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Email Automations common questions
Email Automations common questions

Frequently asked questions around email Automations.

Updated over a week ago

Automations allow you to quickly and easily stay in constant communication with customers by either email, SMS or both. This guide contains answers to frequently asked questions around Automations


General Automation Questions

Q. Do you integrate with Kingsumo?

A. Currently, there isn't an integration with Kingsumo. If this is an integration you are interested in, please reach out to our support team and let them know of your interest.


Q. Does the sent number on the automation reporting include those customers whose emails have bounced?

A. Yes, the sent number on your automation reporting does include those customers whose emails have bounced.


Q. What's the best way to reach back out to a customer after they've signed up via a signup form and completed their first order?

A. If you want to send a marketing email to customers after they complete your store's sign-up form and place their first order, enable the Thank first-time customer automation. This automation targets new customers only after their first order is completed. You can also include a discount in the email to encourage them to return to your store


Automation Discounts

Q: When does the expiry of rewards sent in Automations happen? Is it days after the email has been sent or days after the email has been opened?

A. All email discount expiry is based on the time after the email was sent.


Q. Is there a way to offer customers multiple promo codes at one time in an automation?

A. It is not recommended to add multiple promo codes in a single email. If you wish to send out multiple, please create a custom automation with multiple emails and add a separate discount to each email.


Q. How do I edit the discount block in my automation, I want to change what I'm offering customers.

A. Currently, there isn't a feature to edit the discount block saved in an automation. However, you can still achieve this by first removing the discount block from each email step in the flow and then adding in a new discount block.


Editing and Designing Automation

Q. What information does the loyalty block open for customers who click on this in an email?

A. The Loyalty button is available for Automations as a drag-and-drop block. This button works as a check rewards button that leads to the loyalty widget.


Q. Is there an email prompt to remind customers that their rewards are about to expire?

A. Generally customers do not receive an email Automation reminding them to use their rewards before they expire. However, certain Automations in Marsello do contain an email step reminding customers that their code expires in "x" days. this feature. These Automations include Say Happy Birthday.


Q. When a discount is sent via email, does the customer need to claim this before the coupon is generated and will appear under their profile? Or can they claim and redeem email discounts at POS?

A. The customer needs to claim the discount on their email for it to generate


Q. Who does the Shop Now button work for?

A. The Shop Now button will work for those merchants who have an eCommerce site connected to Marsello. Please note the Shop Now button is hardcoded to link the customer to the merchant's store site.


Q. Is it possible to a upload a PDF file with multiple images into my automation and have each image on the file have its own product link?

A. Currently, the image block and the product block support just one link per image. You can look at adding multiple image blocks and formats with the columns feature. From here you can add a link to each image. Please note that having an email predominately containing images does increase the likelihood of the email going to spam.


Q. Does the footer mailing address need to be the mailing address or my store's physical location? My store's mailing address is a PO Box and the in-store location is different.

A. P.O. Boxes are fine to use for the footer mailing address as long as your physical location is accessible on your website.


Q. Is it possible to use merge tags in my automation's subject line?

A. Yes, it is possible to add merge tags into your automation's subject line. To access the merge tags, all you'll need to do is double-click in an existing text box in the automation body and a secondary email editor will appear with a drop-down menu containing the merge tags. Select the merge tag you are after and copy and paste this into the subject line.


Q. What is the default expiration for discount codes in automation?

A. By default the expiration date of discount codes in automation is set to 30 days.


Q. I've updated my logo in my Marsello marketing settings, and now my logo isn't appearing in my automated emails flows.

A. If your logo has stopped appearing in your Automations, please check the following settings:

  • Check to see if there is an image block in the automated flow. Image blocks will not update with a new logo as it would using the edit settings feature.

  • Confirm you have used a my logo button or a store logo button. (This is for those instances where you haven't uploaded the logo in thee settings)

    • The my logo button allows for custom size logos to be added

    • The store logo button allows for the standard-size logo to be added.


Q. Is it possible to create a custom automation using a product tag?

A. Yes, it is possible to create a custom automation using a product tag. First, you will need to create a segment of customers who have purchased items from a particular category, then make automation that triggers when customers enter that segment.


Q. Can I exclude products/collections from being recommended via the Product Recommendations block if they are under a certain stock count?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature that will exclude specific products/collections from being recommended in the Product Recommendation block. If you have an out-of-stock collection that will need to be excluded, please contact our support team for further assistance.


Q. When looking over my automation, I've noticed a box in the template that reads "my logo". Do I need to upload an image into that box or will my logo automatically pull through?

A. It is recommended to upload your logo into the Brand Settings tab. Once your image is uploaded here, your logo will automatically appear in all of you email automations without having to be uploaded into each individual template.


Q. Is it possible to translate the "unsubscribe" merge tag to another language?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature available that will translate the unsubscribe merge tag into another language. If this is a feature of interest, please reach out to our support team and let them know.


Q. If a merchant adds their brand colors in the loyalty widget will this translate over to emails/automation?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature available that will sync updated brand colors from the widget to the marketing side of the app. If this is a feature of interest, please reach out to our support team and let them know.


Q. Can we create a discount block in a campaign that appears as a QR code?

A. Currently there isn't a feature that will allow you to create a discount block that appears as a QR code. If this is a feature you are interested in, please contact our support team and let them know.p


Q. Is there a way to add a UTM link to a dynamic product block like the ones in the abandoned cart flows?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature to add a UTM link to a dynamic product block. However, you can create a UTM outside of Marsello and add it as a link behind the product image, they would need to do that for each product depending on the level of detail you are looking to measure.


Q. Is it possible to add an image block and a text block into the same container block so that when scrolling down the image block is on top of the text block? Is there a way to layer image blocks on top of each other so the corners or sides overlap?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature to add an image block and a text block into the same container block. If this is something of interest, please let our support team know of your interest.

In the meantime, please note that this could be achieved by creating an image in an app like Canva or Figma.


Q. Can I use automation as a means to create additional earn options? What happens if I turn the automation on and off, will customers re-enter the automation with a new purchase?

A. You can use custom automation as a way to create an additional earn option, however, customers can only enter this flow once. A good example of the type of flow you can create is "when customers enter a segment" and set the audience to a segment that has "product purchased is "X or Y". You can use the points step to award customers points and it is recommended to use an email or SMS step after the points step to notify customers of their points. Please note that customers will only enter this flow once.

When you disable and re-enable the flow, you will be asked if you wish to send the automation out to customers who have already met this condition while the automation was disabled.


Q. Is it possible to recreate different versions of the preset automation without disrupting the existing ones? I want to compare which version of the email receives the best welcome among customers.

A. Currently, there isn't a feature available that will allow you to A/B test the preset automation. However, if this is something you are interested in, please reach out to our support team and let them know of your interest.


Q. Is there an automation which will automatically let customers know that their loyalty rewards are about to expire?

A. Currently, there isn't a built-in automation specifically for reminding customers about expiring rewards. However, customers are notified when their points are about to expire if the points expiry feature is enabled.


Sending Automation

Q. I need to disable one of my automation, however, there are still several customers in the flow. Will those customers receive the remaining messages in the flow once I disable the automation?

A. Once an Automation is disabled, all customers exit the flow immediately without any further messages from this particular flow.


Q. Will customers receive a notification email if there is a manual update on their account (points, rewards, tier status)?


A. If the customer's account has a manual update in terms of rewards or VIP tier status), they will not receive automation indicating a change has been made through the app admin.

Please note if there is a manual points adjustment on a customer's account, you do have the option to send an email to the customer indicating this change has been made.


Q. If I run a bulk points import via the CSV importer and have the Earned Points Automation enabled, will an email be sent to all customers automatically?

A. No, the bulk points import will not trigger the automation to send. However, if you would like this email to be sent, please reach out to our support team and they will be able to assist you further.


Q. I'd like to send out a custom automation offering my customers a visit challenge. Ideally, I'd like to reward customers after their third purchase in-store during the week. can I set up a custom automation to run this?

A. Although you can send out custom automation to customers announcing the visit challenge, you would not be able to track visits or purchases for the week through this automation. Keeping track of visits and purchases would need to be done manually and a separate campaign or automation would need to be set up to send a reward to these customers. However, if this is a feature that would benefit your store, please reach out to our support team and they will be able to submit a feature request on your behalf.


Q. When will a customer exit the automation?

A. Customers exit the automation when a customer make a purchase or when they receive all the emails within the flow.


Q. If a customer is subscribed to emails and is currently in an automated flow, then unsubscribes from email marketing after receiving the first email, would they immediately exit the flow?

A. If a customer unsubscribes from email marketing while in an automated flow, they will not receive any further emails. Please note that if you have a delay step in the flow, the customer may not exit the flow until just before the next email is sent when the flow checks to see if the customer still accepts marketing.


Q. I've created a custom segment with the trigger "when an order is completed" for my custom automation. Will customers re-enter the segment every time they place an order and meet the audience conditions?

A. Customers will continue to re-enter the custom automation flow when the trigger is set to "when an order is completed".


Q. If an automation is paused will the delay steps in the automation also pause? For example, if I pause the automation on day 2 and the delay is 5 days will the automation continue 3 days after the automation is re-enabled?

A. The delay does not get paused when automation is paused. The delay when it gets initially set sets the date/time when the workflow, the customer will continue through the flow regardless of if it gets paused.


Q. How long after enabling my automation will it take for it to start sending?

A. Once an automation is enabled it will start sending to customers as soon as they meet the trigger conditions for that automation.


Q. Is it possible to send me a carbon copy of every automation sent to customers?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature available that will send business owners a copy of each automation that is sent out. However, the automation reporting will display which customers were sent the automation and when.


Q. Does the expiry of the Email discounts start after the email has been sent?

A. All email discount expiry is based on the sent date.


Q. I've accidentally set the expiry of my email discount to 0 days after being received by a customer. Will the customer still be able to use this reward?

A. Customers will still be able to use this reward. If a reward expiry is saved as 0 days, the system will update this back to the default setting of 365 days.


Q. Does email campaign reporting include which type of device the customer opened the email on?

A. Currently, we do not have a feature which will indicate which type of device the end customer opened a campaign on. However, if this is a feature you are interested in, please reach out to our support team and let them know of your interest.


Q. I have been sending my automation to one customer segment for a while now and am looking to add in a second segment to expand my target audience. Can I change the target audience for my automation?

A. Yes, you can absolutely update your target audience for an automation and add in a second segment. To do this you will need to open the automation's settings and click on the cog icon next to the trigger function. From here, scroll to Trigger > Who can enter this automation and select "selected customer segment(s)". Under the drop-down menu for
"custom segments", click on each segment you wish to include as the target audience for this automation. Once complete, click "save changes" and "enable automation".


Q. Is it possible to set up a custom automation that triggers only when a customer fully creates an account in Shopify (username & password), as opposed to guest account creation/signing up for a mailing list?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature that will allow trigger a custom automation when a customer fully creates a full account in Shopify (not a guest account). If this is a feature you are itnerested in, please reach out to our support team and let them know of your interest.


Q. If I were to use the exit condition, "when they make an order" instead of "when they complete the automation" in my Welcome automation, will this cause a delay in the automation firing?

A. No, using the exit condition "When they make an order" will not impact when the Welcome automation will fire. However, you can run into situations were customers exit the flow if they make an order prior to the rest of the flow sending. It is recommended to use the exit condition "when they complete the automation" for the Welcome automation.


Q. I'm using the send preview button to test my automation and am noticing in the first line an error message that reads "Failed to export html. ReferenceError: letterSpacing is not defined." What does that mean?

A. If you are seeing an error message in your email template that reads "Failed to export html. ReferenceError: letterSpacing is not defined" this could be due to the size of your menu block in the email. Go back to your email template and make reduce the size of the letter spacing in the menu block. Save the updates and test again. This should fix the issue. If the problem still persists, please let our support team know.


Segments for Preset Automation

Q. Can we manually un-enroll a customer from an Automation?

A. Currently, there isn't a way to manually un-enroll a customer from a specific Automation. You can unsubscribe the customer from email marketing, however, this affects all marketing.


Q. If I use a segment as part of an automation trigger from the automation library, will it be sent to all customers historically and future?

A. No, triggers in the automation library are "going forward" triggers meaning they will only be sent to customers when they meet the trigger in the future. If the trigger, such as ‘entered a segment’, the merchant has the choice (existing functionality) to choose if past customers can enter as well, however by default it’s only customers going forward.


Welcome Automation

Q. How do customers enter the welcome automation?

A. The welcome automation uses the “Customer created at” as the trigger. Customers enter this flow when they’ve been created in Marsello. Customers can be created via sign-up form, creating a store account, and making a purchase online or in-store. The most common use case for this automation is as a newsletter signup & haven’t made a purchase.

To ensure this automation is only sent to customers who haven’t made a purchase, there is a 1 hour delay in sending by default. This delay is present to check that there are no orders associated with this customer. If you prefer to provide customers with an instant discount code for signing up, it is recommended to create a blanket discount code in your integration and include that code on the successful submission page of the form. The benefit of this is that the customer is already on your online store and can easily use that code on their next sale within that session.

Please note that if a customer creates an account through the widget and then signs up via the popup form using the same email, the system will not add the customer to the welcome automation a second time.


Q. If an existing POS customer signs up online for an online account, will they receive the welcome newsletter customer custom automation?

A. No, only brand-new customers will receive the welcome automation If you would like to provide existing customers with a welcome automation, it is recommended to create a custom segment for your sign-up form using the condition "when the customer completes the form" and create custom automation which uses that segment as the trigger.


Q. I've designed my welcome automation to have a one-minute delay before emailing customers. Is it expected behavior for some customers to receive this automation after an hour?

A. Yes, this is possible as it can take up to 15 minutes for the customer to sync across into the segment. The system also checks every 6 hours for new customers and sends them the automation so it would depend on where in that 6-hour cycle the customer synced across.


Q. I have two automations enabled for new customers (one welcome and one custom) and have noticed that most customers are receiving one automation and not both.

A. Please confirm the sending times for both automations to be sure they are not set to send at the same time. Marsello has safety measures in place that prevent more than one email from going to an email address within an hour. Make sure the sending times for the different automations are at least one hour apart.


Q. What does the welcome automation trigger " when a customer signs up" mean?

A. This automation is triggered when a customer is created in Marsello. This could be through a form, pos, online store email footer, creating an account etc. This flow isn’t exclusive to the Marsello sign-up form.


Q. Is there any way to set the Welcome Newsletter automation to only send to those new sign-ups who signed up online and not through the POS?

A. Currently, there isn't a way to automatically target those customers who have signed up at one location and not the other. However, you create a custom segment to locate those customers who signed up online vs. POS and change the trigger of the automation to this segment.


Q. What is the expiry time set on the default discount code within the Welcome Newsletter Automation?

A. The expiry time set on the default discount code for Welcome Newsletter Automation is 30 days. If the retailer wishes to edit this, they can follow the steps for updating the expiry in the discount block here


Q. If a retailer has the welcome automation switched on and not the thank first-time customers automation and a customer signs up then immediately places an order, can this also cause the customer to bypass the welcome automation?

A. Yes, it is recommended to update the exit conditions of the automation to "when the customer completes all steps" as opposed to "when the customer places and order and completes all steps".


Q. I have enabled the welcome automation and have it set to reward all new signups/customers 100 points as the first delay. What happens to those new customers who create an account at checkout and do not accept marketing? Will they still receive these points?

A. No, new customers who do not accept marketing will not receive points. However, if you would like to ensure all new customers receive sign-up points, you can enable the create an account earn option under loyalty settings. This feature automatically awards all customers regardless of marketing status points upon account creation.


Q. If I import a list of new customers and use a custom tag directly into Marsello as opposed to my integration, are these customers eligible to receive the welcome automation?

A. Customers who are imported directly into Marsello as opposed to the integration will not enter the Welcome Automation by default. If you would like to send this automation to this customer list, it is recommended to create a custom segment of customers with this tag, clone the automation and set the audience of the cloned automation to this custom segment.


Q. I am finding that my customers are entering multiple email addresses when signing up via the sign up form to receive the welcome automation discount code. When they go to purchase the code doesn't work as they are using the incorrect email for the code. Is there a way to allow the code to continue to work?

A. Marsello discount codes are unique and are email specific. The customer account's email must match what's associated with the code in order for it to work.

One way to allow the codes to go through regardless of email is to create a blanket code in your integration and enter that code in your welcome automation. When the customer receives this code, they will able to use the code at checkout regardless of the email they are using to check out with.


Q. Why aren't all the customers who sign up via a sign up form receiving the welcome automation?

A. Only new customers whose email addresses were not previously in your customer database are eligible to receive the welcome automation. If brand-new customers aren’t receiving the automation, we recommend checking the settings of any automation or campaigns triggered immediately after signup. It’s best to have a delay of at least one hour between flows.

If you continue to experience issues, please reach out to our support team.


Q. Is there a best practice to switch from the Shopify welcome automation to the Marsello one?

A. You will need to disable the Shopify welcome automation from your Shopify admin. From there, you will need to customize your welcome automation and enable it in Marsello.


Q. Are my pre-existing customers eligible to receive the welcome automation?

A. The welcome automation is designed to send to new customers only. When a customer signs up to your store (by creating an account or completing a sign up form), the system will run a check to see if the email address provided exists in the database. As long as the email address provided is not in the system the customer will receive the automation.


Say Happy Birthday Automation

Q. Can you set the trigger for the Say Happy Birthday Automation to send on the customer’s birthday?

A. Yes, if you set the trigger to 0 days, the email flows will send on the customer’s birthday.


Q. Does the Say Happy Birthday automation send to customers annually?

A. Yes, the Say Happy Birthday automation renews each year.


Q. Would the Say Happy Birthday Automation be considered a transactional email or a marketing email?

A. The Say Happy Birthday Automation is considered a marketing email. Transactional emails happen directly after customer action e.g. abandoned cart, loyalty points earned.


Q. If my birthday flow covers 21 days from the moment the first email is sent to the last, does that mean customers will have 21 days to claim and redeem their rewards or can I chose the expiry date?

A. Expiry dates for coupons within an automation are set to expire 365 days from the date the initial email is set by default. You can update the date of expiry to any number of days after the initial email has been set, for example 7 days after the first email is sent, 14 days after the first email is sent, etc.


Q. Is the Say Happy Birthday Automation included in the Marsello Essentials plan?

A. Yes, the Say Happy Birthday Automation is included in the Marsello Essentials plan.


Q. Is the Welcome Automation considered a transactional email?

A. The Welcome Automation is considered a transactional emailing meaning all customers are eligible to receive this whether they accept marketing or not.

If you wish to send the Welcome Automation to those customers who only accept marketing, update your email sending settings to "Only send transactional messages to customers who have opted in to marketing". This can be found under Settings > Email marketing > Compliance > Marketing opt-in details.


Abandoned Cart Automation

Q. What integrations is the Abandoned Cart Automation available on?

A. The Abandoned Cart Automation is available for Shopify eCommerce merchants.


Q. Can the Abandoned Cart Automation also look for "browser abandonment" and send customers an email relating to the product they were looking at?

A. Currently, the Abandoned Cart Automation sends out emails for those carts that have reached the checkout page and has recorded the customer's email and physical mailing address. The Automation is not able to look for browser abandonment. However, if this is a feature you would like to see, please reach out to our support team and they will be able to submit a feature request on your behalf.


Q. Is it possible to test the abandoned cart automation without enabling the automation?

A. The best way to test the abandoned cart Automation is to enable and to go through the abandoned cart process. You will need to add items to a cart on your eCommerce store and be sure to leave both your email address and physical address at checkout before abandoning the cart. This will ensure you enter the Automation's flow.


Q. If a customer falls into an abandon cart automation, and then purchases in-store, do they exit the flow?

A. Yes, if a customer who receives an abandoned cart automation completes their cart in-store they will exit the flow.


Q. If a merchant has multiple currency options on their website and a customer abandons a cart, we'll still remember the correct currency is chosen when our Checkout Now button takes them back, correct?

A. Shopify provides the URL to the checkout so the chosen currency should remain the same.


Loyalty Automation

Q. Are loyalty Automations considered marketing or transactional emails?

A. The first communication step, email or SMS is considered to be transactional, any following steps are considered marketing.


Q. Do customers get notifications when rewards are going to expire?

A. Customers are not notified when rewards are going to expire. Customers are notified when points are about to expire provided the points expiry automation is enabled. However, if you are interested in seeing a rewards expiry automation, please reach out to our support team and they will be able to put through a feature request for you.


Q. Is it possible to setup UTMs for loyalty automation in Marsello like we can do for campaigns?

A. Currently, it isn't possible to add UTMS to loyalty automation. However, if this is a feature you are interested in, please reach out to our support team and let them know of your interest.


Win-back Lapsed Customers Automation

Q. The win-back lapsed customers automation showcases "top sellers". How are these items selected?

A.
The product recommendation algorithm selects the products that appear in the win-back lapsed customers flow. Currently, there isn't a way to personally choose the dynamic content that pulls through. However, you can edit the text from "Top Sellers" to something like "We think you'll like these!"

Alternatively, if you'd prefer to personally choose the products recommended in this flow, you can remove the product recommendation block and replace it with individual product blocks. please note that if you choose to do this, all customers will receive the same product recommendation.


Q. Does the win-back flow look for layby orders that may be in the system but not complete prior to adding customers back into the flow?

A. The win-back flow is based on the last closed transaction. This means that any layaway, layby or on-account orders won't trigger the flow as they are not counted as "closed".


Q. Is it possible for customers to re-enter the win-back automation if they have exited the flow and still haven't had any activity on their account?

A. Customers cannot re-enter the win-back automation if they have already received it once and have not had any further activity on their account. However, customers are eligible to receive the win-back automation multiple times if they initially receive the automation, make a purchase, and then their account goes dormant again. When the flow is triggered (e.g., 60 days after the last purchase), the customer will re-enter the flow.


Custom Automation

Segments for Custom Automation

Q. I've created a segment of customers for my custom automation and used a custom tag. What happens if a customer in this segment unsubscribes from email marketing? Will they automatically exit the segment?

A. Any customer who unsubscribes from marketing while in a custom segment will remain in the segment, however, they will not longer be able to receive marketing messages.


Q. How long does it take for an automated email to send once the customer enters the segment?

A. Once the customer enters the segment for the custom automation, the email will send right away unless a delay step has been added.


Q. Is there a way to award a discount/points on the anniversary of someone becoming a member? If so, can this be restricted to members within a VIP tier only?

A. Currently, there isn't a feature to send out a reward to the customer on their anniversary of becoming a loyalty member or tier member. If this is a feature you are interested in, please let our support team know.

In the meantime, you can manually set this automation up in a few steps:

  • create a custom automation using the customer-created trigger

  • add in a points step or add in a discount block to the flow

  • Be sure to add in several delay steps and new points steps/email templates with a discount block to ensure the automation continues to send for a few years


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