Workflow management: How to build campaign workflows that engage loyalty customers and drive revenue

Workflows offer an excellent opportunity to deliver personalized customer experiences and launch automated campaigns based on customer actions and events. These workflows enable you to craft messages related to point boosts and execute multichannel campaigns across email, push notifications, and SMS. Workflows are designed to be targeted and automated. Once established, they automatically engage customers through triggers and actions. This article explores optimal strategies for utilizing Workflows within the Backoffice to strengthen your loyalty program and boost store revenue.

How it works

Workflows allow you to craft automated messages and multichannel campaigns that respond to customer actions and engagement. For example, an abandoned cart workflow can be set up to re-engage customers who have added items to their cart, but not completed the purchase. This workflow can automatically send a series of messages: an initial reminder, a second message with a small discount if there's no response, and a third message with a larger discount. Workflows are effective for various customer actions, including products added to cart, post-purchase notifications, and targeting first-time shoppers. Once established, messages are sent automatically to customers based on these triggered events. For a step-by-step guide on creating workflows, see Create campaign workflows in Dutchie POS.

Tips for building effective workflows

• Leverage segmentation. Building workflows around segments you’ve created in the Customers > Segments allows you to target a specific group of customers, tailoring your outreach.
• Set conditions and time delays. Adding conditions and time delays to your Workflows saves marketers times while also continuing outreach.
• Automated the basics. Triggers, expirations dates, and new member signups likely apply to all your customers. Take advantage of these easy, automated ways to engage your customers with workflows.
• Use various Actions and channels. These include sending emails, push notifications, SMS messages, and point boosts. It is also possible to incorporate both notification types within a single workflow.
• Automate engagement with behavioral workflows. For instance, when a customer logs into your mobile app or completes their initial mobile purchase, trigger a push notification to express with a greeting for their first interaction and maybe a discount off the next purchase.

Types of you can create workflows

Below are some creative ways you can build workflow campaigns to reward your loyalty customers: 

New member points boost workflows 

Point boosts workflows provide a way for you to award points to your customers for actions such as signing up to your loyalty program. You can award points boost by selecting the ‘Grant points boost’ action from the Workflow dropdown. When you select Grant points boost, you’ll need to enter the amount of points you are granting. You can build a segment of customers who opt-ed into your loyalty program AND made a purchase in the past 3 days. A Workflow built around this segment would look like this: 

• Trigger: Customer enters the segment by meeting criteria of opting in and making a purchase.
• Action: Grant points boost of 100 point. Equivalent of $5.
• Time delay: 1 day
• Action: Send Email. “Thank you for opting in to our loyalty programs, we have rewarded you with 100 points…”
  Note: The email has to be built as part of the workflow. 

Visit-based workflows

A visit-based workflow is a good way to reward customers for shopping, and encourage them to shop more. For instance, When a customer makes a purchase, they go into a segment you created in the Backoffice. As part of that segment, they will be sent an email that lists visit deals for the next 3-5 store visits. Each visit will need to part of a separate workflow, segment, and discount (ex. Visit 1, Segment 1, Discount 1… Visit 2, Segment 2, Discount, etc.). The deal could look like this:

• 1st visit: Free pre-roll with purchase of $25 or more.
• 2nd visit: $10 off any item.
• 3rd visit: $5 off flower.

Note: You’ll need to make sure you set up a discount of all of these deals so they can be applied at checkout. 

The built-in workflow sends the customer an email after each visit notifying them of a new deal they’re eligible for.  

Winback dormant shopper workflow 

Winback workflows help you target customers who have not shopped at your store in a specified period of time. In the case of the Workflow pictured below, it is built around a segment of customers who have not made a purchase in the past 21 days AND live in the state of Massachusetts. These customers will receive an email with a discount included, encouraging them to shop. The workflow also includes an additional condition that will send a second email 25 days later to customers who received the first email, but did NOT make a purchase. 

Post purchase workflows 

A good way to engage customers after they make a purchase is building a post-purchase workflow. These workflows are typically built to send customers surveys or first-time purchase rewards. For surveys, you can build a segment that captures customers who are likely to return by setting segment conditions to ‘made at least 2 purchases’ AND add an attribute that the person lives in the state. The attribute will ensure you are engaging local customers and not tourists.  

Mobile app workflows

Workflows are a great way to build campaigns to customers to your mobile app. These types of workflows encourage customers to download your app or log in to their mobile app and place orders. The workflow pictured below is built around a customer segment that targets customers whose last mobile login date is between a specific timeframe.