If you’re running surveys, you’re probably after more than just a pile of data—you want to do something with those responses. Whether you’re trying to nudge unhappy users, thank your fans, or upsell folks who seem ready, you need a system that connects survey answers to real follow-up. That's where Refiner comes in.
This guide is for people who want to stop letting survey data collect dust. I’ll walk you through how to use Refiner to automatically trigger tailored email campaigns right after a survey, without drowning in setup or marketing fluff. If you want to actually use your feedback to move the needle, keep reading.
Step 1: Get Your Survey Set Up in Refiner
Before you can trigger emails, you need to have a survey live in Refiner. If you’ve already got that, skip ahead. If not, here’s what matters:
- Choose the right survey type. NPS, CSAT, and feature feedback all work, but pick one that actually matches your goal. Don’t just copy what you’ve seen elsewhere.
- Keep it short. No one wants to answer a 10-question survey. Two to three key questions is plenty.
- Identify users clearly. Use user IDs or emails so you can tie responses back to real people.
Pro tip: Test the survey on yourself or a coworker before rolling it out. Small things break more often than you think.
Step 2: Decide Who Gets Which Emails (and Why)
Here’s where most folks get tripped up. You can segment your audience any way you want, but complexity isn’t always your friend. Figure out:
- What responses actually warrant follow up?
- Promoters (e.g., NPS 9–10): Ask for reviews or referrals.
- Passives or detractors: Offer help or a quick call.
- Feature requests: Send updates when something launches.
- How personal do you want to get?
- Personalized emails are nice, but only if the content is genuinely relevant.
- Don’t overpromise—automated emails can feel fake if you try too hard.
What to skip: Don’t create a dozen tiny segments unless you’re sure you’ll use them. Start simple. You can always add more later.
Step 3: Integrate Your Email Platform
Refiner isn’t an email service itself—it just helps you trigger emails using the tools you already use (like Mailchimp, Customer.io, or even good old Zapier). Here’s how to connect the dots:
1. Native Integrations
- Go to Refiner’s “Integrations” section.
- Look for your email platform. If it’s supported, follow the prompts—usually it’s just pasting in an API key.
- Map survey data fields (like score, comments, user email) so they come through clean on the email side.
2. Using Zapier or Webhooks
If your tool isn’t natively supported, use Zapier or a webhook:
- Set up a Zap: Trigger on Refiner survey completion, then send data to your email app.
- Webhooks: If you’re technical, you can POST survey data wherever you want. Just expect some fiddling.
Heads up: Data can get messy fast. Double-check that the right info (like which user gave which answer) is flowing through. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 4: Build Your Email Templates
Now you need emails worth triggering. Here’s how to keep it real:
- Use survey data in your message.
- Drop in their score or comments so it feels like you actually read their response.
- “You mentioned you’d love to see more integrations—here’s what we’re working on.”
- Keep it short and actionable.
- Thank them, address their feedback, give them a next step if it makes sense.
- Don’t write like a robot. One or two sentences is fine.
- Set expectations.
- If you’re promising to follow up, actually do it.
What doesn’t work: Overly generic messages (“Thanks for your feedback!”) get ignored. So do emails that look like they’re from a machine.
Step 5: Set Up Triggers in Refiner
Here’s the meat of the process. In Refiner, you can set up “Automations” (sometimes called “Workflows” or “Triggers,” depending on the UI):
- Go to your survey’s settings and find Automations.
- Create a new automation for each segment you want to target.
- E.g., “If NPS score is 9 or 10, trigger email campaign X.”
- “If someone leaves a negative comment, alert the success team.”
- Choose your integration action.
- This is usually “Send to [your email tool]” with the right segment/tag.
- Map survey response data to email fields.
- Make sure user emails, names, and any custom fields come through.
- Test your automation.
- Use dummy data to confirm the right email fires for the right response.
Don’t skip testing. You’ll feel silly if you accidentally send a “Thanks for being a fan!” note to someone who just gave you a 2/10.
Step 6: Monitor, Adjust, and Don’t Overthink It
Once your automations are live, watch what happens:
- Track open and reply rates. If no one’s engaging, your message needs work (or you’re sending too many).
- Get feedback from your team. Sales or support might notice if emails hit the wrong people.
- Tweak segments as needed. If you see patterns (“Everyone who asks for Feature X is ready to upgrade”), adjust your triggers.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over edge cases or try to automate every possible scenario. Focus on the 80/20: the main use cases that actually move the needle.
Real-World Tips (Stuff You Won’t Find in the Docs)
- Start with one or two simple automations. Prove it works before you build out a huge tree of triggers.
- Resist the urge to over-personalize. A friendly, relevant email beats a mail-merge full of awkward “Hi, {first_name}!” moments.
- Have a human fallback. For sensitive or angry feedback, sometimes a manual reply is better than an automated one.
- Don’t spam. Just because you can email everyone doesn’t mean you should. Respect your users’ inboxes.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Actually Use Your Feedback
The real power of tying Refiner surveys to email isn’t in flashy automation—it’s in actually acting on what users tell you. Start simple: set up a couple of targeted follow-ups, see what works (and what doesn’t), and build from there. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll actually benefit from your survey data—no fancy “synergy” required.