In this article, we will go through two new custom fields that we have released in Journey Builder. Instead of creating segments, you can now use the new subscriber fields "Creation date" and "Latest interaction" directly when selecting a trigger for your flows. These fields will make it easier for you to see when your customers, for example, sign up and become a new subscriber, or when your subscribers last interacted with your communications in order to capture those customers who are at risk of leaving.

Before you begin, we recommend that you read, if you are new to this part of the platform, Journey Builder - Introduction, and Journey Builder - Getting Started where we briefly go through how to navigate within this part of the platform and how Journey Builder works.

We will go through and provide examples of how you can use these:

1. Subscriber field Creation date
2. Subscriber field Latest interaction

Subscriber field Creation date

Creation date= when new subscribers come into your Rule account

With this new subscriber field, you can easily create both email and SMS communications to new subscribers or subscribers who come into your Rule account. For example, a welcome email or an onboarding sequence. Previously, you had to create a segment, but now you can communicate with your new customers and select a trigger with just two clicks!

Below, we show an example of how we have used this in our account:

1. Go to Journey Builder
2. Select a segment where you have the majority of your users, whom you want to communicate with!
3. Click here so you can select 'Trigger'

1. Select 'Relative date'
2. Then select the subscriber field 'Creation date' and then save

Then click on the plus sign or enter the number of days you want the communication to be sent. In this case, we want it to be sent on the same day a new customer comes in, so we leave it at "0".

Note that you cannot use a negative value here, i.e. minus days!

Done! Then all you have to do is build on how many emails or SMS campaigns you want in this flow and choose after how many days you want the campaigns to be sent!

Custom fields Latest interaction

Latest interaction= when a subscriber last interacted with your campaigns

With this new custom field, you will easily be able to create campaigns to try to win back those customers that you are about to lose, because they have not interacted with you. Previously, you had to create segments, but now you can communicate with the customers who have not chosen to open your campaigns with just two clicks!

Below we show an example of how we ourselves have used this new release in our account

1. Click on the icon to enter the Journey view
2. Choose a segment where you have the most of your subscribers, that you want to communicate to!
3. Click here so you can choose your trigger

1. Choose 'Relative date'
2. Then choose the custom field 'Latest interaction' and then save

Then click on the plus sign or fill in after how many days you want the campaign to be sent. In this case, we want the campaign to be sent after 5, 14 and 20 days after our customers have not interacted with us!

Note that you cannot use a negative value here, so no negative days!

Done! Then all you have to do is build on how many emails or SMS campaigns you want in this flow and choose after how many days you want the campaigns to be sent!

PS. Here you can learn more about segmentation in marketing!