The order of Trigger nodes in a workflow determines the point from which the contact continues through the workflow when they pass through these nodes again. Therefore, their position in relation to a Condition node or another trigger can change the behavior of the strategy.
In this article, you will learn how the order of Trigger nodes affects behavior so that you can configure them correctly through three cases: a Condition node before a Trigger node, a Condition node after a Trigger node, and two consecutive Trigger nodes.
Before you begin, we recommend that you learn how Trigger nodes and Condition nodes work.
How the Order of Trigger Nodes Affects How a Workflow Works
When a contact reaches a Trigger node in a workflow, the node reactivates the flow each time the action occurs or the condition that triggers it is met, as long as the node's limitations allow it. Each new passage through this Trigger node allows the contact to move forward from that point without going through the previous nodes again.
If you want to learn more about node limitations, see this article.
For this reason, even if two workflows contain the same Trigger nodes, their behavior will differ depending on the order in which they are connected.
The following explains how they work based on that order:
1. Condition Node Before a Trigger Node
A Condition node placed before a Trigger node determines which contacts reach it, but if the Trigger node is activated again, the condition will not be checked again.
The goal of the following workflow is to show an inline form to contacts who do not have a known email address in Connectif.
In this workflow, the “Check value” node, connected to the “Start” node, will check whether the contact has an email address associated with their contact record.
If the contact does not have an email address, they will move to the “When visiting website” node, which will wait until they visit the website to execute the next action, which in this case will be to display a form through the “Send web content” node.
From that point on, each time the contact passes through the “When visiting website” node again—that is, each time they visit the website again—the workflow will be reactivated from that point and the inline form will be sent to them, regardless of whether their email address is known.
In this example and with this logic, because the “Check value” node is placed before the “When visiting website” Trigger node, the condition will not be checked again with each visit. Therefore, if the contact provides their email address after reaching the trigger, they may continue to see the form on subsequent visits.
2. Condition Node After a Trigger Node
The goal of the following workflow is to show an inline form to contacts who do not have a known email address in Connectif.
In this case, the “When visiting website” node, connected to the “Start” node, will wait until the contact makes a visit that activates the trigger. When this happens, they will move to the “Check value” node, which will check whether they have an email address associated with them in Connectif.
If the contact does not have an email address, the next action will be executed—in this case, displaying web content with a form through the “Send web content” node.
From that point on, each new visit that activates the trigger will cause the workflow to check again whether the contact has an email address before showing them the form.
In this example and with this logic, because the “Check Value” node is placed after the “When visiting website” Trigger node, the condition will be checked again with each visit. Therefore, once the contact has registered their email address, the next time they activate the Trigger node—that is, when they return to the website—they will pass through the “Check Value” node again. This node will verify that they now have a known email address and, therefore, the form will no longer be displayed.
3. Two Consecutive Trigger Nodes
3.1. No Limitation on the Second Trigger
When two Trigger nodes are connected consecutively, the contact must activate the first one to reach the second. Once the second node has been reached, each time the action that triggers it is performed, the workflow can be reactivated from that point without going through the first node again, unless a deactivation limitation has been configured on it.
The goal of the following workflow is to show a web push notification to contacts who visit a product after abandoning a cart.
In this workflow, the “When abandoning cart” node, connected to the “Start” node, will wait until the contact abandons a cart with the specifications configured in the node. When this happens, they will move to the “When visiting a product” node, which will wait until they visit a product that meets the configured specifications.
When the contact activates this second trigger, the next action will be executed—in this case, displaying a web push notification.
With this configuration, once the contact has triggered the “When abandoning cart” node for the first time, they will be shown a push notification again each time they visit a product, since no limitations have been configured on the nodes.
3.2. With a Limitation on the Second Trigger
When the “Deactivate after being triggered” limitation is applied to the second Trigger node, the contact will only be able to reactivate this node after performing the action that activates the first Trigger node again. This is because, when the first trigger is activated again, Connectif resets the second node's limitation, allowing the contact to pass through it once more.
The goal of the following workflow is also to show a web push notification to contacts who visit a product after abandoning a cart. In this case, the same workflow as in the previous example is used, but the “Deactivate after being triggered” limitation is configured on the second trigger, “When visiting a product.”
In this workflow, the “When abandoning cart” node, connected to the “Start” node, will wait until the contact abandons a cart with the specifications configured in the node. When this happens, they will move to the “When visiting a product” node, which will wait until they visit a product that meets the configured specifications.
When the contact activates this second trigger, the next action will be executed, which in this case will be to display a web push notification. After being activated, the “When visiting a product” node will be deactivated for that contact.
With this configuration, once the contact has activated the “When visiting a product” node, subsequent visits to products will no longer display the web push notification. To receive it again, they must abandon another cart and trigger the “When abandoning cart” node, which will reset the second trigger's limitation and allow it to be activated again when they visit a product.
Congratulations!
You have reached the end of the lesson.
Do you still have unanswered questions?
Remember that our Connectif specialists are available to help you. To contact them, simply open a ticket with Support by clicking the blue “Help” button in your dashboard.
Keep learning!
To take full advantage of your Connectif account, we recommend continuing with the following articles:
- Trigger nodes, to use them in real time when contacts perform an activity.
- Action nodes, to perform specific operations within flows.
- Node limitations, to configure the conditions under which nodes will not be triggered.
- Workflow template directory, to locate the templates available for use in your strategies.