In the modern digital landscape, sending a generic monthly newsletter isn’t enough to keep your Brisbane business ahead of the competition. Customer Journey Orchestration (CJO) allows you to deliver the right message at exactly the right time based on how a customer interacts with your brand, ensuring no lead falls through the cracks.
By automating these touchpoints, you stop 'blasting' your list and start 'guiding' your audience through a logical path from awareness to advocacy. This guide will show you how to build these sophisticated workflows to scale your personal touch without increasing your workload.
Prerequisites: What You’ll Need
Before you dive into the technical setup, ensure you have the following ready:- An Email Service Provider (ESP) with Automation: Tools like Klaviyo, Mailchimp (Standard plan or higher), or ActiveCampaign.
- Website Tracking: Ensure your ESP’s tracking code (or 'pixel') is installed on your website to monitor behaviour.
- Customer Data: A clean list of subscribers with basic tags (e.g., 'Lead', 'Customer', 'Past Client').
- Goal Clarity: Know exactly what you want the customer to do (e.g., book a consultation, buy a product, or leave a Google review).
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Step 1: Define Your Primary Objective
Every workflow must have a singular goal. Are you trying to welcome a new subscriber? Re-engage a 'ghost' lead? Or upsell a recent purchaser? Attempting to do all three in one workflow leads to confusion. Start with a 'Welcome & Nurture' sequence, as this typically offers the highest Return on Investment (ROI) for Australian SMEs.Step 2: Map the Customer Touchpoints
Grab a piece of paper or use a digital whiteboard like Miro. Map out the 'Happy Path'—the ideal sequence of events. For example:- Customer signs up for a lead magnet.
- Customer receives the download link.
- Customer receives a case study 2 days later.
- Customer books a discovery call.
Screenshot Description: You should see a flowchart with boxes representing emails and diamonds representing 'if/then' decision points.
Step 3: Identify the 'Trigger' Event
The trigger is the 'If this happens...' part of your automation. In your ESP, create a new automation and select your trigger. Common triggers include:- List Joins: When someone signs up via a form.
- Tag Added: When you manually or automatically tag a contact (e.g., 'Downloaded eBook').
- Event-Based: When a customer views a specific page on your site (e.g., your 'Services' page).
Step 4: Set Your Initial Delay
Don't overwhelm the recipient. While the first 'delivery' email should be instant, subsequent steps need 'Time Delays'. For a standard nurture sequence, a 1-day or 2-day delay between educational emails is standard practice in Australia to avoid appearing 'spammy'.Step 5: Draft Your Content with Local Relevance
When writing your emails, use language that resonates with your Brisbane or Australian audience. Avoid overly aggressive 'American-style' sales tactics. Focus on being helpful. If you are a local service provider, mention your service areas or local expertise to build trust.Step 6: Implement Conditional Split Logic
This is where 'Orchestration' differs from simple automation. A 'Conditional Split' asks a question: Has the customer opened the last email? or Is the customer already a paying client?- If Yes: Send them to a more advanced 'Sales' email.
- If No: Send them a 'Reminder' email with a different subject line.
Step 7: Add 'Wait Until' Conditions
Instead of just waiting 24 hours, use 'Wait Until' conditions for better precision. For example, you can set the workflow to wait until a weekday at 9:00 AM AEST. This ensures your emails hit the inbox when your customers are actually at their desks, not at 2:00 AM on a Sunday.Step 8: Configure the 'Goal' Exit Criteria
This is the most forgotten step. If your workflow's goal is to get a lead to book a consultation, you must set an 'Exit Criterion'. As soon as they book that call (and their status changes in your CRM), they should be automatically pulled out of the nurture sequence. Nothing annoys a customer more than receiving a 'Book Now' email five minutes after they’ve already booked.Step 9: Set Up Multi-Channel Touchpoints (Optional but Recommended)
Modern orchestration isn't limited to email. If your platform supports it, add an SMS step for urgent offers, or a 'Webhook' that notifies your sales team in Slack to give the lead a manual follow-up call if they've clicked a high-intent link.Step 10: Test the Workflow Internally
Before going live, use the 'Test' or 'Preview' function. Add your own email address to the trigger list and watch how the emails arrive. Check every link, especially those leading to your booking pages or ABN-verified checkout screens.Step 11: Go Live and Monitor
Activate your workflow. For the first 7 days, check your 'Analytics' tab daily. Look for 'Bounces' or 'Unsubscribes'. If people are unsubscribing at Step 3, your content might be too aggressive or irrelevant.---
Pro Tips for Success
- The 'Rule of One': One email, one clear Call to Action (CTA). Don't ask them to follow you on Instagram, read a blog, and buy a product in the same email.
- Personalisation Tags: Use more than just 'First Name'. Use tags like 'Last Service Type' or 'City' to make the email feel bespoke.
- Optimise for Mobile: Over 60% of Australians check their email on mobile devices. Ensure your buttons are large enough to tap and your text is legible.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Over-Automating: Don't replace human interaction entirely. Use automation to get* to the conversation, not to avoid it.- Ignoring the 'Frequency Cap': If a customer is in three different workflows at once, they might get four emails in one day. Ensure your ESP has 'Global Frequency Capping' turned on.
- Broken Links: Always use UTM parameters on your links so you can track the revenue generated in Google Analytics.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Emails going to Spam: Check your 'Sender Reputation'. Ensure you have authenticated your domain (DKIM/SPF records). If you're unsure how to do this, it’s worth consulting a professional.
- Workflow not triggering: Check your 'Entry Criteria'. If you set it to 'New Subscribers only', existing contacts won't enter the flow even if they meet the other conditions.
- Contacts getting stuck: Check your 'Logic Splits'. Sometimes a filter is too restrictive (e.g., 'City equals Brisbane'—if the user left it blank, they get stuck).
Next Steps
Now that your first journey is live, your next task is to look at A/B Testing. Try testing two different subject lines in Step 2 of your workflow to see which one gets a higher open rate.Building complex journeys can be daunting for busy business owners. If you would like a professional audit of your current email strategy or want us to build these high-converting workflows for you, contact the team at Local Marketing Group.