Build Your Email & SMS Program
Chapter 6: Build the Flows Your Customers Actually Need
A flow should respond to a meaningful customer moment. Start with what happened, what the customer needs next, and what should stop the sequence.
Build around three foundations: welcome, abandonment, and post-purchase. Supporting flows earn their place by solving a specific customer need.
Watch the walkthrough
The strategy behind the flows
Nick explains how flows, campaigns, segmentation, and offers work together.
Section 1
Define the flow before the emails
- Trigger
- What starts the journey?
- Eligibility
- Who should enter?
- Message
- What useful job does each step do?
- Timing
- Why is this the right moment?
- Exit
- What changes make further messages unnecessary?
Section 2
Explore the core flows
Welcome: deliver the signup promise
Make the promised code or benefit easy to use. Use useful signup preferences to show relevant products: a running-shoe shopper should not get a generic shorts-and-socks introduction.
Build trust through the founder story, clear positioning, authentic social proof, and product education. Explain why the brand exists and what makes the product different. Give each message a job rather than imposing a fixed email count.
Welcome
Trigger
A valid new marketing subscription.
Eligibility
Confirm who should enter and check the relevant exclusions.
Message & timing
Deliver the signup promise, explain the brand, and help someone choose.
Exit or end
Stop when the purpose is met or eligibility changes; otherwise end under the documented rule.
Review: Separate the needs of existing customers and people who have never purchased.
Section 3
Example abandonment map
Site abandonment signals a visit without further action; browse abandonment signals a specific product view; cart abandonment signals an added product; checkout abandonment signals someone close to buying. Match the response to the intent, not just the label.
A visit alone does not make someone contactable. Sending requires identification, marketing eligibility, and the right tracked platform event. Check event definitions and prevent overlapping journeys.
Use this four-message starting framework, not a rigid template. Nick’s first reminder is usually within an hour; review that starting point against your account and customer experience. Later waits need their own rationale.
Illustrative structure. Configure events, filters, and timing for your account.
Identified, eligible cart or checkout event
Wait: first reminder usually within an hour; validate for your account
Check purchase and eligibility after the wait
Continue only if no purchase and still eligible; otherwise exit without sending.
Simple reminder: show the product and an easy route back
Wait based on the customer experience
Recheck purchase and eligibility before message 2
Continue only if no purchase and still eligible; otherwise exit without sending.
Address objections: sizing, shipping, quality, or returns
Wait based on the customer experience
Recheck purchase and eligibility before message 3
Continue only if no purchase and still eligible; otherwise exit without sending.
Build confidence: authentic reviews, founder context, or product benefits
Wait; decide whether a fourth touch adds value
Recheck purchase and eligibility before message 4
Continue only if no purchase and still eligible; otherwise exit without sending.
Optional genuine urgency or incentive: only real deadlines or verified stock limits; no mandatory discount
End the sequence
An incentive is optional. Do not automatically teach customers that abandoning checkout earns a discount.
Split new versus returning customers first. New shoppers may need reassurance about fit, quality, returns, or legitimacy; check whether their welcome offer is still unused. Returning customers may need convenience, relevant value, or loyalty context rather than another introduction. Add other splits only when they change the experience.
Watch the walkthrough
Recover sales by removing friction
Give each abandonment touch a different job rather than repeating the reminder.
Section 4
Post-purchase: build confidence before selling again
1. Thank
Recognize purchase history: welcome a first-time buyer, welcome back a second-time buyer, and acknowledge repeat loyalty. These are variants, not three consecutive thank-yous.
2. Educate
Explain use, materials, or care so the customer feels confident in the purchase. Keep the focus on their current product.
3. Recommend
Introduce a relevant next purchase only after delivery and sufficient product experience.
Coordinate with order confirmations, shipping updates, and review requests, including those sent by other systems. Give customers an opportunity to review; submitting a review is not a universal condition for receiving another recommendation.
Nick chose 30 days for the footwear walkthrough so customers had weeks to walk in their shoes, describing that as an early starting point unless testing supported otherwise. This is case-specific—not a mandatory delay for consumables or every category.
Watch the walkthrough
The post-purchase structure
Thank, educate, and then make the next purchase relevant to the experience.
Section 5
Supporting flows: give each one a purpose
Cross-sell: curate the next logical purchase
Enhance the original purchase, solve the next problem, or introduce another relevant part of the brand. Hiking boots might lead to useful socks, equipment for harder hikes, or a suitable outdoor collection. These are opportunities, not a mandatory sequence. Check compatibility, ownership, and product experience.
Watch the walkthrough
Make the next purchase easier
Nick explains three ways to make cross-sell recommendations useful.
- Replenishment: use real consumption patterns, quantities, and subsequent orders—not an arbitrary timer.
- Winback: recognize a meaningful lapse relative to the normal buying cycle and offer a credible reason to return.
- Sunset: reduce ongoing marketing under a documented inactivity and suppression policy; do not rely on machine opens.
Section 6
Coordinate email and SMS
Email can explain and reassure; a concise text can provide a convenient route back. Use SMS only for eligible subscribers when it adds value, not as a copy of every email. Recheck purchase status and eligibility after waits and before every send.
Section 7
Audit before adding
Your flow audit
Saved on this deviceFlow 1
| Audit field | Response |
|---|---|
Closing takeaway
A useful flow is clear about why someone entered, what each message contributes, and when the conversation should stop.
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