Cascade campaign: how to set it up in a scenario

Cascade messaging is a method of sequential message delivery through different channels based on the recipient's response. It begins with the most accessible and cost-effective channel. If the message remains unopened, it is automatically sent to another channel, for example, from push notifications to email or SMS. The cascade stops when the message is opened or the recipient takes the desired action: this is crucial to avoid annoying the recipient and wasting company resources.

Learn more about cascade messaging and its examples in our blog article.

Let's consider a specific example: we want to inform the customer that their free trial is expiring and offer them to subscribe to the paid service. We will remind them through different channels, but not all at once. Instead, we will send notifications sequentially, only if they haven't opened the message in the previous channels, to avoid overwhelming them.

Template preparation

Let's start by preparing templates that will be useful for the entire cascade messaging scenario. For this example, we will use three different templates, where the main template will be set up for three channels:

1. «Your free trial is about to expire» for 3 channels:

• Email
• Push
• SMS

2. «Thank you for subscribing to our paid version» for email.

3. «Your free trial has ended» also for email.

Here you can see a detailed guide on how to create a message template, how to personalize it and how to work with each individual channel (Email, Push, SMS).

To create templates for other channels within one common template, click on the plus icon in the block located just below the main template settings, and choose which channel you want to add.

Work with a scenario

Now that all templates are ready, we create the scenario and configure it according to our objectives.

We select the database and the reentry mode:

For cascade campaign it is not recommended to select the mode «Restart the scenario for customer on reentry» and «Process each profile entry in the scenario separately» in order to exclude the same users from entering the scenario multiple times. You can read more about the modes in the documentation.

After that, the "Default" element appears automatically in the scenario, which will be responsible for getting profiles into the scenario through any API event:

1. Set up email broadcast

Add the first scenario element by clicking on the «+ Element». Select the «Email» element:

An automatic trigger campaign is created for this event. Select the email channel, specify the recipients, and add the required template.

Setting up the condition

The next step is to set up a condition with the desired user action, for example, «Paid for subscription?». Choose the condition from the list of elements and give it a name. Specify how long to wait for the condition to be met, for example, 2 days.

Then click «Add rule» and configure additional selection conditions, as shown in the screenshot:

To do this, you need to create an additional field in the database of type boolean, where the information about subscription payment will be stored (e.g., sub_payment field). This field will be used to track whether the user has paid for the subscription or not, allowing you to set up the condition based on this information in the automation scenario.

When the user pays for the subscription, the value of this field changes from «false» to «true», and this determines which branch of the scenario they will enter next. Read more about setting up custom fields in the profile database in our guide.

After completing the actions in the scenario, two new elements appeared. By hovering the cursor over the condition, we can see that two more elements can be attached to it.

These are different user behavior options:

• «Yes, сondition is met», green arrow to the right;
• «No, condition is not met», red arrow down.

Then you add an element on the right – an email broadcast with the approximate content «Thank you for choosing our service. Paid plan activated».

2. Set up push broadcast

Now you add a push broadcast below:

1. Select the element «Email» from the list.
2. Specify the channel - Push.
3. Choose the recipients.
4. Attach the appropriate template and save the scenario element.

After the Push broadcast, add another condition with a 2-day wait. If the user meets the condition (subscription payment), you send them a campaign with the template «Thank you for renewing your subscription». In order not to create a new campaign, you can combine the elements:

3. Set up SMS broadcast

Below, in the branch where the condition is not met, add an SMS broadcast with the content «3 days left until the free version expires».

Next, create a new condition where you wait for another three days. Then, establish a link to the thank-you email broadcast in case the user has paid and extended the subscription.

For users who have not paid and the deadline has passed, after the specified three days, they receive another email with information that the free trial period has expired, but they can return to their account and choose a plan at any time.

Thus, you’ve completed setting up your scenario.

Don't forget to save it by clicking on the corresponding button at the top right corner.

Then you can activate the scenario by clicking on the buttom from the menu:

Conclusion

So, once you set up the scenario and link the message templates in a strict sequence, you will fully automate the sending process and save yourself time. Now you know how to configure a specific automated scenario - cascade messaging in Altcraft Platform.