Building your first scenario

Let's take a simple, common example: welcoming a lead who has just submitted a form, then following up by SMS if nothing has happened since.

What the scenario does

1. Trigger: a contact submits a web form.
2. Action 1: a welcome email goes out to the contact immediately.
3. Delay: the scenario waits 2 days.
4. Action 2: a follow-up SMS is sent if no reply has been received in the meantime.

Build steps

1. Create a new scenario and choose the submission of your form as the trigger.
2. Add a first Send an email action, and select the welcome template (see Media library and templates).
3. Add a 2-day delay.
4. Add a second Send an SMS action for the follow-up.
5. Activate the scenario.

Personalizing with variables

Use the contact's variables (first name, company, etc.) in the welcome email as well as in the follow-up SMS, exactly as you would in a standard campaign — see Creating an email campaign and Creating an SMS campaign.

Best practice: stop when someone replies

Before sending the follow-up, check that a stop condition is in place in case the contact has already replied or acted in the meantime (for example booked an appointment): a scenario that follows up with someone who has already replied harms the experience more than it helps.

tip

Start with short scenarios (one or two delays) before chaining longer sequences together: they are easier to check and easier to correct.

What's next?

• Introduction to automation
• Web forms
• Segments and lists