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Marketing & Growth Systems

Lifecycle messaging: a message is a decision made at send time

A reminder scheduled three weeks ago doesn't know the customer booked yesterday. Lifecycle messaging sends because of something in the customer's record, and checks the record again at the moment of sending, so a message only goes if it would still make sense to someone reading that record.
Discuss your systemSee four messages and their rules ↓
Furnace tune-up duetrigger: 12 months since last tune-upChecked at send timeC-0388 · R.T.C-0519 · M.O.still duebooked sinceopen issueemail consentquiet hours✓yes✓no✓none✓yes8:40 pm → wait✓yes✕Oct 6–––sent Oct 8 · 8:00 amcancelled · booked Oct 6

Four messages and what stops them

Each message has a trigger, checks that run at send time, and a condition that ends it.
Tune-up due12 months after the last oneStill due, nothing booked, no open issue, consentThey book, or after two reminders
Plan renewal7 days before it renewsPlan still active, renewal not already paidThey renew or cancel
Welcomethe day after a first jobJob closed, invoice not disputedSent once
Quote follow-up2 days after a quoteQuote still open, no reply sinceThey accept, decline or reply

What every lifecycle message carries

  1. 01

    A trigger

    A change in the record

    Something happened or a date arrived: a job closed, a plan is a week from renewal.

  2. 02

    A state check

    Read again at send time

    The record is read just before sending, not when the message was queued.

  3. 03

    Consent

    Per channel

    Email and text are separate permissions, recorded with when and how they were given.

  4. 04

    A sending window

    Quiet hours

    Nothing goes overnight. A message due at 8:40 pm waits until the morning.

  5. 05

    An end

    Every message stops

    A message that can't stop is a broadcast. Each one names what ends it.

Same reminder, two customers

Emailto R.T. · sent Oct 8, 8:00 am

Hi R.T., your furnace was last tuned up on October 4 last year. Fall is our busiest time, and weekday slots are still open. Book online, or reply with a time that suits you.

Sent after quiet hours

What lifecycle messaging hands off

In

Customer state
jobs, plans, open issues
Consent
per channel, with when
Message rules
trigger, checks, end
Lifecycle messaging
trigger → check → send or stop

Out

Sent messages
logged on the record
Stopped messages
with the reason
Replies
to the right person

Worth building when customers come back

Good fit

  • Customers need you again on a cycle: service, renewals, seasons.
  • Your records know when a job closed and what's booked.
  • You've sent a reminder to someone who'd already booked.

Not the right fit

  • Most customers buy once and never need you again.
  • Jobs and bookings aren't recorded anywhere a system can read.

Where lifecycle messaging is used

Next to lifecycle messaging

Questions about lifecycle messaging

How is this different from a newsletter?

A newsletter goes to everyone on a date. A lifecycle message goes to one person because of something in their record, and is checked again before it sends.

What happens when two messages are due on the same day?

Which one wins is a priority rule across programs, part of marketing automation. Lifecycle messaging decides whether each one should still go at all.

Do we need consent for every message?

You need the permissions required where you operate, recorded per channel. We build the checks; you and your advisers set the rules.

Can it send texts as well as email?

Yes, to customers who've agreed to texts. The same checks run for every channel.