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Introduction to Automations
Introduction to Automations

Learn how Automations allow you to setup multi-step automations based on your customer journey

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Written by Peter Connolly
Updated over 5 months ago

Automations Overview

Automations enable you to build multi-step automations triggered from specific subscriber actions like joining a list or segment, placing an order, or abandoning a cart. They're an easy way to send the right message to the right subscriber at a specific point in their customer journey. Sending personalized and relevant emails is proven to increase sales and your customers' perception of your brand, with workflows you can automate these emails without having to manually send newsletters every time.

Automations replace our legacy implementation of Welcome Emails, Automated Flows, and Abandoned Carts which will be fully deprecated on March 1, 2021.

When you install SmartrMail you'll have a collection of pre-made automations based on best practices. Here are some workflows you can customize or create:

  • Welcome series - introduce new subscribers to your store and incentivize those that haven't purchased to make their first order

  • Post-purchase series - thank customers for making a purchase. Send them educational material, get them involved on social, and give repeat customers a special thanks.

  • Win-back series - get customers who've purchased before but haven't purchased over a long period of time to buy again

  • Abandoned cart series - recover lost sales and send customized emails based on whether or not they're a previous customer

  • Browse Abandonment series - Send an email or a series of emails when a subscriber is identified on your site and ends their session without purchasing or adding to cart.

The benefits of automations compared to our legacy implementations are are:

  • Easily create multi-step automations triggered by certain subscriber actions (joining a list or segment, placing an order, abandoning a cart)

  • A visual builder where you can get an overview of your automation and the customer journey

  • A drag&drop interface where you can quickly add multiple steps to each automation

  • The ability to design emails and create segments directly within the automation builder

For a visual overview, check out the video below.
​Note: Workflows were renamed Automations

Key Terms

  • Automation - a multistep automation set in motion by a subscriber action

  • Email - an individual email within a workflow. Unlike newsletters that are sent in a batch to all your recipients, emails within workflow will send to recipients one at a time as they reach that step in the workflow

  • Trigger - An event that triggers the subscriber entering the workflow. This can be a subscriber joining a list or segment, placing an order, or abandoning a cart

  • Conditional Split - A conditional split action creates a two distinct paths in your workflow based on whether or not a subscriber is in a specific segment

  • Time Delay - Creates a delay between your previous action and the next one in your workflow. Time delays can be in hours, days or weeks

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