I am seeking to build an automation that leads customers through a registration process (this would rely on tags like “Not Registered” and “Registered”). We are a healthcare service (genetic testing), and our orders come through our customers’ healthcare providers. My complication arises when multiple orders are made using the same email (contact), particularly when parents order tests for themselves AND their children but the parent uses only their email for each order.
I would do the same as a parent, but suddenly parent@email.com has multiple orders, and I’m not sure the best automation route to properly tag “Registered” for each order in these cases. I’m looking to setup a “Registered” process for a contact who actually represents multiple people, and I would guess I’m not the only marketer with a similar need.
How have you creatively solved for these situations? Do you set each order up as a custom field (e.g. Order 1, Order 2, Order 3, Order 4, Order 5, etc.) and created tags for each custom field “Order” number? Do you create a new contact altogether for each additional person with a fake email and revert their emails somehow back to the originator’s email?
Hi Cam, Abbie from ActiveCampaign here! Great question, and definitely a use case I’ve come across before so I’d like give you a few recommendations in case one will work well for you and your team!
Essentially, we use the email address as a unique identifier. Because of this, we need to either find a way to apply a registered status to a single contact several times, or we need to create unique contacts we can update. Most customers do go that route - you can typically create unique contacts that flow back to the original email using parent+1@email.com, parent+2@email.com and so on - this will allow you to use tags to track unique contacts and individuals. Depending on your plan, you may also want to consider using deals (one deal per order, with one contact having several deals) or custom objects. If you do explore either of those options, you would likely need to update your current processes, as you would want to track the registered status on the deal or object rather than the contact.
@marketingcam I work with some clients who have the parent / child issue. I was able to address this MOST of the time by updating the form that is the main path into AC; then I use that info to determine if I need to create separate deals. In your case, could you add a field or two to your order form?
If your contacts are created primarily via orders, then I’d try creating new deals for each order.
I’m not aware of any email CRM that does the parent + child thing well.