Why customers get multiple emails in event-triggered scenarios and how to prevent it

Preventing Multiple Email Sends in Event-Triggered Scenarios

One common issue when implementing event-triggered scenarios is the potential for multiple email sends in quick succession due to closely tracked events. This can lead to unnecessary emails being sent, overwhelming customers, and creating inefficiencies in your campaign.

This article provides a solution for effectively using event timestamp checks to ensure your scenarios behave predictably and avoid redundant sends.

The Problem

Imagine a scenario where an event, such as cart_update. Triggers an email campaign. If the customer makes multiple updates to their cart within a short time frame, the scenario might trigger numerous times, sending several emails. This behavior can confuse recipients and harm your metrics and reputation.

The Solution: Using Event Timestamp Conditions

To address this issue, we recommend that you implement a condition that checks for the most recent event timestamp. Ensuring the scenario processes only the latest event prevents multiple triggers from enqueuing redundant campaigns.

Here's how this safeguard works:

1. Add a Timestamp Condition: Use a condition to compare the event timestamp with the last recorded timestamp. It ensures the scenario only processes the most recent event.

   Example condition:

   last cart_update.timestamp equal to {{ event.timestamp }}

   • last cart_update.timestamp
     This references the timestamp of the most recent cart update.
     - created as an aggregate, then used in the condition:
     
     
     

   • {{ event.timestamp }}
     It uses the trigger event's timestamp for comparison in the scenario:

2. Enable Personalization for the Condition: Ensure the condition uses Jinja syntax as shown in the screenshot.

3. Test the Condition: Verify that the scenario processes only the most recent event by testing it with simulated multiple cart updates in a short time.

Example Scenario: Cart Reactivation Email Campaign

To illustrate, let's consider our cart reactivation email campaign. The goal is to email users who updated their cart, but only for the latest update.

Follow these steps:

1. Create the Scenario: Define the event-triggered scenario for cart_update.

2. Set Up the Timestamp Condition: Add the condition to compare the event timestamp as outlined above.

3. Test and Launch: Validate the setup by testing with multiple cart updates to ensure only one email is sent per user.

4. Customize the Scenario for Different Events: If you need it, you can adapt this solution to other types of events by replacing cart_update the relevant event name in the scenario and the expression as well. The principle remains: compare the event timestamp to process only the latest occurrence.

Why This Works

By incorporating a timestamp condition, the scenario filters out older events and processes only the most recent one. It prevents redundant triggers without limiting the scenario's handling of valid events.

Conclusion

Handling multiple event-triggered scenarios efficiently is critical for maintaining customer trust and engagement. By implementing a timestamp check outlined here, you can ensure your campaigns are precise and effective without relying on frequency policies.

This method lets your scenario dynamically adapt to customer actions while preventing redundant emails. Start implementing these changes today for a smoother, more reliable event-triggered campaign experience!