Journey and Contact Data in Decision Splits

For example, Northern Trail Outfitters sets up a journey to send messaging to customers who buy shoes from their company. Every time a customer purchases a pair of shoes from NTO, NTO’s Purchases data extension is updated. NTO wants to send messaging that reaches 1) all shoe buyers, and 2) buyers of particular styles of shoe, like hiking boots or sandals. NTO configures the journey's entry event to admit all customers who purchase shoes.

NTO imports customer purchase data into the Purchases data extension, so they create an entry event that uses Purchases as its Event Source.

• NTO names the new journey Shoe Sales Email Series.
• NTO creates an event using Contact Data as the Event Type.
• NTO uses the Purchases data extension as the event source.
• To set up a filter using at-the-moment data, NTO uses contact attributes. They access contact attributes by clicking Contact Data.
• NTO drags the PurchaseDate contact attribute into the filter expression, uses the equals operator, and selects Today, then finishes creating the event.
  

  Note If you use a scheduled automation to update the entry source data extension, use the operator: is on or before.
• NTO drags the email activity onto the canvas to configure a Welcome email to all shoe purchasers.
• NTO configures a waiting period of 3 days.
• NTO wants to begin a campaign tailored to customers according to the type of shoes they purchase. NTO drags a decision split onto the canvas.
• NTO clicks Create Filter Expression to configure the first path to include customers who purchased hiking boots, even if they purchased a different kind of shoe more recently. NTO uses the journey data PurchaseItem attribute.
• NTO configures the decision path by setting the filter as follows:
  • PurchaseItem equals hiking boots
• NTO follows the same procedure to configure the three more decision split paths:
  • PurchaseItem equals casual shoes
  • PurchaseItem equals running shoes
  • PurchaseItem equals sandals
• In the next decision split path, NTO sets a filter to segment customers who bought hiking boots, casual shoes, running shoes, or sandals during the journey. This filter enables them to target messaging to customers even when they didn't enter the journey because they bought a specific style of shoe.

  NTO clicks contact data to use contact attributes when configuring these paths:

  • PurchaseItem equals hiking boots
  • PurchaseItem equals casual shoes
  • PurchaseItem equals running shoes
  • PurchaseItem equals sandals
• NTO leaves the remainder path unconfigured. Contacts who don’t follow any of the configured paths follow the remainder path. These contacts receive different targeted messaging.

NTO now adds an email with specialized content to each path knowing that each customer is receiving email targeted to the purchase.