The Approval Bottleneck You Didn't Know You Had
Let's cut through the corporate speak: approvals suck. Not the concept - the execution. When your marketing team needs legal to sign off on a client survey, or customer support wants to escalate a refund request, everyone's stuck playing email tennis. That's where 89% of companies with 200+ employees lose 3 hours daily. Not exactly peak efficiency.
ApproveThis fixes this by putting guardrails on the chaos. Ratecard handles the feedback collection. Together? They're like giving your approval processes a caffeine shot. No more "Did you see my email?" or "Who needs to sign off on this?" - just clean handoffs between systems your teams already use.
Why This Combo Works for Teams That Hate Meetings
ApproveThis isn't another app to babysit. It's the connective tissue between Ratecard's feedback firehose and the people who need to make decisions. Think of it like this:
- Ratecard collects raw customer feedback (good, bad, ugly)
- ApproveThis automatically routes high-stakes items to the right approvers
- Decisions happen in email or Slack - no new logins required
The magic happens through Zapier - no coding needed. You're essentially building a decision highway between your feedback data and the people paid to act on it.
Real-World Use Cases That Don't Suck
1. Taming the Feedback Beast
Scenario: Your support team gets 200+ customer feedback submissions daily through Ratecard. 15% require manager approval before acting (refunds, escalations, policy exceptions).
The Fix: Auto-create ApproveThis requests for any feedback tagged "requires review" in Ratecard. Route based on:
- Dollar amounts (auto-approve small refunds, escalate big ones)
- Customer tier (VIP requests jump the queue)
- Issue type (legal gets contract questions, finance handles billing disputes)
Who wins: Regional banks processing loan exceptions. E-commerce brands handling return requests. Healthcare providers managing patient feedback.
2. Closing the Loop Without the Nagging
Scenario: Marketing needs to follow up on negative reviews, but legal requires approval on all public responses. The back-and-forth kills response times.
The Fix: Every approved response in ApproveThis auto-updates Ratecard's contact records. Track which issues are:
- Pending legal review
- Approved for public response
- Escalated to executive team
Who wins: Franchise operations managing local online reputations. SaaS companies handling feature requests. Hospitality groups monitoring review sites.
Setup That Doesn't Require an IT Degree
Here's the 3-step process even your least techy manager can handle:
- Connect the Pipes: Create a Zapier account (takes 2 minutes). Link your Ratecard and ApproveThis accounts.
- Build Your Trigger: Choose when to act - like "New Feedback in Ratecard" or "Request Denied in ApproveThis".
- Set the Rules: Map which feedback types go to which approvers. Add conditional logic if you're feeling fancy.
Pro tip: Start with one workflow (like high-priority refund approvals). Expand once the team sees how much time they save.
Why Your Finance Team Will Actually Smile
ApproveThis isn't just about speed - it's about audit trails. Every decision on Ratecard feedback gets logged with:
- Who approved/rejected
- Timestamps
- Comments
- Attached files (like revised responses)
This matters for compliance-heavy industries. Imagine proving to auditors that every negative review got proper legal oversight. That's the kind of CYA that makes CFOs sleep better.
Department-Specific Wins
Customer Support Teams
Cut resolution times by auto-routing:
- Escalations to tier 2 support
- Refund requests based on amount
- VIP customer issues to dedicated managers
Marketing/PR Teams
Control brand messaging by requiring approvals for:
- Public responses to reviews
- Survey questions going to clients
- Case study publications using customer quotes
Operations Teams
Streamline processes like:
- Vendor feedback analysis
- Employee review follow-ups
- Compliance audit preparations
The Hidden Benefit Nobody Talks About
External approvers don't need Ratecard licenses. Client needs to approve a survey response? Add them as an approver in ApproveThis. They get an email, click approve/reject, done. No new software for them to learn. No added costs for you.
This is golden for:
- Agencies getting client sign-offs
- Manufacturers collaborating with distributors
- Healthcare providers managing patient feedback loops
Common Objections (And Why They're Wrong)
"We already handle this with email."
Cool. How many approval requests got lost in inboxes last quarter? How long does it take to find who approved what last April?
"Our team is too busy to learn new tools."
Approvers interact via email. Admins set up once in Zapier. If your team can forward an email, they can use this.
"We don't have enough approvals to justify it."
If you have more than 20 monthly approvals across departments, this pays for itself in recovered hours.
Getting Started Without the BS
Free trial of ApproveThis + Zapier's free plan = $0 commitment to test drive. If you can set up an email filter, you can build your first workflow.
Step 1: Grab an ApproveThis trial
Step 2: Create a Zapier account
Step 3: Connect to Ratecard (your team already uses it)
Total time investment: 18 minutes. Potential time saved: 62 hours/month for a 150-person company. Math doesn't lie.
Final Thought: Approval Processes Should Be Invisible
Good approval systems aren't felt. They're the silent traffic cops keeping work flowing without gridlock. By connecting Ratecard's feedback data to ApproveThis' decision engine, you're not adding bureaucracy - you're removing the crap that slows teams down.
Either keep doing approval hunts over email, or fix it in less time than your next pointless status meeting. Your call.
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