Can I set journey wait times in minutes in Zoho Marketing Automation?

Check the wait step in your current journey builder. Zoho Marketing Automation's wait options have mainly been designed around hours, days and specific dates, which suits most nurture paths. Very short waits measured in minutes may not be available or may vary by update. If you need near-instant follow-up, trigger it directly or use a workflow instead of a wait.

Journey wait steps pause a contact before the next action. Most marketing journeys use waits of a day or more, so the builder focuses on those units, along with waiting until a date or until a condition is met. Zoho updates the journey builder regularly, so open a wait step in your own account to see which units it currently offers.

If you need something to happen a few minutes after a trigger, such as a follow-up after a form submission, a journey wait is often not the best tool. Send the message as the first journey action with no wait, use an autoresponder, or trigger it from Zoho CRM workflow rules, which can schedule actions relative to a time field.

Also remember that sending is not instant even when timing is exact. Messages are processed in queues, and delivery can take a little while. For time-critical alerts, such as appointment reminders or one-time codes, use SMS or a transactional email service designed for that purpose rather than a marketing journey.

Written by Flowpeak, a Zoho implementation partner. Zoho pricing and features change, so confirm current details on the official Zoho site. Free checklists | Ask us a question