How-To

How to Set Up Marketing Automation: Your First Workflow in 4 Steps

By Jared Casper, Founder · May 12, 2026 · 7 min read

Here's how to set up marketing automation: pick one repetitive task, choose the trigger that should start it, add the actions it should take, then test it on yourself before turning it on. Start with a single simple workflow — missed-call text-back is a good first one — and add more only once it's running reliably.

Before you start: how every automation works

Every workflow, however simple or complex, has the same two parts:

• A trigger — the event that starts it ("a call is missed," "a form is submitted," "an appointment is booked").
• Actions — what happens next ("send a text," "wait one day," "send an email," "move the lead to a new stage").

If you can describe a task as "when X happens, do Y," you can automate it. In CasperPortal you build these in workflow automations using the available automation triggers — no code required.

Step 1: Choose your highest-impact workflow

Don't try to automate everything at once. Pick one task that happens often, follows the same pattern every time, and costs you leads or time when it's missed. Good first candidates:

• Missed-call text-back — the simplest to build and the most immediate win. See the missed calls problem.
• Appointment reminders — confirmations and reminders for every booking.
• Google review requests — sent when a job is marked complete.
• New-lead welcome sequence — a reply and short follow-up for every new inquiry.

This guide uses missed-call text-back as the example.

Step 2: Set the trigger

The trigger for missed-call text-back is "a call to your business number goes unanswered." For it to work, calls need to come through CasperPortal: you can port your existing business number or use a local tracking number that forwards to your phone.

Tips for choosing any trigger:

• Make it specific. "Form submitted on the quote page" is better than "any activity."
• Add a filter if needed — for example, only during business hours, or only for new contacts.
• Ask yourself what should happen if the same person triggers it twice.

Step 3: Add your actions

For a missed-call text-back, the core action is one text message:

Then consider a few follow-on actions:

1. Create or update the contact so the caller lands in your CRM.
2. Notify you or a team member so someone owns the reply.
3. Wait — for example, until the next day.
4. If there's no reply, send one short follow-up text or create a call-back task.
5. If they reply, stop the workflow and let a person take over in the inbox.

Write messages the way you'd text a customer yourself: short, friendly and signed with your business name. Save them as templates so you can reuse them in other workflows.

Step 4: Test and launch

1. Test on yourself. Call your business number from your own phone and let it ring out. Check that the text arrives and reads the way you expect.
2. Reply to the text and confirm the reply shows up in your inbox on the right contact.
3. Check the timing of any waits and follow-ups.
4. Turn it on, then review the first few real conversations to make sure nothing feels off.

Once your first workflow is running reliably, add the next one. Our list of small business automation examples suggests what to build next, and you can browse industry examples under niches.

Frequently asked questions