As an edrone user, you're certainly familiar with our ready-to-go scenarios. These scenarios were created to make it as easy as possible for online stores of all sizes to benefit from Marketing Automation without having to create everything from scratch.
However, there are some situations in which you might want more specific segmentations or longer sequences of messages.
With Custom Flows you can create any automation scenario you want!
Keep reading to see how it works and how to set up your first Custom Flow, or click on the links below to jump to where you want.
Custom Flow Elements
All Custom Flows are made of four "building blocks", which we call elements. Let's take a look at each of them.
NOTE: Only the start element is mandatory. However, without other elements, your Custom Flow might not make sense!
Start element
Every new Custom Flow must start with – you guessed it – a start element. This element is the condition that will trigger the flow.
There are different customer actions or status changes that can be used as a start element:
Product viewing – Customer viewed a specific product, a product from a specific category, or any products
Adding to cart – Customer added to the cart a specific product, a product from a specific category, or any products
Making a purchase – Customer ordered a specific product, a product from a specific category, or any products
New customer in base – Customer provided their email to your store for the first time (not necessarily, but including, when the customer subscribes to the newsletter).
Customer birthday – The flow will start on the day of the customer's birthday
Entering a specific URL – Customer accessed a specific URL (possible to apply conditions such as "URL is", "URL is not" and "URL contains")
Subscription status changed – Customer either subscribed or unsubscribed
Please note that this functionality applies only to already existing users in the database.
Interaction with an email – Customer opened an email, clicked on an email, or any of these options
Abandoned cart – Customer added one or more products to the cart and left the store.
Please note that this starter will wait 3 hours before moving on to the next step, as we have identified this period as the ideal waiting time to verify if the purchase was completed.
Getting a tag – A tag was assigned to the customer
Filter element
The Filter elements are responsible for the segmentation of the flow. They will always branch the path in two according to the conditions being matched or not matched.
Let's give an example. Several customers have just subscribed to your newsletter. Some confirmed their subscription after signing up, while others did not. At this point, the automation path splits. The first group receives a thank you message and a discount code from you, and the second group receives a reminder to confirm their subscription.
Filters can be related to a purchase, to interactions in your store, or to customer attributes.
Purchase filters
Total purchase value
Total purchase count
Last purchase date
Interaction filters
Last visit date
Last product view / add to cart / order date
Last email open / email click date
Customer attribute filters
Subscription status (Email / SMS)
City
Country
Gender
Language (based on browser settings)
Tags
Wait element
The wait element can be added between any other flow elements. As the name suggests, this element determines the time between one block and the other – for example, the time between the first message and the second.
Using the example of a newsletter subscription, it could look like this: A customer completed the subscription form and received a message to confirm it but did not do so. Here you set the time, after which you will send him a reminder again.
There are two ways to set the waiting period:
A specific number of hours, days, or months.
Waiting until a specific time and day of the week (e.g., wait until Monday 3 pm)
The time is set according to the timezone of your edrone account.
Action element
Finally, we have the action element, which represents how you will engage the targeted audience at each step of the flow.
There are three possible actions:
Sending an email (either creating a new one or selecting from previous emails)
Showing a pop-up (either creating a new one or selecting from previous pop-ups)
Assigning a tag (only previously created tags)
NOTE: It is possible to edit emails or pop-ups while building your flow.
How to create a Custom Flow
Great! Now that you know about all the elements, let's see how you can put them together to create your first Custom Flow.
To start, log into Mission Control and find CUSTOM FLOWS on the main menu.
The main page will show you all the flows you have created. Each card will show the flow's start event, title, last modification date and status (ACTIVE / INACTIVE).
You will also see icons to delete or duplicate flows on the bottom right corner of each card.
NOTE: There are no limits to how many flows you can have on your account. Just make sure to check if all active flows make sense running simultaneously!
Step 1: Add a new custom flow
To add a new custom flow, click on the CREATE NEW FLOW button on the bottom right corner of the screen. A pop-up will appear showing you the options to start from scratch or use a template.
Select the option you prefer and move on to the next step.
Step 2: Determine the Custom Flow settings
Now you are inside the Custom Flow builder. On the bottom of the page, you will find three buttons:
Back – takes you back to the screen where you can see all of your flows.
Save – Saves the current flow without launching it.
Launch – Activates the flow.
After launching, this button will be replaced by the Pause button and all elements will be blocked.
You can pause your flow at any time and edit all elements.
On the top left corner, you will find zoom buttons to zoom in or out.
Now you can start building your flow! To add elements, click on the "+" button below each element block.
As you build your flow, you will see the estimated audience under each element, and at the end of the flow. This is calculated based on the metrics from the previous 30 days and is updated in real time as you make changes to your flow.
NOTE: There is no limit to the number of elements you can add to each flow. This means your flows can be as complex or as simple as you want!
Once you're happy with the overall structure of your flow, there's just one step left: creating the emails and pop-ups you will show to your audience as they move through the flow!
Step 3: Create the action elements (emails or pop-ups)
To create an email or pop-up for your Custom Flow, go to DESIGN - EMAILS or DESIGN - POPUPS on the menu.
In the case of emails, you will see the Sender tab where you will be able to choose previously used sender information (from name, from email, reply to email), edit this information, or create a new sender.
The email creation process in Custom Flows is exactly the same as in any other engagement scenario. When in doubt, check the article about the Drag n' Drop editor.
In the case of pop-ups, the process is exactly the same as creating a Custom Pop-up.
What if I already have an email or pop-up that I want to use in my new Custom Flow?You will still need to create a new email or pop-up inside the Custom Flow builder. However, you don't have to recreate the whole thing from scratch!
Simply go to the previously created email or pop-up, copy the design, and paste it into your new creation.
The same goes in the opposite direction – that is, if you want to copy a design created inside the Custom Flow builder and use it for another engagement scenario. |
After creating your new email or pop-up, go back to your flow and, on the action element, select the message you want to show to your customers.
Coupons management
When creating an email for your custom flow, you might want to include coupons.
It can be challenging to keep track of all coupons across different messages and flows. We're here to make it easier for you!
Below the email editor, you will find the Coupon management section. You can also access the coupon management section on the main menu (CUSTOM FLOWS > COUPONS).
In a custom flow, any email that includes a coupon merge tag needs to be associated with a coupon pool, which is nothing more than a collection of dynamic or static coupons.
To create a coupon pool, click the CREATE button below the email editor or go to CUSTOM FLOWS > COUPON and click the CREATE NEW POOL button on the bottom right corner.
When creating a new coupon pool, you will need to decide whether you want static or dynamic coupons.
Your new coupon pool will be displayed on the coupon pools list, where you are able to change its name or delete it. For static coupons, you will also be able to change the coupon code. For dynamic coupons, you will be able to upload a CSV with the coupon codes.
Once you have created a coupon pool, you can go back to your email editor and select the desired coupon pool for each email.
If you ever need to check how many coupons you still have left in each coupon pool, or which emails are using it, this information is available on the coupon pools list.
NOTE: Since they are always the same, static coupons are unlimited. Dynamic coupons have a limited amount, and you will see an alert message when one of your dynamic coupon pools falls below 100 coupons left. Once you have no coupons left in a dynamic coupons pool, any flow where that coupon pool is used will automatically stop.
To learn more about coupons in the edrone system, click here.
Step 4: Review and Launch
That's all! Now it's the time to review your work and make sure everything is exactly how you want it. If that's the case, simply click the Launch button.
And remember that you can always pause and edit your flow whenever you want :)
Enjoy your new customized automation scenario, and keep up the good work!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a limit to how many different Custom Flows I can have on my account?
No, you can create as many Custom Flows as you need.
Is there a limit to the number of elements I can add to a single Custom Flow?
No, your Custom Flows can be as small or as large as you need. Just make sure it makes sense! To help you evaluate that, check the estimated audience at the end of the flow.
Is there a limit to how many emails or pop-ups I can create for a Custom Flow?
No, you can create as many emails or pop-ups as you need.
What happens if I have a ready-to-go scenario and a custom flow with the same parameters? For example, the Recover Abandoned Carts scenario and a Custom Flow that's also for recovering abandoned carts.
Both will run at the same time and each customer will get multiple emails with the same goal. This is not recommended! Custom Flows are for cases in which the ready-to-go scenarios are not enough (e.g. you need more messages or more specific segmentation).
Do I need to have a Product Feed to use the Custom Flows?
No, Custom Flows will run with or without a Product Feed. That said, we always recommend having a Product Feed set up.
If I set up a pop-up to appear within a given time frame (e.g. 7 days after adding a product to cart), but the user visits the website after this period (e.g. 1 month later), will the pop-up be displayed or not?
Yes, in this case the pop-up will be displayed when the user visits the website for the next time, even if it's after the period set on the Custom Flow.
Need more help?
If you have any further questions about Custom Flows, please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@edrone.me