---
description: Learn how to identify VIP Customers to route and manage them differently from other Customers using Workflows.
title: How to Route VIP Contacts
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---

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4. How to Route VIP Contacts

# How to Route VIP Contacts

![Avatar](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/4GvzCieeTBRY4TRJUbIr4y/b92428e6b049d23f546269180534f7ea/Ryan_Tan_Avatar.svg)

Joshua Lim

· 04 Apr 2025

2 min read

> In this article, you’ll learn how to identify VIP Contacts to provide a tailored customer experience and differentiate them from non-VIP Contacts.

## Benefits of Routing VIP Contacts

* Treating VIP Contacts differently ensures a more personalized and expedited service. This can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.
* Having a different route for VIP contacts allows businesses to efficiently allocate resources, ensuring that highly skilled agents cater to VIP customers’ unique needs.

## Workflow Setup

Learn how to use the Workflow Template to identify and route VIP Contacts.

* Check Contact for an existing email
* If Contact has an Email: Get Contact Data and Route VIP Contact
* If Contact has no Email: Ask for Email and Route Contact

### Check Contact for an Existing Email

In the **Workflows** module, click **\+ Add Workflow** \> Click **Routing: VIP Contacts** \> Click **Use Template**.

![](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/1UjSCdfxBoRERPWYiM3qWe/f8585fb991f6e04d75de832c9a196fe2/untitled-9.png?fm=avif&w=1000) 

1\. [**Trigger**](https://respond.io/help/workflows/workflow-triggers): The Workflow starts when a conversation is opened by a Contact.

2\. **Have** **Email Already?**: This Branch step checks if the Contact has an email or not in the Contact’s Email Address field.

### If Contact has an Email: Get Contact Data and Route VIP Contact

![](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/eEhpu499DvT2tno7Dg0cA/7f428a6d65e65a437c8140957b9236b5/untitled-10.png?fm=avif&w=1000) 

If the Contact has an Email in the Contact’s Email Address field, the Contact will be routed to the **Have Email** branch. In this branch, the Contact’s data will be retrieved from an external CRM or data warehouse via a HTTP request step to identify if the Contact is a VIP. If the Contact is a VIP, the Contact will be routed to the VIP Contact branch.

3\. **Get Contact Data from CRM or Data Warehouse:** This is an HTTP request step that will retrieve the Contact’s details from a data warehouse such as a CRM. Click on the Workflow step to configure the Method, URL, and Header to retrieve the Contact’s data.

In the Response Mapping section, map the _$.customerType_(name of key from the response based on your CRM or Data Warehouse) key to store its value as a variable named _CustomerType_. Learn how to [configure HTTP request step](https://respond.io/help/workflows/step-http-request) here or get a developer to assist with this configuration.

![](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/5jBasgPfzHeKRvL1MniG7P/07e82ac2d1a6f9cf437cc3f10f473e9e/untitled-11.png?fm=avif&w=1000) 

4\. **Route VIP & Regular Contact:** In this Branch step, the Contact will be routed based on the _CustomerType_ variable. If the _CustomerType_ is VIP, it will be routed to the VIP Contact branch. If the _CustomerType_ is not VIP, it will be routed to the Regular Contact branch.

#### Next Steps after Routing Contacts

Here are steps to consider after Routing VIP and Regular Contacts:

* **VIP Contact:** Add an [Assign To step](https://respond.io/help/workflows/step-assign-to) to assign to a specific user or dedicated agent to attend to the VIP Contact.
* **Regular Contact:** Add an [Assign to step](https://respond.io/help/workflows/step-assign-to) to assign to a user in a team or Workspace with an assignment logic that fits your business needs. Learn more about [Assignment Strategy: Contact Distribution & Load Balancing](https://respond.io/help/automate-conversations/assignment-strategy-automatic-contact-distribution-load-balancing).

### If Contact has no Email: Ask For Email and Route Contact

![](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/6wrdUksCUmmxBnJldSeRWr/8a7fd9c6a98d86db10ca6ecd8d40c429/untitled-12.png?fm=avif&w=1000) 

If the Contact does not have an Email in the Contact’s Email Address field, the Contact will be routed to the **No Email** branch. In this branch, the Contact will be prompted with a question to ask for their email. Once you have received the Contact’s email, a Success Message will be automatically sent and the Workflow will Jump to Get Contact Data where the Contact’s data will be retrieved from an external CRM or data warehouse via a HTTP request step to identify if the Contact is a VIP. If the Contact is a VIP, the Contact will be routed to the VIP Contact branch.

5\. **Ask for Email:** Ask for the Contact’s email with the [Ask a Question step](https://respond.io/help/workflows/step-ask-a-question).

6\. The Ask for Email step can have a Success or Failure outcome:

* **Success Message (Success):** Once you have received the Contact’s email, the automation will send a Success Message to the Contact.
* **Jump to Ask for Email (Failure: Invalid):** If the Contact sent an invalid response to the Ask for Email question, the automation will jump back to the Ask for Email step up to 3 times. By the 4th time, if the response is still invalid, you may consider [routing to an agent or a manager to manage this Contact](https://respond.io/help/automate-conversations/assignment-strategy-automatic-contact-distribution-load-balancing).

7\. **Jump to Get Contact Data:** After sending a Success Message, the Workflow will continue by getting Contact’s data and identifying if the Contact is a VIP using a [Jump to step](https://respond.io/help/workflows/step-jump-to).

> Once you have completed the setup, click **Save** and **Publish** to activate the Workflow.

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## 

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