Create a custom filter to send a flow message just once

If you want your flow to send a specific message (e.g. a discount code) only once to a particular visitor, but none of the current conditions matches your scenario. In this case, the best way is to label the person with a Custom Contact Property and use it as a filter later on.

 

A good example would be sending a discount code to a user who abandoned the cart but has not made a purchase yet (i.e., if the client already bought something - don't send him the discount code when they abandon the cart on the next purchase). There are, of course, other variations available, too, covered at the end of the article.

 

In this article, you'll learn: 

• How to create a flow with a custom filter
• How to use the flow with a custom filter

 

 

Create a flow

 

The first step is to create a custom contact property, this will be custom information you can save about your clients (so it can be used not only in flows but during a conversation as well, it's basically like adding a new field on the visitor details panel on the right side). For  the sake of the example, we'll create a property called: "Has  Purchased"

 

You can do it via Settings > Contact Properties

 

The next step is making the flow assign that property (and a correct value) once someone makes a purchase. This one can be done via the Flows section, by setting a Visitor opens a specific page trigger and specifying the address of your 'Thank you, your order has been completed' page. 

 

If the URL is dynamic, set just a part of it (e.g. /order-completed/) and select contains in the trigger's settings. Once  that's done, connect the action called Set Contact Property and use the previously created Has Purchased property, and make the action assign a Yes value to it.

 

 

 

The logic:

If the person reaches the page where the  order is done, the chat will assign a Has Purchased: Yes info to that  person, in this particular form: 

 

Now, head over to the Abandoned Cart flow, and at the very beginning of it (just after the trigger), add a Based on Contact Property condition.

In it, select the Has Purchased property with the Yes value. Then use the Else option when connecting the condition to the rest of the flow: 

 

The logic:

If the person doesn't have a Has Purchased: Yes property assigned to them - the flow will move on according to the setup and send the discount code. 

 

 

 

How to Use the Flow

 

Not sending an automatic message when the visitor has contacted you

 

Suppose you'd like a specific message not to fire when someone has already contacted you. In that case, you can 'mark' that person by using Agent doesn't take the conversation, which sets a custom contact property indicating that the person has reached out to you.

 

 

 

Once that's set, you can use the Based on Contact Property condition to make the message or flow not fire if the person was in touch earlier.

 

Multiple flows using the same message

 

If you have different flows that send the same message, but you want it to be sent just once, you can mark visitors with a property like Message received, and set up each flow first to check if the person got the specific message already, and if not - send it to them.

 

The Set Contact Property action should then add the label to the person.