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Working with Triggers in Workflow Studio

Introduction to Experience and Workflow Studio
Complete overview of the Flow Builder

A Flow is a sequence of nodes designed to execute an automated workflow.

An Experience is a unique journey of an individual recipient through a flow. Experiences are personalised paths shaped by the recipient's specific interactions and responses as they navigate through the nodes of a flow. This ensures that each recipient's engagement is tailored to their actions.

A Trigger is a type of node, defining the conditions that will trigger experiences for the flow. Triggers respond to defined events, such as receiving an inbound message or detecting a change in a CRM system, thereby activating the flow and commencing the sequence of actions.

Event-based triggers

These triggers await events such as incoming messages or system updates.

Inbound Message Trigger

Initiates a flow when a specific SMS message is received. It is configured to recognise predefined keywords or phrases within the text message, facilitating instantaneous engagement with customers.

For a detailed guide, see Inbound Message Trigger Node

Unmatched Message Trigger

Ensures that messages which do not match any active flows, are not lost. This trigger catches and handles all inbound messages that haven't been matched by other active triggers or conversation actions, maintaining a comprehensive customer communication loop.

For a detailed guide, see Unmatched Message Trigger

Webhook Trigger

Listens for data payloads sent from external systems to a specified URL. This trigger is essential for creating responsive workflows that integrate with a variety of external applications or services.

For a detailed guide, see Webhook Trigger

Amazon Kinesis Trigger

Starts a flow based on data received from an Amazon Kinesis stream. Amazon Kinesis is a scalable service from AWS that enables real-time processing of streaming large-scale data, which can be anything from log files to market data. When new data is detected in the stream specified for the trigger, it sets the flow into motion within Pendula.

For a detailed guide, see Amazon Kinesis Trigger

Advanced Integration

Pendula goes beyond basic integrations with a comprehensive Integrations Hub. For scenarios where an out-of-the-box integration is not available, the Studio allows Pendula users to create one-off custom integrations including systems like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zendesk and more.

For access to this feature, please reach out to our sales team who can provide more details and assist with enabling it for your account.

Setting up an event-based trigger

1. Begin by selecting the most suitable event-based trigger within the Flow Builder. Depending on your flow's requirements, you might opt for the Inbound SMS Trigger, Webhook Trigger, or Unmatched Message Trigger.
2. Define the specific conditions that will activate your trigger.
   • For the Inbound SMS Trigger, specify the exact words or phrases within the SMS body that should initiate the flow. This involves creating rules or recipes that can identify specific keywords, phrases, or formatted text such as email addresses or mobile numbers within an incoming message. Each path in the trigger can include multiple rules or recipes. When a reply matches more than one rule, the highest priority path is triggered first. This functionality ensures that every matching inbound message correctly initiates the intended workflow.
   • For the Webhook Trigger, the setup involves configuring the external system to interact with Pendula. This includes supplying the "POST URL" from Pendula, which is crucial for establishing a connection between the external application and the Pendula flow. Additionally, secure this connection by integrating the API key for authentication. While defining the exact JSON payload structure is optional, ensuring these elements are correctly configured is essential for triggering the workflow based on real-time data received from external applications.
   • The Unmatched Message Trigger acts as a catch-all for messages that do not match other triggers, so no explicit conditions are required for it.
3. Once you have defined the conditions, integrate your trigger with the subsequent steps in your flow. Each trigger should be connected to appropriate actions to ensure a cohesive and responsive experience.

All flows require a trigger node. You cannot have more than one trigger node.

You can replace a trigger node but you can’t duplicate or move one.

Deleting the trigger node will delete all nodes in the flow.