Automation flows in Positive User are highly flexible and connect with features across the entire platform. By linking triggers, conditions, and actions, your team can deliver the right message at exactly the right moment. Setting up a flow involves more than just dragging modules onto a screen - it requires a solid plan, clear content, and proper testing.
Before you open the platform, define what you want to achieve. A user story is a simple scenario plan that answers key questions: Who do you want to trigger the flow for? Why? When? How often? What exactly should happen?
A user story is a scenario where you describe your business requirements, your goals, and the value you want to receive. It should be highly detailed and include all your perspectives on the process, including exact numbers and desired outcomes. Focus on the lead's journey and the your business goal.
Why is it so important to start with the user story? Building "blind" leads to logical loops, "over-emailing" your database, or worst of all - sending the wrong message to the wrong person - these are all consequences of the lack of the user story behind the automation flow.
Example
User story for “abandoned cart” automation:
When any person adds products to the cart on the website, wait 2 hours. Check if the contact proceeded with the purchase. If the purchase did not happen, send an email campaign to the customer. Wait 1 more day and check if the person finished the purchase. If it still did not happen, send an SMS campaign with a reminder or an additional offer. Each contact on the website can receive only one notification per day. The Goal & Value: Track exactly how many carts were rescued by the email campaign, by the SMS campaign, and the total number overall.
Now it’s time to create a draft of the automation flow. Go to "Automations" → "Create Automation".
Look for the specific modules that fit your user story. Every automation must start with at least one trigger to determine when a contact enters the journey. From there, choose the conditions and action modules that answer the needs of your plan.
Example
Flow for “abandoned cart” automation:
Trigger: “Product event” trigger that catches the moment when a person adds a product to the cart.
Action: “Filter” to check if this contact has an email address (to be able to send emails to them).
Action: “Delay” that waits 2 hours before the next step.
Action: “Send email campaign” to send an email reminder.
Action: “Delay” that waits 24 hours before the next step.
Action: “Filter” checks if this contact finished the purchase and has a phone number.
Action: “Send SMS campaign” to send an SMS with the offer.
Create the email campaigns, SMS campaigns, pop-ups, or push notifications to fill your automation flow. Build these messages in their respective platform sections first. When they are ready, go back to your automation flow and configure your action modules with this content.
Example
Content for “abandoned cart” automation:
Email campaign for automation (“How to Create an Automated Email Campaign” guide)
SMS campaign for automation (“How to Create an Automated SMS Campaign” guide)
Choose the timing options for your automation settings. This step defines how often this specific flow triggers for a specific contact.
Find all the details about timing and general automation settings in a dedicated article “Automation Settings Overview”.
Example
Timing for “abandoned cart” automation:
Set the frequency so each contact enters the flow a maximum of once per day, ensuring you respect the rules of your user story.
Specify the statistics you want to track to measure the success of your automation. Basic statistics are available in the "Automations" section, but for deeper analysis, you need to define milestones and create dashboards in “Analytics” section. Add extra tags or fire additional events within the flow to build dashboards and track your progress.
Example
Milestones for “abandoned cart” automation:
Fire a event when a contact makes a purchase after the email or the SMS campaign. This allows you to see exactly how many carts were rescued by each channel to measure your business value in dashboards.
Test your automation with test email addresses and test contacts before launching. You can temporarily replace the standard trigger just to fire the flow for your specific test contact to check if everything goes according to your plan. If your flow includes long delays, shorten them for the purpose of the test.
Example
Testing the “abandoned cart” automation:
Change the 2-hour delay to 2 minutes and the 1-day delay to 5 minutes. Trigger the automation by adding a product to the cart on your website and check if you receive the email and SMS as expected.
When the automation is ready, activate the flow and check the results on your dashboard. Watch how the numbers and statistics are calculated for each step of the journey.
Always double-check your timing settings and delays before activating your automation, so you do not overwhelm your contacts with too many messages at once.
When building your first flow in the "Automations" section, it is best to start small. Avoid creating massive, complicated journeys right away. Stick strictly to the specific user story you mapped out. Once your flow is running, watch your results to see how your contacts react. You can always edit the flow later to add more action modules or extra conditions once you learn what works best for your audience.
