Identify a new lead from a demo request
Every demo request becomes a Segment identify call, so the lead's traits reach your CRM, warehouse and ad tools at once.
New Submission on your "Request a demo" form
Create an identify call in Segment with email, name, and company as traits
One-directional. A submission triggers the action — nothing is written back into your form.
A demo request is the first moment you know who someone is. Sending it to Segment as an identify call means the lead's email, name and company are written once and fanned out to every destination you already have connected.
Growth teams reach for this when the alternative is exporting a spreadsheet on Friday. The lead arrives in Segment within seconds of the submission, already carrying job title and company size, so routing rules and lifecycle stages can fire without anyone touching a record by hand.
Setting it up
- 1
Publish the Demo Request Form and check that the fields you intend to send as traits — Work Email, Company, Job Title — are marked required, since a blank trait is worse than no trait at all.
- 2
In Zapier, point the New Submission trigger at that demo form specifically rather than at every form on the account, so a contact form submission never lands in the lead pipeline.
- 3
Add Segment as the action app and choose Create Identify Call rather than a track action. A demo request is a statement about a person, not an event in their session.
- 4
Set the Segment userId to the Work Email field so a second demo request from the same person resolves onto one profile instead of creating a duplicate.
- 5
Map Work Email to the email trait, First Name and Last Name to firstName and lastName, and Company to the company trait.
- 6
Add Job Title and Company Size as extra traits, so lead scoring in the CRM has something to sort on the moment the profile appears.
- 7
Submit one test demo request, open the Segment source debugger, and confirm the identify call shows every trait under the userId you expect.
- 8
Turn the Zap on. From here the flow runs one direction only — submission to Segment — and nothing Segment holds is written back into the form.
What maps where
Using the Demo Request Form as the starting point. These are its real fields — swap in your own and the mapping works the same way.
| Form field | Segment |
|---|---|
| Work Email | userId on the identify call, and the email trait |
| First Name | firstName trait |
| Last Name | lastName trait |
| Company | company trait |
| Job Title | title trait |
| Company Size | companySize trait, used for routing in downstream destinations |
Variations worth knowing
One Zap can run two Segment actions in sequence. Keep the identify call, then add a Create Track Event action named "Demo Requested" with the answer to "What problem are you trying to solve?" as a property. The profile then carries who the lead is, and the event carries why they got in touch.
Put a Zapier filter on "When are you looking to implement?" so only near-term buyers continue to the identify call that feeds your sales destinations. Longer timelines go to a second Zap with a nurture-only trait set, which keeps the ad audiences from filling up with people who are eight months out.
If something isn't arriving
The userId is probably mapped to the Zapier submission ID, which is unique per submission. Point it at Work Email instead and Segment will merge the newer request onto the existing profile.
Company is optional on the published form, so those submissions send an empty string that overwrites a good value. Make the field required in the editor, or add a Zapier filter that only continues when Company has a value.
Frequently asked questions
Should a demo request be an identify call or a track event in Segment?
Use identify when the submission tells you who someone is — email, company, job title. Those are traits that persist on a profile. If you also want the request counted in funnel reports, run a track event after the identify call in the same Zap.
What should I use as the Segment userId for form submissions?
The email address is the practical choice, because it is the only stable value a first-time visitor hands you. Segment then merges a second demo request from the same address onto the existing profile rather than starting a fresh one beside it.
Can Segment send data back into the form?
No. The connection runs one direction: a submission fires the Zap, and the Zap writes to Segment. Nothing held in Segment or its destinations is written back into the form, and there is no sync to keep the two in step.
Related automations
- Capture webinar registrations as track events
Each webinar signup fires a "Registered" event tied to the work email and session name, so reminders and reporting agree.
- Log product feedback as an event
Each feedback response sends a "Feedback Submitted" event with rating and product category, ready to query beside in-app behaviour.
- Record a support request as an event
Each support form submission emits a "Support Requested" event with topic and priority, giving analytics a live view of inbound volume.
- Send order details as an Order Placed event
Each custom order submission emits an "Order Placed" event with product and quantity properties, feeding the warehouse without a developer.
- Track a newsletter signup as an event
Each subscribe form submission fires a "Signed Up" track event carrying the source, so every destination counts the signup the same way.
- Add webinar registrants to a remarketing list
Every webinar registration joins a Customer Match audience you can run follow-up campaigns to after the session.
Build the form first
The automation needs somewhere to fire from. Publish a form, connect it once, and every submission from then on runs this flow.
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