Lifecycle automation sends messages triggered by where a contact is in their relationship with you: welcome, onboarding, activation, retention, and win-back.
What good looks like#
- Done: Map the lifecycle stages and the one behavior that defines each transition.
- Done: Build a welcome series first; it has the highest engagement of any automation.
- Done: Add onboarding nudges triggered by inaction (did not complete setup in 3 days).
- Done: Create a win-back series for customers approaching churn signals.
- Done: Review each automation quarterly; stale content erodes trust.
What bad looks like#
- Seen in audits: Automations that keep sending after a contact converts.
- Seen in audits: No suppression between overlapping journeys, causing message pile-ups.
How to move from bad to good#
Work through the good list in order and re-verify after each change. Most teams find one or two items from the bad list already present; fixing those usually produces the largest improvement.
Frequently asked questions#
What automations should I build first?
Welcome series, abandoned action recovery, and post-purchase or post-signup onboarding.