Customer.io Product Documentation

minute read

Product Description

Customer.io is an automated messaging platform that the Lunchbox Team uses for Restaurant Partners, which offers more control and flexibility to craft and send data-driven emails, push notifications, and SMS messages. The following walkthrough video provides visibility on the functionality of Customer.io.

 

Feature Content:

Product Description

Using Customer.io

Data & Integrations

Activity Logs

Segments

People

Deliveries & Drafts

Transactional

Broadcast

Campaigns

Analysis

Dashboard

Links

FAQ

 

 

Using Customer.io

NOTE: As denoted in the video walkthrough, this process will be discussed by starting at the bottom of the main menu and working up, as the process is best explained in this manner. For any detailed information on the topics discussed, visit the Customer.io Documentation page, which is also available in the Links section of this article.

 

 

Data & Integrations

The Data & Integrations page provides a view of available customer attributes and import/export information to/from Customer.io. In particular, this function allows customer information from Lunchbox to dynamically and securely be loaded into Customer.io.

 

Step 1: Navigate to Data & Integrations > Data Index. Within this menu item, there are two important tabs of concern: 

  • Attributes - Specific data received from each customer; attributes are dynamically updated each time information is changed for a customer (i.e., last name, email, etc.).
  • Events - Behaviors that customers perform in the environment; essentially, actions performed by users inside or outside your application that occur at a specific time (i.e., completed a purchase, adding items to a basket, etc.).

mceclip0.png

 

Step 2: As Attribute or Event tabs are selected, information is provided based upon the tab chosen. By selecting any of these listings within one of the two tabs, additional information is given more in-depth. In the example provided below, the Phone attribute was selected, which displays information on usage for Segments, Campaigns, and the Recent Activity. This general information is provided for all Attribute or Event items selected.

mceclip0.png

 

 

Activity Logs

The Activity Logs page provides a quick snapshot of the recent customer activity, which is dynamically routed from the Lunchbox Admin Dashboard into Customer.io. 

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Activity Logs link.

mceclip2.png

 

Step 2: Within the Activity Logs page, the information is distributed in the following columns:

  • Person - The name of the customer that the activity (in the row of concern) pertains to.
  • Activity Type - Lists the type of activity that occurred for the customer.
  • Activity Name - Lists the name of the activity that the customer was involved with.
  • Timestamp - The date and time by which the action occurred (i.e., when Customer.io received it).
  • Processed At - The date and time that the action was processed (i.e., when Customer.io processed it).

NOTE: The Add Filter button can be selected and used to filter out information as needed for specifics.

mceclip1.png

 

Step 3: Selecting a customer's name from the Person column, you will be sent to the People page, displaying information for that customer (see example below). From this section, various information can be found on the customer.

mceclip4.png

 

 

Segments

The Segments page provides the ability to break down Lunchbox customers by Attributes. Segments consist of named groups of people who share characteristics or behaviors. A Segment can have many individuals within it and an individual can belong to many segments.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Segments link.

mceclip0.png

 

Step 2: The Segments page opens, displaying all available segments for the customer. Segments can be created, searched, and filtered through this page. In order to begin the creation process, select the Create Segment button in the upper right corner of the page.

mceclip4.png

 

Step 3: The New Segment page will open, providing two sections with information that can be input:

  • Name Your Segment
    • Name - A field containing the name of the new segment.
    • Description - (Optional) A field containing the description of the new segment.
    • Tags - A dropdown containing metadata tags that can be used to identify the new segment.
  • Choose a Segment Type
    • Data-Driven Segments - Data-driven segments are groups of people that you automatically populate when they meet the condition. This option will pull your customer data routing from the Lunchbox Admin Dashboard.
    • Manual Segments - Manual segments let you group people according to business logic outside of Customer.io.

mceclip5.png

 

Step 4: After completion of the Name Your Segment section (with "Second Orders" being created), you can choose whether to make a Data-driven type or a Manual type of Segment. In the example below, the Data-driven type was selected. The drop-downs are provided to identify specific segments of the customers based on the filters selected.

NOTE: After selecting from the Add Condition or Group dropdown, subsequent dropdowns will appear as you determine your query. Once your query is complete, click the Save Changes button in the bottom right to save your new segment.

mceclip7.png

 

Step 5: The completion of the segment will return to the newly created segment's page. All pertinent information for customers that fall into that segment will be displayed in the statistical data windows. You can click on the Segments breadcrumb menu item (located in the upper-left portion of the page) to return to the main Segments page in order to view your new segment along with all existing segments.

mceclip9.png

 

Step 6: On the main Segments page, you will also see that the created segment appears in the list, with the Status column updating as the customers fall into the newly created segment.

mceclip8.png

 

 

People

The People page contains all of the customers of Lunchbox. The data here can be used to automatically match people into Segments, which provides personalized messages and the ability to fine-tune how to target audiences.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the People link.

mceclip0.png

 

Step 2: The People page will open, which displays a list of all people in the system, listed by their Email, ID, and Created At columns. You can select the Add People dropdown, which will provide options to:

  • Import a CSV - Import a CSV file to add new people, update existing people, or both.
  • Add a Person - Add an individual person.

mceclip2.png

 

Step 3: You can select an email address from the previous step, which will display all information available about the user in the Customer.io system. Initially, the Overview tab is selected when the page loads, which provides information on Attributes (which can be searched by using the search bar), Recent Activity, Most Recent Deliveries, Segments, and Devices.

mceclip3.png

 

Step 4: The Attributes tab displays the dynamic, real-time information on the selected user, including information on their various Attributes (which can be edited, using the Edit Attributes button, or searched by using the search bar within the section) and there is a section for Recent Attribute Changes, which lists the name of the activity and a timestamp of the most recent attribute changes.

mceclip4.png

 

Step 5: The Segments tab lists all of the segments that the current user belongs to (by using the Belongs To tab), as well as any other segments (by using the Others tab).

mceclip6.png

 

Step 6: The Devices tab is currently not available for you to use yet. This tab allows you to see any devices that the current user has listed, which can be used to set up push notifications for them. However, push notifications must be created and sent through the Lunchbox Admin Dashboard.

mceclip7.png

 

Step 7: The Drafts tab contains any draft emails that have been composed and require completion or that need to be sent.

mceclip8.png

 

Step 8: The Sent tab contains all of the sent emails that the current user has received.

mceclip9.png

 

Step 9: The Activity tab contains a list of all the activities that the current user has made or been involved in.

mceclip10.png

 

Step 10: The Journeys tab shows all of the existing paths through a workflow that the customer or their data has made. There are options to select which type of trigger the journey is a part of.

mceclip11.png

 

 

Deliveries & Drafts

The Deliveries & Drafts page provides updates on the status of different Campaigns. 

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Deliveries & Drafts link.

mceclip14.png

 

Step 2: The Deliveries & Drafts page will be displayed, which shows the status of all campaigns. There are filtering options to drill down for specific needs.

mceclip12.png

 

Step 3: The Status filter allows you to see the current state of specific campaigns.

NOTE: Red status items are points of concern, as they indicate a need to fix issues that customers may be experiencing; fixing the issues will ensure that a customer's account doesn't get compromised. 

mceclip13.png

 

 

Transactional

The Transactional page involves emails being triggered from code in response to an action taken by a user in your app. Lunchbox doesn't use this feature.

NOTE: The Transactional function isn't useful for Lunchbox's Restaurant Partners because the transactional emails already exist through Lunchbox when going through the Delivery process.

 

 

Broadcasts

The Broadcasts page contains features including one-time emails, promotions, newsletters, or updates; they are essential one-time messages that are sent to large groups of people at once or they can be segmented.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Broadcasts link.

mceclip16.png

 

Step 2: The Broadcasts page will be displayed, which shows a list of all Newsletters and API Triggered Broadcasts. To develop a new broadcast, select the Create Broadcast button.

mceclip15.png

 

Step 3: On the Create Broadcast page, you can enter the following information to fulfill the needs for the Recipients process flow:

mceclip7.png

  • Name - Input the name of the Broadcast that you are creating.
  • Choose a Broadcast Type - There are two types for you to use:
    • Newsletter - Allows for a single message to be (e.g., Product Updates, Terms-Of-Service, Policy Changes, One-Time Promotions, etc.) communicated to customers.
    • Messages Triggered via API - Allows messages to be sent to groups of people (e.g., Event Reminders, Topic-Specific Alerts, etc.).
  • Tags - This dropdown allows you to choose an existing tag or create a tag for the new broadcast.

Once the information on this page has been provided, select the Create Broadcast button to continue and complete the Recipients portion of the process flow.

NOTE: For demonstration purposes, the "Newsletter" option is selected.

mceclip17.png

 

Step 3: The next step, which determines the Content, there are two options available for the section labeled Who should receive this newsletter?:

mceclip8.png

  • Segment - The recipients in a created segment (data-drive or manual) would receive the information.
  • Everyone - All recipients in the subscriber list would receive the information.

After picking one of the options, select the Save & Next button, which is located in the upper-right portion of the screen. 

NOTE: For demonstration purposes, the "Everyone" option was selected.

mceclip18.png

mceclip19.png

 

Step 5: In the next screen, the Email option is chosen from the Channel section of the Message window, and the Broadcast name appears in the field below the selected item. Select the Broadcast name (i.e., "Xmas Email" in the screenshot) to begin building the content.

mceclip20.png

 

Step 6: The next page opens to handle Choose your email's starting place. To begin from scratch, there are a couple of options of concern, which are as follows:

  • Drag-and-Drop - Provides a builder to be utilized for email content construction.
  • Rich Text - Provides a combination of text and code, which provides extensive flexibility in email content construction.
  • Code - Allows for HTML code development for email content construction. 

There are also templates of previously designed emails located at the bottom of the page if desired.

NOTE: For demonstration purposes, "Drag-and-drop" is selected because it is the most common method.

mceclip21.png

 

Step 7: After selecting Drag & Drop, the content builder page appears. Within the page is the Content tab, which is where you create your email messaging. To create the email content in this section, there are the following options available on the right side:

  • Content - Contains objects (e.g., Text, Image, Button, Video, etc.) that can be customized into the email design.

mceclip23.png

  • Rows - Contains various methods to layout the way that content appears along rows on the email design (i.e., one single row, segments of a row, etc.).

mceclip24.png

  • Settings - Contains general settings to help with content or layout design (i.e., font type, font alignment, content alignment, etc.).

mceclip25.png

NOTE: Rows are placed in the Content section of the email design first, followed by the Content objects to populate it, and finally, the Settings options are used to control the appearance of the content.

By using a combination of the three options, emails can be constructed in a visual style that is easy to make. The upcoming steps describe how to use these options to create an email.

mceclip22.png

 

Step 7: During the construction of an email, you would start by laying out the rows that the content would be positioned in. Using the Rows section, drag and drop the desired rows into position on the Content section of the email. 

mceclip26.png

 

Step 8: After the Rows have been laid out in the email content section, the next step is to layout and define the Content that will be used. As before, you will drag and drop the content objects over the sectioned rows where they will reside.

NOTE: In the screenshot below, the colors correspond to the drag and dropped content object and where they were positioned over the sectioned rows.

mceclip27.png

 

Step 9: After positioning all of the content objects, you can click on an individual object to bring up repositioning and editing features. In the screenshots below, the Content Objects in each example are selected for editing. Also, the properties within the Content tab reflect changes that can be made to the selected object as well.

 

Example: Title content type

mceclip29.png

 

Example: Button content type

mceclip30.png

 

Example: Image content type

mceclip31.png

 

Example: Text content type

mceclip33.png

 

Step 10: Once all changes have been made to the Content Objects on the email, click the Preview button.

mceclip0.png

 

Step 11: The Preview screen will appear, showing how the email will appear, with information placed as selected. Conveniently, you can click on one of the two icons for the preview email as a desktop or mobile version (located just below the Preview button). On the left side of the page, various information about customers or segments will have sample data there. Also, if there are any errors that need to be corrected, you can select the Review Errors button to view and handle any fixes (i.e., issues, link errors, etc.) needed.

mceclip4.png

 

Step 12: In the far right corner of the page is the Actions dropdown that can be selected to allow for you to use the Send test... function, which will send a test email for you to see what the customer will see.

NOTE: When you are completed with your updates and ready to move forward, select the Save button, which will be located in the upper-right corner of the screen. This will complete the Content portion.

mceclip5.png

 

Step 13: The next step of the Broadcast creation process is the Goal process flow step, which allows you to a) set goals for all of your emails and b) track the success of campaigns over time through monitoring of clickthroughs. Within the Goal page, there are two sets of options as follows:

mceclip9.png

  • Goal: (two options available)
    • Define Goal - When this option is defined, the system will monitor the campaign for the defined action to occur and mark it as a success once it occurs. 
    • Skip Goal - This option disables the tracking of defined goals.
  • Tracking: (two options available)
    • Track - This option allows you to track clicks and opens that occur through the campaign.
    • Do Not Track - This option disables the ability to track actions through the campaign.

NOTE: Once you have defined the terms of your Goal, be sure to select the Save button in the upper-right corner of the screen to continue. This will complete the Goal section.

mceclip6.png  

Step 14: To complete the Broadcast creation process, the final step is the Review process flow step, which allows you to review all of your edits and determine whether you would like to schedule or send the information immediately.

mceclip10.png

The page will provide a review (and list any missing/incorrect items) of each section done during the Broadcast creation process; at the bottom will be the means by which you can choose when to deliver it.

mceclip11.png

 

 

Campaigns

The Campaigns page is where Email automation (e.g., creation of Birthday emails) occurs. The campaigns are workflows of multiple messages which adapt to and send in response to user or data behavior.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Campaigns link.

mceclip12.png

 

Step 2: The Campaigns page will be displayed, which shows a list of all campaigns for the current customer. The campaigns can be filtered to drill down to specific criteria. To develop a new campaign, select the Create Campaign button.

mceclip14.png

 

Step 3: The Create Campaign page will open, providing the means to enter the following:

  • Name - A field containing the name of the new campaign.
  • Description - A field describing the purpose of the new campaign.
  • Tags - A dropdown containing metadata tags that can be used to identify the new campaign. 

NOTE: When the information has been completed, select the Create Campaign button to continue.

mceclip15.png

 

Step 4: The What Triggers this Campaign? page opens, beginning with the Trigger process flow section.

mceclip16.png

 

All campaigns require a trigger point that will pull a customer into the workflow so that they can receive an email. To achieve this, there are two sections displayed on this page that you can use to define triggers for the campaign:

  • People - There are four options to define triggers; they each have their own, unique criteria and filters that allow you to indicate the trigger points by which an email is sent for a campaign:
    • A person meets conditions - The campaign is triggered when a customer reaches a specific condition that is defined by a segment (e.g., a customer places their 3rd order, reaches a new loyalty tier or visits a specific location).
    • A person performs an event - The campaign is triggered when a customer executes a specific event occurring (e.g., a customer places an order or adds a product to their cart).
    • A specific time - The campaign is triggered based upon a defined, time-based occurrence (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, etc.).
    • A person submits a form - The campaign is triggered when a customer fills out and submits a form (e.g., use this type of campaign to send messages to new leads and try to convert them to customers or users).

       

  • Data:
    • Data arrives via webhook - When a campaign is set up, and you select this option, you'll receive a webhook URL, which will be provided to the service that you need to collect data from. The campaign runs whenever this URL is called upon. 

NOTE: Once the triggers have been determined, select the Save button in the upper-right corner, which will conclude the Trigger process flow section.

mceclip20.png

 

Step 5: The Build section will open, which allows you to develop the process flow for the campaign; this occurs within the Workflow step.

mceclip17.png

 

There are four sections that allow you to build the workflow for your campaign (by using drag-and-drop), which are as follows:

  • Messages - Contains objects that communicate to the customers (i.e., Email, Push Notifications, etc.).
    • Email - Initially, only Email is set up by Lunchbox.
    • Push Notifications - Not initially set up by Lunchbox; however, they are available for use through the Lunchbox Admin Dashboard.
    • SMS - Not initially set up by Lunchbox; however, if a customer wants to use SMS marketing, Customer.io has a partnership with Twilio. The customer would have to sign up with Twilio and connect the account in Customer.io, which incurs an extra fee based on the selected package.
    • Slack Messages - Not initially set up by Lunchbox; however, it can be set up if their team uses it despite this option being rarely used.
  • Data - Contains objects that manipulate data for customers (i.e., Attribute Update, Manual Segment Update, etc.).
  • Delays - Objects that control when an action occurs for the process (i.e., Wait Until..., Time Delay, etc.).
  • Flow Control - Objects that allow for conditionals to occur (i.e., True/False Branch, Multi-Split Branch, etc.).

mceclip21.png

 

Step 6: You can drag-and-drop objects into the sequence based upon your needs for the campaign flow. 

mceclip22.png

 

Step 7: Each object can be clicked on, which results in a window appearing on the left, allowing you to change the options for that object as well as manipulate functions of certain objects (i.e., adding content to emails, adding attribute details, etc.). As any object has updated information input, select the Save button to confirm your changes, the Duplicate button to copy the current object, or you can choose to delete the object as well by selecting the Delete button.

NOTE: When the workflow build has been complete, select the Next button in the upper-right corner; this will complete the Workflow process flow section.

mceclip23.png 

Step 8: The Goal & Exit process step will begin, which allows you define your goals during the campaign, if needed, as well as how to exit the campaign workflow. 

mceclip18.png

 

There are two sections in the Goal & Exit section, which are as follows:

  • Conversion Goal - Allows you to measure the performance of your campaign by setting a conversion goal; there are two options for this:
    • Define Goal - Conditions can be defined that will provide a means to measure the success of the campaign.
    • Skip Goal - Disables the ability to define and use goals.
  • Exit the Campaign - This section defines when the workflow ends by way of the exit process being defined.

NOTE: Once you have defined and set the options, select the Save & Next button to complete the Goal & Exit process flow section.

mceclip24.png

 

Step 9: The Review process step will begin, which allows you review all of your campaign settings.

mceclip19.png

 

The Review page will provide a review of each section done during the Campaign creation process; at the bottom will be the Start Campaign button that you can select to begin using the campaign that you have designed.

mceclip25.png

 

 

Analysis

The Analysis page allows you to perform analytics on email campaigns as well as provide insight on specific reporting criteria as needed.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Analysis link.

mceclip26.png

 

Step 2: The Analysis page opens, allowing you to view, analyze and compare data/metrics across the entire workspace. You can filter information by selecting the type (Campaigns, Newsletters, API-Triggered Broadcasts, etc.) as well as manage/select Tags. The Results section, at the bottom of the page, will display the results of the filtered information. You can select from any of the items listed to display the information on that topic.

NOTE: The Export button, located in the upper-right corner, can be selected to export the information.

mceclip28.png

 

Step 3: After clicking on a result from the previous step, all information is available on that item for analysis. The menu bar provides information from all aspects on the topic, which includes:

  • Overview - A generalized overview of the item is provided, allowing for filtering and a various details on the selected item.
  • Metrics - Various metrics are provided including graphs, top-clicked links, and message metrics.
  • Workflow - Displays the workflow, allowing for any needed edits or reviews.
  • Trigger - Revisits any triggers, allowing for changes as needed.
  • Goal & Exit - Displays the goals and exit plans for the selected item.
  • A/B Tests - Allows you to review and change any A/B Tests defined in the process.
  • Drafts - Displays any draft email messages. 
  • Sent - Displays all sent email messages.
  • Journeys - Displays customers that you can click on to review their movement through the campaign process.

mceclip29.png

 

 

Dashboard

The Dashboard page provides a high-level view of the account activity, keeping track of various metrics and statistics that are beneficial to the Restaurant Partner.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Dashboard link.

mceclip30.png

 

Step 2: The Dashboard page opens and provides filterable information, conveniently listed in sections that give insight on the currently selected item. Each section within the page contains the ability to view the information in various ways with a multitude of options:

  • Segments - Displays current Segments and how they are progressing.
  • Leaderboard - Shows the leading campaigns of the week.
  • Performance - Shows how open click-through rates are performing.
  • Delivery - Displays the status of deliveries and how they have performed.
  • Tests - Lists tests of the Campaigns or Newsletters. 
  • Links - Shows performance of top links and the quantity of clicks. 

mceclip31.png

 

 

 

Links

Customer.io Support Documentation

 

FAQ

Will all workflows, mailing lists, and segments be migrated over from Campaigner? 

  • Yes, all of the above has been migrated into your new Customer.io accounts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this article helpful?
1 out of 1 found this helpful

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.