Zapier: Workflow Automation

UPDATE 12/12/18:
Wow - we have been saving a lot of time for a long time now. The zaps described below in our original review are outdated. Zapier has also become even more powerful (multi-step zaps with alternate paths).

We now do way more and with some different apps (HelpScout, Base, TypeForm). New customers get emails asking how they found us (and a follow-up after a week if they don't respond). They are also added to HelpScout in case we need to reach out. Canadian customers get special emails about customs. Customers ordering free samples or abandoning checkout are added to Base as Deals. On shipment, customers get special instructions about receiving freight. Customers who purchase after requesting samples are logged in a "converted sampler" Google Sheet. Results from TypeForm "How They Found Us" are shared in a different Google Sheet with our PPC agency.

In short, if you can map a business process out, you can improve your efficiency by automating with Zapier. And, of course, top-notch support is there to help you along the way.

ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM 2013:
We absolutely LOVE Zapier. Super easy to use, super powerful, super support. So far we have connected up Shopify to Desk.com (which we also love) and a Google Spreadsheet Form Results doc to Zoho CRM. The combination of Zapier and Desk.com is amazing. It is allowing us to automatically make sure we give attention to certain orders. For example, when a customer does not enter a shipping phone number, Zapier will create a case so long as "Mail" is not in the shipping line data since we don't need a phone number in those cases so no harm. We set the subject of the case via Zapier to include the order number and "is missing a phone number." Desk's rules take over and send a special email requesting the info from the customer where the case title contains that phrase. All fast, all automatic, all simple to get going. Support is great too. I asked a question about our Desk.com custom fields since we want more data from Shopify transferred. Support made it happen with the hour. Zapier makes great apps like Desk.com even more powerful.

Once you start using Zapier, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. It's just the great thing, for Shopify and for everything else.

A great way to couple shopify to external services that do not have a direct app

Zapier continually provides our business with workaround solutions that would otherwise be impossible.

Long story short, great user interface, A+ reliability, endless possibilities for custom implementations, and definitely worth the money.

Most recently we created a Zapier "Zap" that triggers a custom email in gmail when a new order is placed in Shopify. The Zap receives all relevant information from the order (customer name, billing address, billing city, shipping state, etc. etc. etc.), and also includes an email address that is stored as a custom attribute within shopify (process deatiled at http://bit.ly/1fJT2fa ). The zap then sends an email to that person through our gmail account. For our specific purposes this email says "Greetings {CustomAttributeName}, {Customer Name} has just placed an order in support of your fundraiser." but I imagine you could use this same functionality if you ask a customer at checkout to "Refer a Friend" or something like that.

Great, but it seems a little pricey until you consider the savings (the value)

Zapier integration does save time over the long run - make sure you have lots of things you want to automate to get the best value per zap. Also, consider how much the savings represent - for instance if it used to take 1 person 2 minutes to do something 3 times a day, how many $$ has that saved overall? Count the interruption in their process too - humans aren't multi-taskers.

Really excellent product. Love it. I look forward to more apps being added! (NETSUITE PLEASE!!! :) )

Works great! We use Zapier to enroll students in our online courses and it works perfectly.

We love Zapier for the fact that it has helped our company integrate our webstore with Salesforce which has saved our sales reps a ton of time with lead generation and pipeline management.

Zapier is the missing glue that can help with automation of processes within Shopify.

With a creative implementation of Zapier could well make up for dozens of other paid apps within the app marketplace and helps get the most out of your Shopify experience

I am enjoying using this app for my website furniturestop.co.uk. It is much faster and easier to use than I expected.