Tracking customer engagement with custom property engagement_score

Hey ​@KristianZdrav,

I like that plan, but unfortunately, a setup like this isn’t currently possible at the moment. 

You are able to add/update profile properties through the “Profile Property Update” action in a flow, but the blocker comes from the fact that you can’t add to number-based profile properties using this method. For example, if you have a number property called “Engagement Score”, and use a Profile Property Update action in a flow to add 5, then everyone who hit that step in the flow will have their Engagement Score turn to 5, rather than having 5 added to their current value.

Because of this, I’d recommend creating segments based on recent engagement instead. These segments will update automatically, and can have the added benefit of factoring in recent engagement, where a number property like Engagement Score would not (because somebody could have a very high engagement score from engaging in the distant past, even if they haven’t engaged recently).

The way you define these segments are up to you, but the below segment definition could be considered a highly engaged segment: 

A definition like this could be considered a moderately engaged segment: 

 The benefit of using segments is that they can factor in recency, while also counting the number of times people have engaged in a certain time frame. Having a profile property that can only increase doesn’t have the ability to do this. 

After you make these segments, and people begin interacting with your emails, you’ll see them enter the segments, and you can plan your campaigns accordingly. Does this make sense, or work for you? 

Got it, thanks very much for your reply it really means a lot, im new to this, so im figuring my way around :) 

Thanks agian

Of course! It's great that you're thinking about building a sophisticated welcome series to qualify your leads. This is an excellent way to personalize your marketing efforts and ensure you're sending the right content to the right people.

To answer your questions directly:

1. Is creating an engagement-scoring welcome series possible in Klaviyo?

Yes, what you've described is absolutely possible to build in Klaviyo. You can use a combination of custom profile properties, conditional splits, and flow actions to create a welcome series that scores your new subscribers based on their engagement.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can set this up:

Step 1: The Flow Trigger

Your flow will be triggered when someone is added to your main list, just as you planned.

Step 2: Initialize the engagement_score

Immediately after the trigger, add an "Update Profile Property" action to the flow.[1]

• Create a new custom property: Call it engagement_score.

• Set the data type: Choose "Number".[1]

• Set the initial value: Set it to 0.

Now, every person who enters your welcome series will have an engagement_score of 0 on their profile.

Step 3: The Engagement Scoring Emails

For each email in your welcome series, you will add a series of conditional splits after a time delay to check for engagement.

• Email 1: After your first email and a suitable time delay (e.g., 1 day), add a Conditional Split. The condition should be "What someone has done (or not done)" -> "Opened Email" where the email is the one you just sent.[2]

  • YES Path (Opened Email): If they opened the email, add another "Update Profile Property" action. This time, you will update the engagement_score to a new value. For example, update it to 5.

  • NO Path (Did Not Open): They will continue down the "No" path without a score update.

• Click Scoring: After the "Opened Email" check, you can add another Conditional Split on the YES path. The condition should be "What someone has done (or not done)" -> "Clicked Email" where the email is the same one.

  • YES Path (Clicked Email): If they also clicked the email, add another "Update Profile Property" action. You can now update the engagement_score to 10 (since they both opened and clicked).

You can repeat this structure for each email in your series, updating the engagement_score to higher values as they continue to engage.

Step 4: The Final Conditional Split and List Sorting

At the end of your welcome series, add a final Conditional Split. This split will check the final engagement_score on the user's profile.[3]

• Condition 1: "Properties about someone" -> engagement_score is greater than or equal to a value you consider "highly engaged" (e.g., 15).

  • YES Path: Add an "Update List" action to add these profiles to your "Highly Engaged" list.[4]

• Condition 2 (on the "NO" path of the first split): "Properties about someone" -> engagement_score is between two values you consider "moderately engaged" (e.g., 5 and 14).

  • YES Path: Add an "Update List" action to add these profiles to your "Moderately Engaged" list.[4]

• The Final "NO" Path: Anyone who doesn't meet the above criteria will be on the final "No" path, and you can add them to a "Low Engagement" list.

2. What are some other solutions to qualify leads in a welcome series?

While your engagement scoring idea is excellent, here are some other popular and effective methods used to qualify leads within Klaviyo:

• Segmentation Based on Engagement Tiers: Instead of a numerical score, many marketers create dynamic segments of their audience. For instance, you could have a "Highly Engaged" segment of people who have opened or clicked an email in the last 30 days.[5] You can then use these segments to send targeted campaigns.

• Progressive Profiling with Link Clicks: You can use link clicks to learn about a subscriber's interests. For example, an email might have links to "Men's Apparel" and "Women's Apparel." By tracking who clicks which link, you can update a custom profile property like "interest" and tailor future content accordingly.[6][7]

• Behavior-Based Conditional Splits: You can use conditional splits to send different content based on a user's browsing behavior or purchase history. For example, you can check if a new subscriber has viewed a certain product category and then send them a targeted email about that category.[8]

• Zero-Party Data Collection: Actively ask your subscribers about their preferences. Your welcome series can include an email that links to a preference center where they can tell you what kind of content they want to receive and how often. This is a very powerful way to get explicit data for personalization.[9]

By implementing your engagement scoring system, you are already ahead of the curve. It's a fantastic way to understand your new subscribers and ensure you are nurturing them effectively from the very beginning.