The decision node is used to create a branch in your marketing automation program.

Within the decision controls you create a rule, or set of rules; all contacts satisfying the rule(s) will proceed down the 'Yes' route; all others down the 'No' route.

This means that you can send contacts different content according to their behavior and data; send them emails over different timescales; and include or exclude them from your program according to who you want to receive your marketing.

Three types of decision are available:

• Simple contact data decisions
• Simple behavioral decisions
• Advanced (segment builder) view

To choose between the first two, use the radio buttons at the top of the decision controls. To open the advanced (segment builder) view, use the Advanced view button to the top right; you can switch back to the simple view by hitting the same button again.

Simple contact data decisions

You can branch a program based on contact's data (or lack of data) in your various contact data fields.

The rules available are the same as in our segment builder; see the segment builder documentation for available rule types.

Contacts exactly satisfying the rule will proceed down the 'Yes' route; all others down the 'No' route. for example, if the decision was for:

GENDER is equal to 'Male'

Then all contacts with a GENDER data field as 'Male' would go down the 'Yes' program route; contacts with a GENDER data field that is empty, or 'Female', or anything else would go down the 'No' program route.

Simple behavioral decisions

You can branch a program based on contact's data (or lack of data) in your various contact data fields.

Three types of simple behavioral rules can be created. Branching the program based on whether the contact has:

• Opened a specific campaign
• Clicked a specific campaign
• Been sent a specific campaign

Note that this can include campaigns sent not as part of the program, and opens/clicks that occurred before the contact joined the program.

We will select, where possible, the most appropriate campaign (e.g. the campaign sent in the immediately preceding send node).

You can select the campaign you would like to use by clicking on 'select a campaign'. Use the controls to choose between looking at campaigns used in this program or all campaigns, and to search for campaigns.

here is a preview option available to help you work out if it is the campaign you mean.

Advanced (segment builder) view

By opening the Advanced view you will have the option to branch your program using all the options of our segment builder.

This includes behavioral rules, contact data rules, transactional (insight) data rules and address book membership; as well as 'and/or' and 'exclusion' logic.

For these complex branching rules, you can set your own description in the box at the top of the builder — this will be shown as the summary text in the node on the program canvas. For example you might label a decision as "Contact is a high value customer?" or "Contact has engage with at least 1 campaign in our welcome series?".

NEXT:

• Configuring program delays

• Using quantity splits in programs

• Activating and deactivating automated programs