Managing Steps

Flow steps are the building blocks of your user journeys. Each step type serves a specific purpose and offers unique configuration options. This guide covers all available step types and their detailed settings.

Overview of Step Types

Flows support four main step types:

• Trigger: Entry point for users (required, cannot be deleted)

• Wait & Personalize: Control timing and enable personalization

• Export: Send data to external systems

• Conditional Split: Create branching paths based on conditions

  

Trigger Step

The trigger step is the entry point for every flow and cannot be deleted. It defines when and how users enter your workflow.

Configuration Options

Audience Selection

• Any valid Audience can be used as the entry trigger

Entry Type Options

Re-entry Settings

Control whether users can go through the flow multiple times:

Allow Re-entry

• No

  • Users can only enter the flow once
  • Simplest option for one-time campaigns

• Yes

  • Users can go through the flow multiple times
  • Great for a number of evergreen campaigns (e.g. cart abandon)
  • Presents a variety of configuration to control re-entry

Re-entry Condition

• Enters the audience again
  • This option assumes you have time based logic or some other rule built in to cause members to exit your audience. Upon re-entry, they'll be entered into the flow multiple times
• Enters or remains in the audience
  • This assumes an audience member has stayed in the audience for a period of time, see re-entry delay below
• Re-entry delay
  • Minimum time between flow entries
  • Default: 1 hour
  • Range: 1 hour to 365 days
  • Required when using "enters or remains" option

Examples

Cart Abandonment Trigger

Audience: "Added item to cart in last 24 hours AND no purchase in last 48 hours"
Entry Type: Added to
Re-entry: Enters audience again
Re-entry Delay: 24 hours

Monthly Newsletter Trigger

Audience: "Subscribed to newsletter"
Entry Type: Member of
Re-entry: Enters or remains in audience
Re-entry Delay: 30 days

Wait & Personalize Step

Wait steps control timing in your flows and enable personalization opportunities.

Configuration Options

Time-Based Wait

Set a fixed duration for all users:

Use Cases:

• Drip campaign timing
• Follow-up sequences
• Cooling-off periods

Condition-Based Wait

Wait until specific conditions are met:

How It Works:

• Uses the same audience builder as other Lytics features
• Evaluates conditions as events stream into the system
• Users progress when conditions are met
• Maximum wait time prevents indefinite delays

Condition Examples:

• Wait until user visits pricing page
• Wait until user downloads a file
• Wait until user's engagement score increases
• Wait until specific custom events occur

Maximum Wait Time:

• Set upper limit to prevent users from waiting indefinitely
• Users progress after max time regardless of conditions
• Recommended to always set a reasonable maximum

Personalization Keys

Enable real-time website personalization based on flow state:

Key Requirements:

• Recommended to be unique across your account
• Use descriptive names (e.g., "welcome-series-day-2")
• No spaces or special characters (use hyphens or underscores)

How Personalization Works:

1. User enters wait step with personalization key
2. Key is added to user's profile
3. Website JavaScript can check for the key
4. Display personalized content based on flow state

Export Step

Export steps send user data to external systems and are the primary action steps in flows.

Configuration Process

Step 1: Add Export Step

1. Click + button to add new step
2. Select Export from step types
3. Click Configure Export button

Step 2: Choose Export Type

1. Browse or search available export providers
2. Select your desired destination
3. Follow on-screen guidance to configure export (e.g., "Audience Trigger Webhook")

Step 3: Configure Export Settings

Follow the standard Lytics export configuration wizard:

Common Configuration Options:

• Authentication: API keys, OAuth tokens, connection strings
• Destination Settings: Endpoints, database tables, list IDs
• Data Mapping: Which profile attributes to send
• Formatting: JSON, CSV, custom formats
• Frequency: Real-time, batched, scheduled

Step 4: Export States in Flows

Draft State:

• Export configuration is saved but not active
• No data is sent while in draft
• Allows review and refinement before activation

Active State:

• Export is ready to receive and process users
• Required before flow can be published
• Achieved through the "Activate" button in the publish process

Conditional Split Step

Conditional splits create branching paths in your flows based on user attributes or behaviors.

Configuration Options

Condition Builder:

• Uses the same interface as Lytics audience builder
• Supports all profile attributes
• Can combine multiple conditions with AND/OR logic

Building Conditions

Simple Conditions

Examples:

• Email domain contains "@company.com"
• Location country equals "United States"
• Last purchase date is within 30 days
• Custom field "subscription_type" equals "premium"

Complex Conditions

Combining Rules:

• Use AND to require all conditions be met
• Use OR to require any condition be met
• Nest conditions for sophisticated logic

Path Behavior

Yes Path (Left):

• Users who meet the defined conditions
• Can connect to any subsequent step type

No Path (Right):

• Users who don't meet the conditions
• Can connect to any subsequent step type

Path Merging:

• Path merging lower down in the flow is not currently supported

Use Cases

Geographic Targeting:

Condition: Location country equals "United Kingdom"
Yes Path: Send UK-specific promotional email
No Path: Send standard promotional email

Engagement-Based Paths:

Condition: Engagement score > 70
Yes Path: Send advanced feature email
No Path: Send basic tips email

Purchase History Splits:

Condition: Total purchases > 0
Yes Path: Customer retention flow
No Path: First-time buyer incentive flow

Company vs Consumer:

Condition: Email domain matches business domain list
Yes Path: B2B sales outreach
No Path: Consumer marketing campaign

Step Management

Adding Steps

1. Click the + button after any step
2. Select the desired step type
3. Configure the step settings
4. Save to add to your flow

Deleting Steps

1. Click the action menu (⋮) on any step
2. Select Delete
3. Confirm deletion
4. Flow connections automatically adjust

Note: The trigger step cannot be deleted.

Reordering Steps

Steps are connected in sequence and cannot be reordered directly. To change flow order:

1. Delete steps you want to move
2. Add new steps in the desired order
3. Reconfigure the deleted steps

Step Validation

Before publishing, all steps are validated:

Common Validation Errors:

• Wait steps without time or condition specified
• Export steps not configured or activated
• Conditional splits without conditions defined

Validation Process:

1. Occurs automatically when attempting to publish
2. Displays specific error messages
3. Must resolve all errors before publishing
4. Validation re-runs each time you attempt to publish

Next Steps

Now that you understand all step types:

1. Learn about Publishing and Managing Flows
2. Explore Monitoring and Metrics