Five Essential Automation Workflows
Automations allow you to scale your loyalty program by delivering targeted messages and rewards based on exact customer behavior. While you can build workflows from scratch on an empty canvas, utilizing predefined templates enables rapid implementation. This lesson covers how to set up, schedule, and guardrail the five foundational automations recommended for every account.
Key Takeaways
The Retention Campaign (Win-Back): This workflow automatically targets users who have dropped in shopping recency. By setting an enrollment condition such as "last transaction date is 91 days ago," the system isolates slipping members. It is a best practice to route these users to a retention email loaded with a time-sensitive incentive (like a 30-day voucher) to ignite a localized sense of urgency.
The Reward Unlocked Tracker: To maximize day-to-day engagement, configure an automation that triggers the moment a customer reaches their very first reward point milestone (e.g., 30 credits for a free coffee). The backend framework specifies that the "previous balance was less than 30" and the new balance is equal to or greater than 30. This strict mathematical filter ensures the email only deploys when a balance is moving upward, preventing celebratory triggers if a balance drops down to 30 due to a reward redemption.
The Automated Birthday Celebration: Celebrate milestones by triggering a high-value email (often embedded with a direct gift card asset) the exact day a customer's birth date attribute equals today. To avoid awkward delivery times, always override the system's early morning baseline schedule to land cleanly in user inboxes during standard morning hours (such as 09:00).
The Milestone "Thank You" Trigger: Acknowledge lifecycle loyalty by tracking aggregate visit counts. Depending on your business margins, you can anchor this to a customer's 5th, 10th, 15th, or 50th transactional visit. Applying a minor 10-to-30-minute delay ensures the celebratory message hits their smartphone shortly after they walk out of your physical brick-and-mortar storefront.
The Tier Reached Progression Track: Send an updated introductory brief whenever a user transitions into a higher loyalty tier bracket (e.g., Bronze, Silver, or Gold).
Structuring Essential Reenrollment and Delay Safeties:
Frequency Caps: For retention flows, reenrollment must be tightly managed. Leaving the default 15-minute reenrollment active would let a stagnant user repeatedly harvest coupon codes. Set a strict frequency boundary, such as allowing reenrollment only once every 365 days, or disable reenrollment entirely.
Anti-Spam Spacing: Because new signups are automatically placed into your lowest foundational baseline tier (e.g., Bronze), a user registering at your store would immediately receive a general welcome email and a "Bronze Tier Reached" email at the exact same moment. To prevent overwhelming users with duplicate notifications, embed a 30-to-60-minute structural delay block directly into the automation flow for your lowest tier or include the tier information in your welcome email.
Dashboard Checklist by Automation Type
To begin, navigate to the Automations workspace panel, select New automation, and follow the dedicated steps below for each respective campaign:
1. Retention Campaign Workflow
Select the Retention campaign template from the library and click Next.
Input your days of inactivity threshold (e.g., 91 days).
Map the trigger to your pre-created retention email template and click Submit.
Open the automation Settings tab and configure reenrollment limits (e.g., capping it to once per year) to protect your voucher margins.
Access the Schedule tab, change the frequency execution to Daily, set the time to 09:00, and hit Submit.
Review your filter summary on the activation screen, rename the automation internally, and click Activate.
2. Reward Unlocked Tracker Workflow
Select the Reward unlocked template from the library and click Next.
Define your lowest base credit milestone value (e.g., 30 credits).
Select your corresponding celebratory alert email template and click Submit.
Adjust the structural processing delay block on your canvas to your preferred spacing window (e.g., 30 minutes).
Open Settings and ensure reenrollment is kept enabled so members can re-trigger this flow whenever they build their point balances back up.
Set the execution window to Direct, click through the summary confirmation panel, and click Activate.
3. Birthday Celebration Workflow
Select the Birthday celebrations template from the library and click Next.
Link the trigger directly to your birthday promotion email and click Submit.
Open the Settings menu and adjust the reenrollment parameter block to exactly 365 days to lock down annual pacing.
Navigate to the Schedule tab, set the recurring cadence frequency to Daily at 09:00, and click Submit.
Audit the upcoming system execution calendar on-screen and click Activate.
4. Milestone "Thank You" Workflow
Select the Thank you template from the library and click Next.
Input the exact cumulative transaction threshold you wish to celebrate (e.g., 15 visits).
Map the node to your tailored after-visit post-purchase email and click Submit.
Verify the step delay block is configured (e.g., 10 minutes) so the email lands shortly after the user leaves your checkout zone.
Verify the execution window is set to Direct and that reenrollment is disabled.
Confirm all active nodes are correctly aligned on the canvas and click Activate.
5. Tier Reached Progression Workflow
Select the Tier reached template from the library and click Next.
Choose your target loyalty tier level from the dropdown selection window (e.g., Bronze tier) and click Submit.
Click the (+) plus icon immediately following the entry trigger block, select Delay, set it to 30 minutes (to prevent message collisions with your program's core welcome email), and hit Update.
Click the following (+) plus icon, select Automated email, choose your dynamic milestone intro copy block, and click Update.
Head into Settings, toggle reenrollment to disabled for this status level, and verify the execution window is set to Direct.
Review your completed step path layout on the visual editor grid and click Activate.
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