Flowhub Marketing automated campaigns send on their own when a customer's birthday comes around, when they stop buying, or when something happens, like a purchase or a move up a loyalty tier. In this article, we'll guide you through setting up, activating, pausing, and tracking automated campaigns so you reach customers at the right moment.
📝 Note: Automated campaigns send email and push notifications. Text messages aren't available for automated campaigns.
✏️ Note: Point threshold and Tier-up are only available for dispensaries using Flowhub's native loyalty program. These triggers do not support third-party loyalty integrations. Tier-up also needs at least one named loyalty tier.
Create an Automated Campaign
Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns.
Select New campaign in the top-right corner.
Enter a Campaign Name.
Under Campaign type, select Automated.
One-time is selected by default. You can't change the type after you save the campaign.
Under Trigger, select Winback, Birthday, After a purchase, Point threshold, Days since first purchase, or Tier-up.
Winback is selected by default.
Point threshold and Tier-up only show for dispensaries using Flowhub's native loyalty program. Tier-up also needs at least one named loyalty tier.
Automated Campaign Options
Winback: Bring back customers who stopped buying.
Birthday: Celebrate each customer's birthday.
After a purchase: Follow up a few days after each purchase.
Point threshold: Reach customers when their points add up.
Days since first purchase: Mark a milestone after the first purchase.
Tier-up: Celebrate a move up a loyalty tier.
Automated campaigns don't use Campaign Timing. The trigger settings decide when each message is sent.
Set Up a Winback Trigger
Winback reaches customers who have stopped buying. The first message goes out after the interval passes with no purchase. Another follows every interval while the customer stays inactive.
Select Winback.
Enter the Winback interval in days without a purchase.
The default is 45 days. Enter a whole number from 1 to 3,650.
Enter a Send time.
Messages send at this time in the store time zone shown under the field.
(Optional) Check Include customers who already qualify when activated.
Select About including customers who already qualify (the info icon beside the checkbox) to read how it works.
Review When it sends and What resets it below the fields.
A purchase at any of your locations restarts the clock. Returns and voided sales don't restart it.
Example: You activate a winback campaign with a 45-day interval. A customer buys on March 1 and doesn't come back. They get a message on April 15, then another on May 30 if they still haven't bought.
Include Customers Who Already Qualify
This checkbox decides who is in the first send. It's off by default. This checkbox is for Winback and Point threshold. The other triggers don't have it, because they only count what happens after you activate.
Off: Only purchases made after you activate start the winback clock. The first messages go out one interval after those purchases.
On: Customers who are already past the interval are in the first send. This can be a large send to customers who have been gone a long time.
📝 Note: You can only change this setting before you activate. It no longer displays once the campaign is active.
💡 Tip: Review the Next opportunity panel before you turn this on. It shows how many customers the next send would reach.
Set Up a Birthday Trigger
Select Birthday.
Enter Days before birthday.
Enter 0 to send on the birthday. Enter a whole number up to 365 to send earlier.
Enter a Send time.
Each campaign sends a customer one birthday message a year.
Customers need a birthday saved on their customer profile.
February 29 birthdays send on February 28 in non-leap years.
Birthday messages start with the first send date after you activate.
Set Up an After a Purchase Trigger
After a purchase follows up a set number of days after a customer's sale, with a cooldown so no one gets it too often.
Select After a purchase.
Enter Days after the purchase.
Enter a whole number from 1 to 30. The default is 1 day.
Enter a Cooldown.
This is the number of days before a customer can get the message again. Enter a whole number from 1 to 365. The default is 30 days.
Enter a Send time.
Review When it sends, How often, and What counts below the fields.
The message goes out the chosen number of days after the day of the purchase, at the send time. With 2 days, a purchase on Monday sends on Wednesday.
Only completed purchases made after you activate count. A purchase at any of your locations counts, and the customer still has to be in a selected segment.
Any return before the message sends cancels it, even a partial return of one item. A voided purchase cancels it too.
If a customer's last follow-up from this campaign was inside the cooldown, a new purchase doesn't get a message. It's skipped, not delayed.
Example: You activate a campaign with a 1-day delay and a 30-day cooldown. A customer buys on March 1 and gets a message on March 2. They buy again on March 10 and get nothing, because it's inside the cooldown. They buy on April 5 and get a message on April 6.
Set Up a Point Threshold Trigger
Point threshold sends when a customer's loyalty points balance reaches a number you choose.
Select Point threshold.
Enter the Point threshold.
Enter a whole number from 1 to 1,000,000. There is no default.
Enter a Send time.
(Optional) Check Include customers already at or above the threshold.
Select About including customers already at or above the threshold (the info icon beside the checkbox) to read how it works.
Review When it sends and When it sends again below the fields.
Flowhub checks balances once a day at the send time. A customer gets the message when a check finds their balance at or above the threshold after it was below.
They get it again only after their balance drops below the threshold and climbs back.
Customers already at or above the threshold when Flowhub first checks them are left out. With the box off, they have to drop below and climb back first.
With the box on, those customers get the message at the first send. So do customers who join your segment later already above the threshold.
If you change the threshold or resume the campaign, it starts over at the next send. Only customers below the threshold then can get it.
If a balance drops below the threshold before the send, or the customer has left loyalty, the message is skipped.
⚠️ Note: You can only change the checkbox before you activate. It no longer displays once the campaign is active.
Set Up a Days Since First Purchase Trigger
Days since first purchase sends one message, a set number of days after a customer's first purchase.
Select Days since first purchase.
Enter Days since first purchase.
Enter a whole number from 1 to 3,650. There is no default.
Enter a Send time.
Review When it sends and What counts below the fields.
A customer gets this message once.
The first purchase is the customer's earliest completed purchase at any of your locations. Voided purchases and returns don't count. If the first purchase is voided, the count starts from their next purchase.
Customers whose day came before you activated, or while the campaign was paused, don't get it.
A customer who bought before you activated can still get it if their day hasn't come yet.
Example: You activate a campaign set to 30 days. A customer's first purchase was 10 days ago. They get a message 20 days from now. A customer whose first purchase was 40 days ago doesn't get one.
Set Up a Tier-Up Trigger
Tier-up sends when a customer moves up a loyalty tier.
Select Tier-up.
Under Tiers, choose the tiers you want to follow up.
Leave it empty to send for a move up to any tier. The field shows Any tier.
Enter a Send time.
Review When it sends and What counts below the fields.
The message goes out at the next send time after the customer moves up.
A move up is a move to a tier with a higher points threshold, made after you activate. A customer's first tier and moves down don't send.
If the customer has left that tier by the send time, the message is skipped.
If the Tiers field is disabled, your loyalty tiers didn't load. Reload the page to choose tiers.
What every trigger has in common.
All six triggers check once a day at the Send time, in the store time zone. They use the same segments, messages, frequency limits, and text send hours. After a purchase, Days since first purchase, and Tier-up only count what happens after you activate.
Choose Your Audience and Messages
Under Audience, select one or more segments.
Customers must be in a selected segment at each send time.
Under Messages, add an Email, a Push Notification, or both.
You can add one message per channel.
Each message follows your frequency limits unless you check Send email notification to customers regardless of frequency limit or Send push notification to customers regardless of frequency limit.
Review the Next opportunity panel on the right.
Next send shows the next send time. Eligible customers shows how many customers qualify at that time.
Each channel shows how many customers can receive it and how many are excluded by frequency limits.
For After a purchase and Tier-up, the panel shows Qualified in the last 7 days instead of Eligible customers. It's the number of customers in your audience who would have qualified in the last 7 days. It shows likely volume, not who gets the next messages, because only purchases or moves up after you activate count.
If the count stops early, the panel shows At least a number, or None found.
The panel is an estimate. Eligibility is checked again before each send. For help writing your messages, see Create a Campaign in Flowhub Marketing.
Activate Your Automated Campaign
Select Activate campaign.
Review Next send and Eligible customers in the Activate automated campaign window.
If no customers qualify for the next send time, the window says so. The campaign keeps checking at each send time.
The first line of the window says when the first messages can go out for your trigger.
Select Activate campaign to confirm.
The campaign turns on now. The first messages go out at the next send time.
To save your work without activating, select Save as draft. To activate a draft later, open it from the Campaigns page, select Actions, then select Activate.
📝 Note: Automated campaigns use your existing Marketing role permissions. No new permission is needed.
⚠️ Important: An active campaign sends at every send time without anyone selecting send. Pausing stops messages that haven't been handed off for delivery. It can't recall messages that already went out.
Edit an Active Automated Campaign
Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns and select the campaign.
Select Edit.
Make your changes and review the Next opportunity panel.
Select Save changes.
Select Apply changes to confirm.
Changes apply right away to customers whose messages haven't been queued yet. Messages already queued keep their content and schedule.
A paused campaign stays paused.
⚠️ Note: After you activate, a campaign can't switch to or from After a purchase, Point threshold, Days since first purchase, or Tier-up. Those cards are disabled and a note explains why. To use a different trigger, create a new automated campaign. Winback and Birthday work as before.
If someone else changed the campaign while you were editing, a message asks you to reload it before you apply your changes.
Pause, Resume, or Archive an Automated Campaign
Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns.
Select the campaign to open its details panel.
Select Actions, then select Pause, Resume, or Archive.
Confirm your choice in the window that opens.
Pause: Stops new sends and any messages that haven't been handed off for delivery. Missed sends stay skipped.
Resume: Picks up each customer's existing schedule. Messages missed while paused aren't sent.
Archive: Stops the automation and keeps its history.
⚠️ Important: Archiving an automated campaign is permanent. You can't edit, resume, or activate it again. To run it again, select Actions, then select Clone & edit.
Only drafts can be deleted. To remove a draft you no longer need, select Actions, then select Delete.
Track Automated Campaign Results
Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns.
Select Type, then select Automated to show only automated campaigns.
Each campaign row shows One-time or Automated under its name.
The Status filter includes Paused for automated campaigns.
Select a campaign to open its details panel.
Under Performance, select Lifetime to change the date range, then choose Last 30 days or Custom range.
Results show the campaign's lifetime by default.
Review Messages sent, Delivered customers, Attributed sales, Customers who purchased, and the card for each channel.
Review Campaign details for the Trigger, Send time, and Next check.
Purchases are attributed within 14 days of a qualifying send.
Date ranges use UTC calendar days, so a day in the report may not line up with your store's local day.
Trigger reads like "1 day after a purchase, at most every 30 days", "On reaching 1,500 points", "30 days after the first purchase", or "On a move up to any tier".
In Marketing > Overview, each campaign row shows One-time or Automated. An automated campaign appears when it sent messages during the date range you selected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will customers who stopped buying before I activate get a winback message?
No, not by default. Check Include customers who already qualify when activated before you activate to include them. Otherwise, their winback clock starts with their next purchase.
Why does the activation window show 0 eligible customers?
No one qualifies at the next send time yet. With the checkbox off, winback messages start one interval after new purchases. The campaign keeps checking at each send time.
What happens when a customer has reached their frequency limit?
That message is skipped, not delayed. The customer can get the next one the next time they qualify, such as their next birthday or winback interval, or another purchase or tier move. For a point threshold, that means after the balance drops below and climbs back.
Which campaign sends first when a customer qualifies for several at once?
One-time campaigns go first, then Birthday, then every other trigger. Your frequency limits apply in that order.
Does a purchase at any store reset the winback clock?
Yes. A purchase at any of your locations restarts the clock, including stores outside the campaign's segments. Returns and voided sales don't count.
Will customers get messages they missed while the campaign was paused?
No. Resuming picks up each customer's existing schedule. Sends missed while paused stay skipped.
Can I change a one-time campaign into an automated campaign?
No. You choose the type before you first save. To reuse a one-time campaign's messages, select Actions, then Clone & edit, and choose Automated before you save.
Why don't I see Point threshold or Tier-up?
They only show for dispensaries using Flowhub's native loyalty program. Tier-up also needs at least one named loyalty tier.
Will customers who bought before I activated get an After a purchase message?
No. Only purchases made after you activate count.
Does a return cancel an After a purchase message?
Yes. If any part of the purchase is returned before the message sends, even one item, the message is canceled.
Can a customer get a Point threshold message more than once?
Yes. They get it again each time their balance drops below the threshold and climbs back to it. Your frequency limits still apply.
Why didn't a customer who already has enough points get a Point threshold message?
Customers already at or above the threshold when Flowhub first checks them are left out unless you checked Include customers already at or above the threshold before activating.
Why didn't a customer who moved up a tier get a Tier-up message?
Check that the move happened after you activated and while the campaign was active. A customer's first tier doesn't count. The tier has to be one you chose, the customer has to still be in it at the send time, and they have to be in a selected segment.
Why does the preview say "Qualified in the last 7 days"?
After a purchase and Tier-up react to things that happened. The preview looks back 7 days to show likely volume. Only purchases and moves after activation get a message.
Great work! 🥳 You've set up an automated campaign that reaches customers on their birthday, when they stop buying, or at the right moment after a purchase or loyalty milestone.