Retention automation: triggers that fire on behavior
Good retention automation isn't sending more; it's a map of triggers where the customer's behavior pulls the lever.
The design work is the logic, not the copy. For each trigger you decide the event that fires it, the condition that qualifies, the action it takes, and the cooldown that stops it repeating.
This note owns that map. The email flows themselves live in email-flows and segmentation under marketing; here you decide what should fire and when.
Fastest path: one prompt, end to end
🤖 AI prompt — paste into ChatGPT / Claude
You are a retention automation architect. Use only my details (invent nothing).
My product / category: [what you sell]
Typical reorder cycle: [e.g. consumable ~40 days / durable ~yearly]
Order data I can see: [AOV, repeat rate, top products, spend distribution if known]
Design my retention trigger map. For each trigger give four fields:
- EVENT (what happens): e.g. first order placed
- CONDITION (who qualifies): e.g. no prior orders
- ACTION (what fires): e.g. start welcome track
- COOLDOWN (don't repeat within): e.g. once per customer
Cover at least: first-order -> welcome track; usage-cycle end -> replenishment nudge (time it from MY cycle); engagement drop -> at-risk flag; high-value threshold -> VIP invite (set the threshold from my spend data, or ask me for it).
Do not invent my numbers; if a threshold needs real data I haven't given, ask.
State clearly that the email content and sending are built in marketing (email-flows, segmentation); you are designing the trigger logic only.
Output: a 4-column trigger map (event, condition, action, cooldown) I can hand to whoever builds the flows.
Or do it in 4 steps
- List the moments worth reacting to. Not every action deserves a trigger. The high-value four for most stores: first order, end of the usage cycle, a drop in engagement, and crossing a spend threshold. Start there.
- Write each trigger as event -> condition -> action -> cooldown. The cooldown is what separates automation from spam: a replenishment nudge fires once per cycle, an at-risk flag once per lapse. Without it, one customer gets hit repeatedly.
- Time the reorder nudge to your real cycle. The single highest-value trigger for consumables. Fire it a few days before they'd run out, computed from your actual reorder cycle, not a generic 30 days.
- Hand the map to the flow builder. You've designed the logic; the actual emails, segments and sends are built in marketing (see email-flows and segmentation). Keep the trigger map as the source of truth so both sides stay in sync.
Worked example (labeled): A 45-day consumable store's map. First order -> welcome track (condition: 0 prior orders; cooldown: once ever). Day 40 after last order -> replenishment nudge (condition: no reorder yet; cooldown: once per cycle).
No open in 60 days -> at-risk flag (cooldown: once per lapse). Lifetime spend over $300 -> VIP invite (cooldown: once). Four rules, and most of retention runs itself, with the emails themselves built and sent from marketing.
Design the trigger logic here (event, condition, action, cooldown); build and send the flows in marketing.