CRM automations save time and improve efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and personalizing lead interactions. Admins can create custom workflows or use prebuilt templates designed with proven child care marketing strategies. Automations allow you to send targeted messages, update lead details, and tailor actions based on specific conditions, ensuring every lead receives the right communication at the right time.
Create an Automation
Admins have the flexibility to create custom automations from scratch or use prebuilt automation templates. These templates are expertly designed based on Playground's extensive research and testing of effective child care marketing strategies.
Automations from Scratch
From Playground CRM navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the blue + New Automation button in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the Start from Scratch button in the Create new automation window
Add a Name and Description for your automation and then click Save.
The Automation Builder will open.
Click the red New Trigger node to select the action that will trigger this automation to begin. The trigger sidebar will open. Select a trigger from the drop down list. They are grouped by category.
Lead Activity: A new lead is created, A lead is moved to a new stage, A lead is updated, A lead form is submitted
Bookings: A meeting is booked with a lead, A meeting is cancelled with a lead
Communication: A call is received or placed, An SMS is received or sent, Email bounced
Enrollment: An application is sent, An application is received, A student is moved to the CCMS
Schedule: On a recurring schedule
For a full overview of all available triggers and how to use them, see the Automation Triggers section below.
Several available triggers have the option to add a filter. For example, if you select A Lead Form is Submitted, you can filter for the specific lead form you want to trigger this automation. If you do not select a filter the automation will trigger for all lead forms.
For filters that use date-based properties, you can choose from preset ranges like Today, Current week, Previous 30 days, Current year, and more. You can also set a custom date comparison using options like Is equal to, Is after, Is before, Has a value, or Does not have a value.
When you are done selecting the trigger, click the blue Save button in the bottom right corner of the sidebar.
Now you will add a step to the automation. Click the plus icon next to your trigger, and select the step you would like to occur.
Send an SMS
From the SMS sidebar, select whether you want to send the text to the lead that triggered the automation or to a specific phone number.
If you have multiple phone numbers, you will select the phone number you want to send the text from.
Under SMS Type, select Custom to type a message or select From a Template to choose one of your templates.
When done, click the blue Save button and the text will be added as step.
Send an Email
From the Email sidebar, select whether you want to send the email to the lead that triggered the automation or to a specific email address.
If you have multiple email addresses, you will select the email you want to send from
Select the email template you would like to use and then click Save.
Update a Lead Property
From the Lead Property sidebar, select the property that you want to update and then select the value that it should update to. Then click Save.
Move lead to new a stage
From the Lead Stage sidebar, select the stage the lead should change to and then click Save.
Create a task
Click here for more information on CRM tasks.
Add a wait time between steps: Click the plus icon, and then select Add a delay. Select the amount of time you want to pass before the next step occurs, then click Save.
When you are satisfied with your automation, you can click Save Changes to save the automation as a draft or you can click Set Live to save and turn on the automation. Once the automation is set live, leads that meet the trigger conditions will be enrolled in the automation.
Automation Triggers
Triggers determine when an automation starts. Each automation requires one trigger, which defines the action or event that kicks off the sequence for a lead. Some triggers also support filters, letting you narrow down exactly which leads the automation applies to. The table below covers all available triggers and common ways to use them.
Trigger | Description | Example Use Case |
On a recurring schedule | Runs the automation on a set daily, weekly, or monthly schedule for leads that match specific filter criteria. Set the schedule first, then define which leads it should apply to using filters. | Send a monthly check-in email to all leads who are still in the waitlist stage. | |
A new lead is created | Triggers when a new lead is added to your CRM, whether manually or through a form submission. | Send a welcome email as soon as a new family is added to the platform. |
A lead is updated | Triggers when any information on a lead's profile is changed. | Send a follow-up email when a lead's preferred start date is updated to confirm the change and next steps. |
A lead form is submitted | Triggers when a lead submits a specific form, such as an interest or inquiry form. | Start a follow-up email sequence after a family fills out your interest form. |
A meeting is booked with a lead | Triggers when a tour or meeting is scheduled with a lead through CRM. | Create a task for your team to review the lead's profile before the meeting. |
A meeting is cancelled with a lead | Triggers when a previously scheduled meeting is cancelled. | Send a rescheduling email to keep the family engaged. |
A lead is moved to a new stage | Triggers when a lead's stage changes in your pipeline. | Send a waitlist confirmation email when a lead is moved to the Waitlist stage. |
A call is received or placed | Triggers when a call is made or received through your CRM phone line. | Create a follow-up task after a call is logged with a lead. |
An SMS is received or sent | Triggers when a text message is sent to or received from a lead. | Automatically move a lead to a new stage when an SMS conversation is initiated. |
Email bounced | Triggers when an email sent to a lead fails to deliver. | Alert your team so they can reach out through a different channel. |
An application is sent | Triggers when an application is sent to a family. | Send the family a friendly reminder of what to expect next and what information they'll need to complete their application. |
An application is received | Triggers when a family submits a completed application. | Notify your admin team and move the lead to the next stage automatically. |
A student is moved to the CCMS | Triggers when a student record is transferred from CRM to the CCMS. | Send a welcome message to the family confirming their spot. |
Add Conditions to Automations
Conditions in CRM automations let you customize actions based on answers to custom properties. For example, you can set a condition like "If a lead's Program is 'Part-time,'" and decide what happens next, such as sending a Part-time specific welcome email. If the condition isn’t met, you can trigger a different action. This flexibility ensures your automations adapt to each situation, making your workflows more efficient and personalized.
From the CRM Automation Builder, click the Plus Icon, then click Check Condition.
The Conditions sidebar will open. Click Add Branch and then Add Filter to add the condition. You may add as many conditions as you'd like.
Click Save and a separate branch for each condition will be added.
You can now create separate sequences for each of the conditions.
Add Automation Goals
Automation goals enable you to automatically remove leads from an automation before it completes if they meet a specified condition. This is particularly useful for automations designed as nudges or reminders to prompt action.
From the CRM Automation Builder, click the Goal button in the bottom right corner.
The Goal sidebar will open. Toggle on Automation goal. A box to add a condition will appear.
Click Add Condition. Here you will be able to specify when the goal is met. You can add multiple conditions for a goal to be met.
You can also toggle on Remove incomplete tasks to automatically remove any incomplete tasks associated with the lead when the goal is met.
Click Save in the bottom right corner when you have added the desired condition(s). The Goal button will now be green indicating a goal has been set for this automation.
💡 If your automation includes a delay, the system will wait for the delay period to finish before checking whether a lead has met the goal. This means that even if a lead meets the goal condition during a delay, they will not be removed from the automation until the delay has passed. Once the delay is complete, the system will check the goal condition and remove the lead from the automation if it has been met.
Automations from Templates
From Playground CRM navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the + New Automation button in the top right corner of the screen.
The Create New Automation from a Template window will open. Templates are grouped into categories like Tour Management, Waitlist Management, and Application & Enrollment Funnel. Select a category on the left, then choose a template on the right to see its name and description. Click Use Selected Template to continue.
The template automation will open and any desired changes can be made.
When you are satisfied with the automation, click the blue Set Live button.
💡 The email and SMS templates included in the automation template will be added to your Marketing tab. You can customize these emails and messages anytime from the Marketing tab.
View Automation History
Administrators can confirm that leads have been enrolled in an automation by viewing the automation history.
View Automation Run History
From Playground CRM navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the three dots next to the automation you want to view, and then select View History.
A table will open with a list of the leads enrolled in the sequence.
Click on a lead to view more details. If an automation failed, this is a great way to investigate why it failed.
View Selected Version
From the Automations tab, click the three dots next to the automation you want to review and select View History.
At the top of the history page, use the date dropdown to select an older version of the automation.
Click the three dots and select View selected version.
The automation will open in read-only mode, letting you see exactly how it was configured at that point in time without making any changes.
Duplicate, Pause, or Delete an Automation
You can duplicate or pause any automation directly from the Automations page using the three dots menu.
Duplicate an Automation
Duplicating is a great way to use an existing automation as a starting point for a new one without rebuilding it from scratch.
From Playground CRM, navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the three dots next to the automation you want to duplicate and click Duplicate.
A window will open with a pre-filled name based on the original. Update the name and click Duplicate.
The automation builder will open with a copy of the original. Make any changes you need, then click Save Changes to keep it as a draft or Set Live to activate it.
Pause an Automation
You can pause a live automation at any time directly from the Automations page. Pausing stops any running instances at their current stage.
From Playground CRM, navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the three dots next to the automation you want to pause.
Click Pause.
A confirmation window will appear. Click Yes, pause automation to confirm, or No, go back to cancel.
🚨 Pausing an automation stops all running instances at their current stage. Leads already enrolled will not continue through the remaining steps.
Delete an Automation
From Playground CRM, navigate to the Automations tab.
Click the three dots next to the automation you want to delete and click Delete.
A confirmation window will appear. Click Yes, delete to confirm, or No, go back to cancel.
Turn on Failure Alerts for Automations
You can choose to receive an email if a lead fails to complete an automation.
You can set this up in either of these places:
When creating or editing an automation, click the three dots at the top of the page and select Automation settings
Or, from the main Automations page, click the three dots next to the automation. Click on the Settings button
In the panel that opens, scroll to Automation issues and toggle it on. Then enter the email address where you’d like alerts to be sent.
This is a helpful way to catch automation issues early.
Resolve a Failed Automation
Automations may fail to run for a variety of reasons. If an automation fails, Playground will send an alert to the connected CRM email. It is important to investigate automation failures immediately so that automated emails are not missed.
After receiving an automation failure email alert, navigate to your CRM dashboard and click the automations tab.
Click the three dots next to the failed automation and then click View History.
The history will show the automation status for each lead enrolled in the automation. Find the most recent lead with a failed status, click the three dots, and then click View.
The automation history sidebar will open and will show the automation failure reason. In this case, the automation failed because the lead did not have an email in the system.
If the automation failure is a result of the automation and not the lead, be sure to correct the automation. See below for explanations and resolutions for the most common automation failure reasons.
Lead email missing or invalid | The lead has an invalid or missing email address. Correct or add the lead's email address. |
Lead phone missing or invalid | The lead has an invalid or missing phone number. Correct or add the lead's email address. |
CRM email disconnected | The email connected to your CRM has been disconnected. Navigate to settings to reconnect your email. |
Cannot read properties of branch | The branch on the automation may have invalid settings. Correct the branch conditions and save the automation. |
One or more steps were skipped due to missing data or insufficient permissions | Some steps could not run because required data or permissions were missing. For example, SMS steps are skipped if the guardian has not opted in to receive text messages. |
Automation canceled | The automation was stopped manually. This can happen if someone clicks Stop automation on a lead, or edits the automation and chooses to stop any earlier ones that were already running. |
💡If the failed step is an email and the error message includes the word "timed out," the issue is most likely with the email account connected to your CRM rather than the automation itself. To fix this, disconnect the email from your CRM settings and reconnect it. Once reconnected, the automation should send successfully going forward.