Build Your First Automation

Overview

Automations in FluteOS let you build "if this, then that" guest journeys that run continuously without manual intervention. This guide walks through building a post-visit follow-up automation — a guest scans a QR experience, waits 2 hours, then receives a personalized SMS with their loyalty balance. It's one of the most effective automations for driving repeat visits.

Prerequisites

• At least one published QR experience (see QR Experiences)
• At least one active SMS sender number (check Settings > Communications)
• (Optional) An active loyalty program for the loyalty balance variable to resolve

---

Steps

1. Open the Automation Builder

Go to Brand Activations > Automations > New Automation.

2. Name your automation

Give it a descriptive name. Example: Post-Visit Follow-Up — QR Scan.

3. Set the trigger

Click Select Trigger and choose what starts this journey:

• Guest scans a QR Experience — Choose a specific experience from the dropdown, or select "Any experience" to fire for all scans.

For this walkthrough, select Guest scans a QR Experience and choose your main tableside or welcome QR experience.

4. Add a delay

Click Add Step > Delay and set it to 2 hours. This prevents the follow-up from feeling immediate and intrusive. The automation will wait 2 hours after the trigger fires before continuing.

5. Add an SMS action

Click Add Step > Send SMS.

Write your message:

Thanks for visiting {{brand_name}} tonight, {{first_name}}!
You have {{loyalty_balance}} points.
Earn 100 more for a free cocktail on us.

Available variables:

• {{first_name}} — Guest's first name
• {{brand_name}} — Your venue name
• {{loyalty_balance}} — Current loyalty point balance
• {{opt_out_link}} — Opt-out link (auto-appended if not included)

6. Add a condition (optional)

To avoid sending to guests who have already opted out or don't have SMS opt-in, click Add Condition before the SMS step:

• Condition: SMS opt-in is true
• If false: Skip this step

FluteOS automatically respects opt-out records, but explicit conditions make your logic clear and auditable.

7. Add a follow-up step (optional)

To extend the journey, add a second branch. Example: if the guest doesn't visit again within 14 days, send a re-engagement message.

1. Click Add Step > Delay → set to 14 days.
2. Click Add Step > Condition: Last visit date is more than 14 days ago.
3. If true: Click Add Step > Send SMS with a re-engagement message and offer.
4. If false: Click Add Step > End journey (guest visited — no follow-up needed).

8. Review the automation flow

The visual builder shows your full journey as a flowchart. Review:

• Trigger → Delay → Condition → SMS
• Confirm delays, conditions, and message content are correct

9. Activate the automation

Click Activate. The automation is now live. Any guest who triggers the condition going forward will enter this journey automatically.

Tip: Automations do not retroactively apply to past events. A guest who scanned the QR before you activated the automation will not enter it.

10. Monitor performance

Go to Brand Activations > Automations and click your automation name. The detail page shows:

• Total guests who entered the journey
• Step completion rates (how many guests reached each step)
• SMS delivery and click rates
• Guests currently in-flight (waiting on a delay)

---

Common Automation Templates

Name	Trigger	Best use
Post-visit follow-up	QR scan	Repeat visits and loyalty engagement
Birthday reward	Guest birthday	Loyalty milestones and LTV
Re-engagement	Churn risk = High	Win-back campaigns
New guest welcome	First scan	Onboarding and loyalty enrollment
Loyalty milestone	Points threshold	Redemption encouragement

See Brand Activations for the full automation builder documentation including multi-channel actions and branching logic.

---

What's Next

• Set Up a Loyalty Program
• Create Your First Campaign
• Brand Activations