Inactivity Triggers

What Inactivity Triggers Measure

ILLIXIS tracks three types of inactivity:

1. Email Engagement (No Opens/Clicks)

• Days since subscriber opened or clicked any email
• Default threshold: 30 days
• Used for: Re-engagement campaigns, list cleaning

2. Purchase Behavior (No Orders)

• Days since customer placed an order
• Default threshold: 60 days (configurable in Settings)
• Used for: Win-back campaigns, lapsed customer recovery

3. Product Usage (No Logins/Actions)

• Days since user logged in or performed key actions
• Threshold: Configurable per event type
• Used for: SaaS churn prevention, trial re-engagement

Available Inactivity Triggers

No Activity for N Days (Trigger #31)

Fires when a subscriber shows no email engagement for X days.

Configuration:

• Days of inactivity (default: 30)
• Activity types that reset the counter: opens, clicks, or both

Use case: General re-engagement before subscribers go completely cold.

Customer Lapsed (Trigger #36)

Fires when an e-commerce customer hasn't purchased in X days.

Configuration:

• Days since last purchase (default: 60)
• Set custom threshold in Settings > Email Automation > Winback Days

Use case: Win-back campaigns with escalating incentives.

Engagement Status Changed (Trigger #30)

Fires when subscriber moves between engagement tiers: Active > At-Risk > Inactive.

Configuration:

• Define days for each tier transition
• Default: Active (engaged in 30 days), At-Risk (30-60 days), Inactive (60+ days)

Use case: Targeted messaging based on engagement level.

Setting Up an Inactivity Trigger

Step 1: Create the Sequence

1. Go to Email & Automation > Sequences
2. Click Create Sequence
3. Name it (e.g., "30-Day Re-engagement" or "Customer Win-back")

Step 2: Configure the Trigger

1. Click the trigger node in the sequence builder
2. Select trigger type:

• "No Activity for N Days" for email engagement
• "Customer Lapsed" for purchase behavior

3. Set the days threshold
4. Choose activity types that count (if applicable)

Step 3: Set Enrollment Rules

Configure how often subscribers can enter this sequence:

• Once per subscriber: Most common for re-engagement (prevents email fatigue)
• Once per 90 days: Allow re-enrollment if they go inactive again
• Unlimited: Rarely used for inactivity triggers

Step 4: Add Exclusion Rules

Prevent wrong enrollments:

• Exclude if already in another win-back sequence
• Exclude if has tag "do-not-winback"
• Exclude if purchased in last 7 days (for lapsed customer triggers)

Step 5: Build the Sequence

Add your re-engagement emails:

Email 1 (Day 0): Soft check-in

• "We haven't heard from you"
• No discount, just value reminder

Email 2 (Day 3-5): Highlight what's new

• New products, features, or content
• Social proof ("Here's what others are loving")

Email 3 (Day 7-10): Incentive offer

• Discount code or exclusive offer
• Clear expiration date

Email 4 (Day 14): Final message

• "Last chance" urgency
• Option to update preferences or unsubscribe

Configuring Win-back Days

For e-commerce stores, set the default lapsed customer threshold:

1. Go to Settings > Email Automation
2. Find Win-back Days setting
3. Enter days without purchase before triggering (default: 30)
4. Save

This setting applies to the "Customer Lapsed" trigger across all win-back sequences.

Connecting Triggers to Sequences

Using Pipeline Stages

Inactivity can automatically move subscribers to "At Risk" or "Churned" stages:

1. Create stage entry rules in your pipeline
2. Link "No Activity" trigger to stage transition
3. Stage-triggered sequences send appropriate messaging

Chaining Sequences

When one re-engagement sequence ends without success:

1. Add final step: Apply tag "first-winback-failed"
2. Create second sequence triggered by that tag
3. Second sequence uses stronger incentives

Testing Inactivity Triggers

Method 1: Test Subscriber

1. Create test subscriber
2. Set their last_email_opened or last_purchase_date to 31+ days ago
3. Wait for daily trigger check (runs at midnight UTC)
4. Verify enrollment

Method 2: Manual Enrollment

1. Use "Test This Sequence" in builder
2. Preview emails without actual enrollment
3. Verify content personalization

Method 3: Reduce Threshold Temporarily

1. Set threshold to 1 day
2. Create test subscriber with yesterday's last activity
3. Verify enrollment
4. Reset threshold to production value

Common Win-back Sequence Patterns

E-commerce Win-back (Lapsed Customers)

| Day | Email | Content |
|-----|-------|---------|
| 0 | We miss you | Reminder, no offer |
| 3 | What's new | New arrivals since last purchase |
| 7 | 20% off | Discount code, 14-day expiry |
| 14 | Last chance | Final reminder, code expires soon |

SaaS Re-engagement (Inactive Users)

| Day | Email | Content |
|-----|-------|---------|
| 0 | Quick check-in | "Everything okay?" |
| 3 | Feature update | What they're missing |
| 7 | Case study | Success story from similar user |
| 14 | Offer call | Schedule quick chat |

Newsletter Re-engagement

| Day | Email | Content |
|-----|-------|---------|
| 0 | Best of | Top content from last month |
| 5 | Preference update | "Want different content?" |
| 10 | Final email | "Stay or go" choice |

Best Practices

Set appropriate thresholds. 30 days works for most email re-engagement. E-commerce win-back depends on your product cycle (consumables: 30 days, apparel: 60 days, furniture: 180 days).

Escalate gradually. Start with value, not discounts. Lead with "here's what you're missing" before "here's 20% off."

Honor the exit. If someone doesn't respond to your full re-engagement sequence, reduce email frequency or suppress them entirely. Continuing to email inactive subscribers hurts deliverability.

Exclude recent converters. Always exclude subscribers who purchased or engaged in the last 7 days. The trigger check runs daily, so someone might re-engage between trigger fire and first email send.

Test your timing. The "Customer Lapsed" trigger runs once daily at midnight UTC. Account for this when planning first email timing.

Segment by value. High-value lapsed customers might warrant a personal email or phone call, not just an automated sequence. Use conditional splits based on lifetime value.

Related Help Guides

• Email Sequence Triggers - All 40 trigger types
• E-commerce Email Automation - Full e-commerce playbook
• Visual Sequence Builder - Building sequences
• Lead Pipeline Management - Stage-based automation