What a trigger is in personalization
A trigger is not simply a show the popup button. It is a formal description of three things:
when (which event or condition), to whom (which segment) and what to do (which action to
take).
Putting those three together is what turns a random interruption into personalization: the same add
to cart trigger can show one thing to a first-time visitor and something else to a loyal customer.
A taxonomy of triggers
By user action:
- Action-based — the visitor did something: viewed a product X times, added to cart, completed a purchase
- Inaction-based — the visitor did not do something: no purchase after N views, no app opens for N days
By where it fires:
- Onsite — events on the site or in the app: scroll depth, time on page, exit intent
- Off-site — external events: a price drop on a wishlisted item, stock coming back
By timing:
- Immediate — fires as soon as the condition is met
- Delayed — fires after a wait, an hour after an add to cart with no purchase, for example
Controlling frequency
With no limits in place, a shopper browsing the catalogue can collect ten popups in a row. A
cooldown mechanism enforces silence after each firing. Beyond the per-rule cooldown you also need
global frequency capping: no more than N communications per session or per day.
Important: an A/B test of display frequency is often worth more than a test of the creative. A
campaign shown half as often can deliver the same result with far less irritation.