How to send 'Welcome back' message to returning users

Pippa Updated by Pippa

We all like to be welcomed back to a service if we're visiting for the second or third or 100th time. So here are the instructions on how to send a 'Welcome back' message to your returning users that your new users won't see!

  1. Set up a Custom Profile field that tracks new vs returning users
    1. Add a new custom profile field to your service called is_returning(or whatever you want to call it) Make sure you use the field type: Yes/No. Don't know how to add a custom profile field? Read this article. When you add this custom profile field it will be added to all your existing users and new users profiles and will default to 'is_returning = no'.
  2. Step 2: Create an automation that triggers only for returning users and sends a welcome message
    1. Create an automation with the following triggers:
      1. Navigate to the Automation page from the Dashboard.
      2. Click Add Automation > Click Message Received.
      3. Click Contact with a specific profile. Select your is_returning profile field from the dropdown and set the value to TRUE (which is the same as YES). This means this automation will only trigger when the user profile has the is_returning field set to YES. Click Next.
    2. Click the `Add another trigger` button to add a second trigger to your automation.
      1. Click Message received > Exact match
      2. Write a list of keywords you want the welcome back message to trigger on. For this example I've chosen to only send my Welcome back message if the users sends in the words 'Hi or Hey'. Think about what keywords your users are likely to send in when they return and include those. But be cautious. You shouldn't include all your menu items otherwise the user will get the Welcome back message when they are navigating your service. Click Next.
    3. Click the Add an action button.
      1. Click Reply with a message
      2. Select your 'Welcome back' message or click Add Content button if you still need to create one. We suggest you keep this message very simple.
      3. Give your Automation a title and click Activate.
  3. Last step: Add an automation to update the is_returning profile field when a new user interacts with your service so when they return they get your welcome back message.
    1. Click on the existing automation you send to new users or click Add Automation if your new users receives a Thread as their first message.
    2. Click Message Received.
    3. Click Contact with a specific profile. Select your is_returning profile field from the dropdown and set the value to FALSE (which is the same as NO). This means this automation will only trigger when the user profile has the is_returning field set to NO. Click Next.
    4. Click Add action.
    5. Click Update a field on a contact. Select your is_returning profile field from the dropdown and set the value to TRUE (which is the same as YES). What this will do is update the user profile that this is a returning user. So the next time they message in they will get the Welcome message.
    6. Click Next. Click Activate to save your automation.

And there you have it. Your returning users will now get a Welcome back message when they say Hi!

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