Understanding Time Zones

Set Up Time Zones Properly (for users and leads)

It's necessary to make sure that your leads are getting the right communication at the right time. Wee hours like 2 AM almost never go very well. For both users and leads, multiple time zone options can impact the timing of campaigns. Know everything you need to know to set up your agency and other users for success by going through this article.

The way Time Zones work

Time zones are used in a variety of ways within the software. In the calendar, 

It is used to determine appointment times and set available hours (9-5 in EST is obviously different than 9-5 in PST) in the Calendar. 

In Campaigns, it can be used to utilize a wait step, a delay within a step, a window setting in Campaign Settings or a window setting within a specific campaign step. 

The different areas where time zone settings come into play are listed below-

1. Account Time Zone

The account owner needs to ensure that the time zone in the business settings is consistent with your actual time zone. Save the time zone and hit ‘Update Address’ in Settings.

2.Lead Time Zone

No Time Zone for Leads in Campaigns: campaigns will still run based on the time zone of the location as a general rule, while leads do have their own time under General Info within the contact information. Hence, it is important to assess your delays, windows and waits within your campaigns to ensure that your folks won't be receiving communication when unintended. Remember, campaigns disregard contact time zones. So, make sure the communication times are always falling in a safe window based on the possibility of multiple lead time zones. (For example, Noon CST is safe for all US leads whereas 9am EST would not be safe for PST or Hawaii.)

Appointments

An exception to this rule: Using the appointment widget, when a lead or customer books an appointment, they can have the option to book an appointment in THEIR time zone. 

(Side-note: Reminder campaigns are always relative to the appointment time, so time zones are not really important in that manner. For example, one hour before an appointment will be the same no matter if the appointment is at 12 pm EST or 9 am PST.)

Disable Contact Time Zone:

If you work with leads and customers that are all in the same time zone and hence there is no need for leads to having a time zone option, you can go to Settings → Company and check the Disable Contact time zone box. This will eliminate any option that the lead has regarding the time zone when they are booking an appointment.