Automation Logic and Timing

Using Goal, Conditional Split, or Audience Split logic and inserting wait times in your Automation is a great way to send your customers down a highly-targeted and personalized path based on their actions and preferences!

• Timing: Start a countdown from the time Contacts last received a message from you before they receive another to prevent saturating their inboxes
• Goals: Move Contacts ahead to a different point in the Automation once the goal is reached.
• Conditional Splits: Specify the path Contacts will take within your Automation based on conditions or rules. 
• Audience Split: Split your audience into two random segments and send them down separate paths

Adjust Timing with Wait Nodes

After every message sent in an Automation, add a Wait node to prevent your Contacts from receiving too many messages in a short time.

To add a wait node:

1. Click the + button 
2. Click Wait 
3. Set your desired wait period and timing options 
4. Click Done

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Determine Next Action with Goals

When you add a goal to your Automation, your contact will jump to that step once they meet a specified condition (or conditions). Unless otherwise specified, Goals check to see if contacts meet the criteria once an hour, every hour, for one week.

Once a goal is reached, Contacts will skip any action not yet executed and proceed immediately to the following action or action you assign below the goal.

Add a Goal

To add a goal to your Automation:

1. Click the + button
2. Click Goal 
3. Set your conditions
4. Click Done

Goal Options

• Goal Name Enter a descriptive name for your Goal
• Conditions Select conditions to trigger your Goal
• Go to this action if goal is reached Select a step in your Automation to send Contacts to when they meet your Goal's conditions
• If goal is not met Select an option for Contacts who have not met your Goal
  • Continue means the Contact will proceed to the next node in the Automation
  • Wait means the Contact will wait at this step indefinitely until the goal is reached
  • End means the Goal will keep checking for met conditions until the max time has passed
• Max time to check for conditions Select a length of time to check for conditions

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Create Logic Based Paths with Conditional Splits

Conditional Splits provide divergent paths for Contacts to be funneled through based on a condition. Conditional Splits check to see if contacts meet the criteria once: at the time the Conditional Split action is reached.

Add a Conditional Split

To add a Conditional Split to your Automation:

1. Click the + button
2. Click Conditional Split
3. Set your conditions
4. Click Done

The conditions you select will funnel Contacts who meet them down the Yes branch. Contacts who do not meet the conditions specified will be sent down the No branch. It is not possible to move a Contact from one branch to the other.

Delete a Conditional Split

To delete a Conditional Split:

1. Click the Conditional Split
2. Click the trash can icon
3. Select a path or both paths to delete
4. Click Delete

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Split Your Audience to A/B Test Two Paths

Use an Audience Split node to specify a percentage of your audience to be sent down separate paths.

Once Contacts reach the Audience Split, they cannot be moved from one path to another. If the split percentage is changed after the Automation has been activated, existing Contacts will stay on the path they started on.

To create an Audience Split node:

1. Click the + button
2. Click Audience Split
3. Use the slider to determine the percentage of the Automation's audience to send down Side A and Side B
4. Click Done

To determine a winning path:

1. Click the Audience Split node
2. Click the trash can icon
3. Select a path to delete
4. Click Delete

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Additional Resources

• eCommerce Academy: Advanced Automation Strategy
• How to Use Goals and Conditional Splits to Create Highly Targeted Automations
• 8 Email Automation Ideas for eCommerce Success