📖 Learning Lowdown: This article covers the series of choices you can make when setting up a Journey in Journey Hub. Check out additional resources at the bottom to dive into specific journey types.
Step 1: Initial Setup
The first step is to determine which method you will use to set up your journey: use a pre-built template as the starting point or start from scratch.
Templates: Available for most journey types, templates allow you to quickly set up a journey with all channels enabled in your account. Templates incorporate the commonly-used settings for a journey that follows best practices.
Start from Scratch: Available for all journey types, starting from scratch allows you to fully customize your journey from the start without having to delete or modify the templated elements.
If you are using the NextGen platform and have multiple organizations, confirm that the correct organization displays in the navigation.
Navigate to Automation > Journey Hub.
Click New Journey in the top right.
Select your setup method:
For template: Select the card for the journey type you are looking to create. Learn more about how to configure the template.
For scratch journeys: Click Start from Scratch in the top right.
Step 2: Entry and Exit Configuration
Once the journey is loaded, you can configure the entry and exit events that will appear on the canvas.
Entry Event: Restrict contacts from entering a journey based on: identity, participation in other journeys, frequency, and more.
Exit Event: Remove a contact from a journey who has taken another action regardless of where they are currently located in the journey.
Tips for Entry and Exit Configuration
Templates have the common entry and exit properties pre-configured.
Extend the entry prevention frequency if your contacts are sensitive to the number of automated messages they receive.
When configuring exit events, ask yourself what the ultimate goal of the campaign is (e.g making a purchase) and apply this activity as an exit event.
A journey must be created (full configuration not required) in order to use it as an entry prevention or exit criteria.
Step 3: Logic Build Out
The next step is to build out the logic of the journey by dragging the specific steps on the canvas. If you used a template in step 1, you are not required to add any additional steps.
Drag the step on to the canvas in the desired location.
Click on the step to configure the properties.
You can adjust the following properties:
Wait: Set a wait for a number of days, minutes, or hours.
Coupon: Select a coupon pool from your account and create a tag that can be used when personalize a message.
Data Management: Manage the contact's subscription to a list or short code. Or, write data into a contact's profile (NextGen accounts only).
Exit: Stop a contact's progress through a specific path instead of any path using the Exit Event in step 2.
Decision Split: Create different experiences for contacts flowing through the journey. Decision split types differ based on the type of journey you are creating. Learn more about the specific decision types.
🔑 Top Tips for Building Journey Logic
You can nest decision splits by adding another decision split to a path created by a previous split.
You can nest up to 3 splits within a single path
You can use the same split type more than 1 time in a journey
You can include more than one coupon in a journey or path to escalate the offer to incentivize action
Each message will have separate reporting regardless of the creative elements
Test logic differences using the random decision split
Start with the fewest number of messages to meet your goal and optimize as you gather data
Step 4: Message Building
Once you have the logic in place, you can build the messages that will be sent through the automated journey.
You have the following options for building messages.
SMS: Build SMS or MMS message directly in the journey interface.
Web Push: Build messages directly in the journey interface.
Email: Multiple options
Build messages directly in the journey interface.
Build a saved message and import into a journey.
Build a message template and edit the message in the journey flow.
When a journey is triggered by a contact's interaction with products, you can customize the message by inserting the products. These include: product browse, abandoned cart, post purchase, review request, and replenishment.
You have two options for inserting products into email messages:
Built-in Composer Element: This element can only be added from within a message in the journey and provides an easy drag-and-drop option for formatting products.
Handlebars Code: This offers additional customization options using a code-based design. Handlebars can be designed in a template, a piece of saved content, in a saved message, or in a message within a journey.
💡 If you are working with the onboarding team at Listrak, multiple design options will be available in saved content. You can delete the creative elements that do not match your branding.
Additional Resources for Message Builds:
Step 5: Testing a Journey
Testing a journey allows you to test both the message components such as links and rendering as well as the logic of the journey flow.
When testing a journey, you can specify the contacts who are eligible to receive the test messages. Once a journey is placed in test mode, a contact must take the action (e.g. subscribing via a subscription point) in order to enter the test flow.
Once testing is completed, you can end the test and move to the next step.
📌 Learn more about the process of testing a journey.
Step 6: Activation
Once you have completed the test, you can make any changes to the logic flow or messages.
After you have completed all the changes, click Activate in the top right. Contacts will now flow through the journey when they complete the activity associated with the journey.