touchpoint — resolution confirmation, CSAT survey, recurrence check, check-in; personalize with customer name, ticket details, agent name; design for mobile readability. 3. **Survey configuration**: Configure CSAT survey (1–5 star scale); add optional comment field; configure NPS survey for quarterly cadence; set up response routing (positive → thank you, negative → follow-up ticket). 4. **Automation setup**: Configure trigger rules in help desk/automation tool — on ticket resolved → start sequence; on survey response → branch; on no response → send reminder (optional); on negative response → create follow-up ticket. 5. **Feedback routing**: Positive feedback (4–5 stars) → thank you email + log in CRM; negative feedback (1–3 stars) → create follow-up ticket (Priority: Medium) → assign to original agent or team lead; no response → skip (no spam). 6. **Analytics dashboard**: Build dashboard tracking — survey response rate, CSAT distribution, recurrence rate, follow-up resolution rate, time to re-resolution; set alerts for CSAT drops. 7. **Launch and iterate**: Soft launch to 20% of resolved tickets; monitor response rate, CSAT, complaint rate; A/B test timing and messaging; full launch after 2-week validation. 8. **Continuous optimization**: Monthly review of sequence performance; quarterly template refresh; annual sequence restructuring based on data. ### Follow-Up Sequence Template ``` FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCE — 4-TOUCHPOINT FLOW ========================================= Touchpoint 1: Resolution Confirmation (immediate, within 5 minutes) Trigger: Ticket marked as resolved Channel: Email Template: Subject: Your support request #[Ticket ID] has been resolved Hi {{customer_name}}, Your support request "{{ticket_subject}}" has been resolved by {{agent_name}}. Summary of resolution: {{resolution_summary}} If you need anything else, simply reply to this email or visit our help center: {{help_center_url}} Best regards, {{agent_name}} {{company}} Support Team Touchpoint 2: CSAT Survey (24 hours after resolution) Trigger: 24 hours after ticket resolved AND customer hasn't reopened ticket Channel: Email Template: Subject: How did we do? Quick feedback on ticket #[Ticket ID] Hi {{customer_name}}, We resolved your request "{{ticket_subject}}" yesterday. How was your experience? [1 Star] [2 Stars] [3 Stars] [4 Stars] [5 Stars] (Click to rate) Optional: What could we improve? [Text field] This helps us serve you better. Thanks for your feedback! — {{company}} Support Team Branching: 4–5 stars → Thank you email (Touchpoint 2a) 1–3 stars → Follow-up ticket created (Touchpoint 2b) No response → Skip (no reminder sent) Touchpoint 2a: Thank You (immediately after positive rating) Template: Subject: Thanks for your feedback! Hi {{customer_name}}, Thank you for rating your support experience. We're glad we could help! If you need anything in the future, we're here. — {{company}} Support Team Touchpoint 2b: Negative Feedback Follow-Up (within 4 hours of negative rating) Action: Create follow-up ticket (Priority: Medium) Assignment: Original agent OR team lead (if original agent unavailable) Template (internal note on follow-up ticket): Customer rated [X]/5 stars for ticket #[original_ticket_id] Feedback: "{{customer_comment}}" Action: Reach out to understand and resolve concerns Template (email to customer): Subject: Re: Your feedback on ticket #[Ticket ID] Hi {{customer_name}}, Thank you for your feedback. We want to make sure your issue is fully resolved. Could you share more about what went wrong so we can improve? — {{company}} Support Team Touchpoint 3: Recurrence Check (7 days after resolution) Trigger: 7 days after ticket resolved AND no new tickets opened Channel: Email (optional — may skip if CSAT was 5 stars) Template: Subject: Is everything working? Hi {{customer_name}}, It's been a week since we resolved "{{ticket_subject}}". Is everything still working as expected? [ ] Yes, everything is great! [ ] I'm still having issues → [Create new ticket] Thanks, {{company}} Support Team Action: "Yes" → Log positive outcome; close follow-up sequence "Still having issues" → Auto-create follow-up ticket; link to original No response → Skip Touchpoint 4: General Check-In (30 days after resolution) Trigger: 30 days after ticket resolved; customer hasn't opened new ticket Channel: In-app message OR email (based on preference) Template: Hi {{customer_name}}, How are things going with {{product}}? We'd love to hear if there's anything we can help with. [View helpful articles] [Contact support] [Leave feedback] — {{company}} Team ``` ### Follow-Up Analytics ``` FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCE PERFORMANCE METRICS ========================================= Period: Last 30 days Survey Metrics: Tickets eligible for survey: 2,500 Surveys sent: 2,500 (100%) Responses received: 625 (25% response rate — target: ≥ 20%) Response by rating: 5 stars: 312 (50% of responses) 4 stars: 188 (30%) 3 stars: 62 (10%) 2 stars: 31 (5%) 1 star: 32 (5%) Average CSAT: 4.2/5.0 (target: ≥ 4.0) CSAT trend: ↑ +0.1 vs. prior month Recurrence Metrics: Tickets reopened within 7 days: 75 (3% of resolved — target: < 5%) Recurrence check responses: 180 (29% of eligible) Issues still open per recurrence check: 15 (8% of responders) Re-resolution time: 4.5 hours average Follow-Up Ticket Metrics: Negative feedback tickets created: 63 (1–3 star responses) Follow-up resolved: 58 (92% resolution rate) Follow-up resolution time: 6.2 hours average Follow-up CSAT (after re-resolution): 4.5/5.0 Cost Analysis: Recurrence reduction: 120 fewer repeat tickets/month (vs. no follow-up) Agent time saved: 10 agent-hours/month CSAT improvement value: Estimated 2% retention improvement = $[X] ARR preserved ``` ## Edge Cases - **Survey fatigue** (customer receives too many surveys): - Prevention: Maximum 1 survey per ticket; maximum 4 surveys per customer per quarter; skip surveys for low-priority tickets - Detection: Response rate declining over time; survey complaint tickets - Mitigation: Shorter surveys (single question); vary timing; offer alternative feedback channels - Balance: More data vs. customer annoyance; optimize for response quality over quantity - **Negative response escalation** (customer gives 1 star and writes strongly negative comment): - Detection: 1-star rating + negative sentiment in comment (keywords: "terrible", "worst", "never again", "legal") - Action: Immediate escalation to team lead (not original agent); phone call within 4 hours for enterprise customers; executive outreach for top accounts - Documentation: Log full response; tag ticket as "critical feedback"; include in weekly leadership review - Prevention: Root cause analysis for each 1-star rating; systemic issue identification - **Multi-ticket customers** (customer has 3+ open tickets, receives multiple follow-ups): - Prevention: Deduplicate follow-ups — if customer has multiple resolved tickets within 48 hours, send single survey covering all - Detection: Check for other resolved tickets from same customer in last 7 days before sending - Communication: "How was your experience with our recent support?" (covering all tickets) vs. per-ticket surveys - Balance: Per-ticket granularity vs. customer experience; prefer consolidation for frequent customers - **International customers** (time zone differences affect survey timing): - Strategy: Send survey at customer's local business hours (10 AM their timezone); use timezone from account data or IP address - Detection: Low response rate from specific regions may indicate wrong timing - Testing: A/B test timing by region; optimize for each major timezone group - Language: Send survey in customer's preferred language; translate templates - **Automated vs. personal touch** (when to use automation vs. human follow-up): - Automation: Standard CSAT survey, recurrence check, general check-in - Human: Negative feedback response, enterprise customer follow-up, complex issue resolution - Hybrid: Automated sequence with human review of negative responses - Exception: VIP customers (top 10% by revenue) receive personal follow-up from CSM regardless of automation ## Integration Points - **Help desk**: Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom — ticket resolution triggers, follow-up ticket creation - **Survey platforms**: SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Delighted, Qualtrics — survey delivery, response collection - **Email platforms**: SendGrid, Mailgun, Customer.io, Iterable — email delivery, template management - **CRM**: Salesforce, HubSpot — customer data, follow-up logging, account history - **Analytics**: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, custom dashboard — response rates, CSAT trends, recurrence tracking - **NLP**: Google Cloud NL, Azure AI — sentiment analysis on survey comments - **Workflow automation**: Zapier, Make, custom — sequence orchestration, branching logic - **Data warehouse**: Snowflake, BigQuery — historical follow-up data, trend analysis - **Notification**: Twilio, Pusher — SMS push notifications for urgent follow-ups - **Reporting**: Tableau, Power BI — executive dashboards, CSAT reporting