When building automations, a few common missteps can prevent them from working as expected. This guide highlights key areas to watch out for and how to avoid them.
Choosing between an automation or a scheduled email/plan
Use an automation when you want ongoing, action-based triggers. For example, if a customer does X, they should automatically receive Y every time.
Use a scheduled email or plan when you want to send content to a specific segment on a specific date and time. Examples include a Black Friday promotion or a date-based challenge.
Scheduled plans can include emails, tasks, and phone call reminders. They do not currently support SMS.
Understanding time delays
Xplor Growth communicates with your booking software once per hour. This means there can be a delay of up to 90 minutes when testing or starting an automation.
The time delay with an additional rule option works like this: first, the time delay occurs, then the system checks if the client meets the rule. It checks only once.
This option is best used when someone is not doing something (such as not having a reservation) and you want to follow up.
SMS rules
If a contact has no valid phone number, they will not receive text messages.
If a contact has an invalid email address or has unsubscribed, they will not receive emails.
The SMS system sends 50 texts per hour. When an automation goes live, it can take time for all messages to be sent.
Can I use emojis and images in SMS?
β Yes, emojis are supported.
β No, images are not supported.
Joining and removal rules
Automations can have more than one goal. Goals are OR statements, meaning if a client meets any one of them, they are removed from the automation.
Example: Goal 1 is "makes a purchase" and Goal 2 is "books a reservation." A client will be removed if they do either action.
To create AND logic, add conditions to separate goals. Do not place multiple conditions in the same goal.
You can manually remove someone from an automation, but if they already have scheduled messages (emails or texts), those will still send.