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What are some common mistakes when creating automations?

Common Mistakes when creating automations

Jason Wiese avatar
Written by Jason Wiese
Updated over a month ago

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?

  • βœ… Yes, emojis are supported.

  • ❌ 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.

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