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7 ways to automate Hotjar

By Daniel Kenitz · January 11, 2023
A hero image of the Hotjar app logo connected to other app logos on a light yellow background.

Using Hotjar can feel like a cheat code. The service combines heat maps and recordings with customer feedback and surveys to transplant your analytics into the mind of your visitors. Which buttons on your site attract the most attention? What web friction is turning users away? Use Hotjar on your web presence, and you'll soon have answers to these questions.

The only challenge? Hotjar provides you with so much data that it can sometimes be difficult for your team to make sense of it. Pair with automation, however, and you can automatically sort that data as you see fit. Here are some useful ways to take Hotjar data and ensure it flows to the right places.

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Send Hotjar data to a spreadsheet

Hotjar data—user surveys, customer feedback, new recordings, and more—is a lot to process. And that's great news. But it's only great news if you're starting with a "hub" of data you can easily parse out. We recommend bringing new Hotjar data into your preferred spreadsheet app like Airtable, Microsoft Excel, or Google Sheets. 

Think of this as the headquarters of your new Hotjar data pipeline. Once your data is in a Google Sheet, for example, you can easily share that data with other teams or even connect that Google Sheet with other Zaps so you can flow data to your team as you see fit. 

Create rows in Google Sheets for new Hotjar survey responses

  • Hotjar logo
  • Google Sheets logo
Hotjar + Google Sheets
More details
    This integration automatically creates a new row in a Google Sheet for new Hotjar survey response, as soon as it comes in. Easily manage and organize your responses while you stay free for more important work!

    Add rows to a Google sheet for new Hotjar incoming feedback responses

    • Hotjar logo
    • Google Sheets logo
    Hotjar + Google Sheets
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      Simplify how you sort and track Hotjar feedback by automatically creating a new row in a Google sheet when new Hotjar feedback responses come in. With all of your feedback in one place, you can easily sort and filter responses based on the criteria that matters to you.

      Add rows to a Google sheet for new Hotjar recordings

      • Hotjar logo
      • Google Sheets logo
      Hotjar + Google Sheets
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        Quickly spot patterns or discover new opportunities by connecting Hotjar to Google Sheets. Automatically add a new row in a Google sheet when there is a new recording in Hotjar. Narrow down your focus and track recordings with specific criteria like rage clicks so you can plot a graph and identify trends over time.

        Generate rows in Microsoft Excel for new survey responses in Hotjar

        • Hotjar logo
        • Microsoft Excel logo
        Hotjar + Microsoft Excel
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          Sorting and managing survey responses can be tricky. This integration automatically creates a new row in an Excel spreadsheet when new Hotjar survey responses come in. With all of your survey responses in one place, you can easily sort and filter responses based on the criteria that matters most to you.

          Create a record in Airtable for new Hotjar survey responses

          • Hotjar logo
          • Airtable logo
          Hotjar + Airtable
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            Creating a database of survey responses makes it easy to share and archive your important customer responses. Use this Zap to automatically create a record in Airtable each time you receive a new response to a Hotjar survey.

            Notify team members of new survey responses

            New survey responses, new customer feedback, new customer recordings. It's an embarrassment of data riches. These insights can tell your team exactly what customers like and don't like about your web presence and user experience. But none of that matters if your team doesn't have the data.

            The easy solution: set up a Zap that alerts your team every time there's a new survey response. Survey responses are especially important—they're one of the few times customers tell you exactly what they're feeling. There's no angling for a viral customer review. There's no hope of landing a refund. The customer who takes time to complete a survey is telling you exactly what you need. 

            Make sure your team responds by funneling that response straight to them.

            Get messages in Microsoft Teams for new Hotjar survey responses

            • Hotjar logo
            • Microsoft Teams logo
            Hotjar + Microsoft Teams
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              Get notified where you spend most of your day, so you can take action when needed. This integration automatically sends a channel message in Microsoft Teams whenever a new survey response is captured in Hotjar.

              Send a Slack channel message for new Hotjar survey responses

              • Hotjar logo
              • Slack logo
              Hotjar + Slack
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                Feedback is useless if you don't react to it. With this Zap, you can automatically send a channel message in Slack every time you receive a new survey response in Hotjar. Make sure the right people are looped in for faster follow up.

                Track customer feedback (and turn feedback into tasks)

                Customer feedback is only valuable if you incorporate it. Otherwise, it's just a blip of data on your screen. Relevant data, sure—but until you turn it into a definable task on your team's project management radar, there isn't going to be much that happens to improve your business.

                The solution is to take the customer feedback you receive through Hotjar and funnel it into your chosen task app. These Zaps will take new feedback—survey responses or simple customer feedback—and turn them into new cards and notes in your project management task list. 

                Create card widgets in Miro from new Hotjar feedback responses

                • Hotjar logo
                • Miro logo
                Hotjar + Miro
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                  Sorting and acting on feedback responses can be time consuming, but this Zap can help you to connect your workflow and easily collaborate on feedback responses. Activate it to automatically create a Miro card whenever a new Hotjar feedback response comes in. Collaborate with your team, so you can easily map each response into different product areas.

                  Create a note in Productboard for new feedback in Hotjar

                  • Hotjar logo
                  • Productboard logo
                  Hotjar + Productboard
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                    Incorporating customer feedback is essential for any successful product. With this Zap, you can automatically add new feedback from Hotjar to Productboard. Make it easier to involve customer insights in every step of the process with this workflow.

                    Create a note in Dovetail for new Hotjar survey responses

                    • Hotjar logo
                    • Dovetail logo
                    Hotjar + Dovetail
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                      Make sure customer feedback is central to your product plan. Use this Zap to automatically create a note in Dovetail for new Hotjar survey responses.

                      This even works if you have new Hotjar data, like customer recordings, and aren't sure how to incorporate them into your workflow. Set up a Tability check-in so your team can view how many recordings are available for review.

                      Create Tability check-ins for new Hotjar recordings

                      • Hotjar logo
                      • Tability logo
                      Hotjar + Tability
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                        Stay effortlessly responsive to feedback with this Zap. Once active, this integration connects Hotjar to Tability to create a Tability check-in for each new Hotjar recordings to track how many feedback recordings are available to view.

                        Follow up on customer feedback

                        When you pair customer feedback with a Hotjar heatmap, you'd be surprised at what you can learn. For example, you might identify the exact spot your customer stops scrolling. With detailed feedback, you'll also learn why. Did the pricing get in their way? Were they not interested in making a purchase quite yet?

                        Sometimes, however, even the best data leaves gaps. You may need to reach out to a customer to get clarity on what was going on in their head. But if you have a lot of customers, trying to reach out manually to every customer isn't scalable. 

                        With a Zap, you can send out customized follow-up emails for new survey responses and user feedback automatically. You'll collect additional information without ever having to lift a finger for it.

                        Send emails from Gmail for new Hotjar survey responses

                        • Hotjar logo
                        • Gmail logo
                        Hotjar + Gmail
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                          When users take the time out of their day to fill out a survey, it’s nice to follow-up with a Thank You email. This integration sends an automated email from your Gmail account each time you receive a new Hotjar survey response so you can take “follow-up email” off your to-do list.

                          Send an email with Gmail for new feedback in Hotjar

                          • Hotjar logo
                          • Gmail logo
                          Hotjar + Gmail
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                            Want to send a custom response to user feedback? With this Zap, you can automatically reply to new feedback through Hotjar with a custom email. Thank your customers for their response or ask for more info without the extra effort.

                            Send feedback to your customer support team

                            Let's say you get some negative feedback from a Hotjar user survey. Your instinct is, of course, to address this as soon as possible. But what if you want to do so in a more systematic way than pinging your coworker by email or in team chat?

                            We recommend integrating a Zap that will create that ticket. Sure, Hotjar feedback is great for informing your team when they need to fix a system issue—say, a website problem. But if you want to resolve this customer's issue, you'll want to integrate Hotjar with your chosen customer support software.

                            Create Zendesk tickets for new Hotjar feedback responses

                            • Hotjar logo
                            • Zendesk logo
                            Hotjar + Zendesk
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                              Speed up your response time to incoming feedback so your customers know you care. With this Zapier automation, a new ticket is created in Zendesk when new Hotjar feedback responses come in. Now your team can quickly follow up on feedback and continue to delight your customers.

                              Create issues in Jira Software Cloud for new Hotjar recordings

                              • Hotjar logo
                              • Jira Software Cloud logo
                              Hotjar + Jira Software Cloud
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                                Expedite your bug fixing process by creating a new issue in Jira when a new Hotjar recording comes in. Narrow down the focus by only creating an issue when recordings contain actions like rage clicks. With the recording on hand, your team can quickly identify and resolve the issue

                                Merge Hotjar insights with other forms of feedback

                                Maybe you're not using Hotjar alone. What if you have other forms of customer insights to import before you make any key decisions? Avrio, for example, lets you pull in customer insights from multiple platforms so your team can share data and collaborate on key decisions.

                                Hotjar doesn't have to be separate from this process. Import those insights into Avrio so your team can view them, consider them, and get a complete picture of what's happening on your website.

                                Create Avrio Insights from new Hotjar feedback responses

                                • Hotjar logo
                                • Avrio logo
                                Hotjar + Avrio
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                                  User feedback is one of the most precious things. Feedback can create insights that can lead to opportunities and then actions by your team. This integration can help your team keep track of your form entries along with the rest of your Avrio insights to explore what matters the most.

                                  Use filters to refine your data collection

                                  Not all incoming data from Hotjar is necessarily a red-alert emergency for your customer support team. You may simply want to gather the data for insights down the line. Or you may want to compile it for monthly and quarterly reports.

                                  Use a filter step to add conditions for your Zaps. This way, you can collect relevant data without triggering more thorough responses from your team. For example, you can set criteria that use and/or logic. This will help ensure that the right insights go to the right people.

                                  Turn data into action

                                  Hotjar is a high-quality tool for getting real, actionable insights into what your customers think about your web presence. But until you turn that data into action, you won't see the improvements you want. Use automation to streamline your Hotjar workflows to multiply your impact without the extra work.

                                  This is just the start of what you can do with Hotjar and Zapier. Check out our App Directory to see what you can do next.

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