Setting Up Campaign Reminders for Events Across Time Zones

Understanding Campaign Reminders and Time Zones

When you schedule a campaign to send reminders for an upcoming event, the timing is based on the recipient's time zone. This ensures that a reminder for a meeting scheduled for 2:00 PM, for example, is delivered at an appropriate local time for each contact, rather than a single global moment.

How It Works

Your CRM uses the time zone information stored on each contact's profile. When a campaign is set to send a reminder a specific number of days or hours before an event date, the system calculates the send time individually for each contact based on their local time zone.

For example, if a contact in New York (Eastern Time) and a contact in Los Angeles (Pacific Time) are both sent a "24 hours before" reminder for the same event, the system will send the message at the correct local time for each, meaning the messages will be sent from your account three hours apart.

Setting Up Time Zone-Aware Reminders

To configure reminders that respect time zones, follow these steps when building your campaign:

1. Navigate to the campaign builder and locate the step where you set the event date and time.
2. When setting the event's date and time, you will typically select a specific clock time (e.g., 2:00 PM). This is the local event time.
3. Later in the campaign setup, you can add reminder steps. In these steps, you will specify how far in advance to send the reminder (e.g., 1 day before, 2 hours before).
4. The system will then automatically calculate the send time for each contact by counting back from the event's local time in their stored time zone.

Important Prerequisites

• Contact Time Zone Data: For this to work correctly, your contacts must have a time zone set on their profile. This is often populated automatically based on their location or phone number, but you should verify this data is present.
• Event Time Consistency: The event time you set in the campaign is considered the anchor. All reminder calculations are based on this fixed clock time being translated into each contact's local zone.

Troubleshooting Incorrect Reminder Times

If reminders are sending at unexpected times, the most common cause is missing or incorrect time zone data for the affected contacts. Check the contact profile to ensure a time zone is selected.

Another point to verify is the event time itself within the campaign setup. Ensure the date and time you intend for the event are correctly configured.

A Modern Alternative: Workflows

Campaigns are one way to schedule these reminders. Your CRM also offers a more powerful and flexible tool called Workflows. The Workflows builder can perform all the functions of Triggers and Campaigns, including sending time zone-sensitive reminders, within a single, unified interface. It provides greater control over logic, timing, and actions. Consider exploring Workflows for your future automation needs.