HANDSOME TOAD
How to plan enquiry automation in Google Workspace
A practical guide to mapping enquiry capture, ownership, follow-up and reporting before building an automated workflow.
An enquiry workflow should make it clear what arrived, who owns it and what happens next. Before choosing a tool or writing code, document those decisions with one real example.
1. Map the enquiry from arrival to outcome
List the channels you use, such as a website form or shared email inbox. Record the information an enquiry needs, who reviews it, how it is assigned and what counts as an outcome. Start with a single channel if the full process is difficult to describe.
2. Agree a small, consistent record
For example, an enquiry register could contain a reference, received date, contact details, request, owner, status, next action and next-action date. This is a proposed workflow, not a claim about an existing client system. Collect only the information needed for the task.
3. Decide which actions need approval
An internal notification can often be automated more readily than a price commitment or sensitive customer reply. If AI drafts or classifies an enquiry, make its output reviewable and provide a way to correct it.
4. Plan for duplicates and failures
Define how you recognise a repeated submission and what happens if an email or integration fails. Retrying should not create duplicate enquiries or repeated customer messages. Keep enough status information to investigate a failure without copying unnecessary personal data into logs.
5. Test before switching the workflow on
- A complete enquiry reaches the correct owner.
- Missing information is handled clearly.
- A repeated enquiry does not trigger unwanted duplicate work.
- A failed step can be identified and recovered.
- Access is limited to the people who need it.
6. Measure the result
Record a baseline before launch: manual handling time, unassigned enquiries and overdue follow-ups are useful starting points. Compare the same measures after launch and account for changes in volume. Estimate savings from observed work rather than applying a universal time-saving figure.
Discuss your enquiry workflow or read our owned-product engineering example.