Trigger
A trigger is the event that starts an automation. In messaging, common triggers are "contact tagged," "webhook received," "newsletter signup," "24 hours before appointment," or "contact replies for the first time." Without a trigger, no flow runs.
What is a trigger?
A trigger is the defined event that kicks off an automation. Triggers are the entry point of every flow — they tell the system: "When this happens, do the following."
Every trigger has two parts: an event (what happens) and optionally a condition (under which circumstances the system reacts). Example: event = "tag added," condition = "tag = 'VIP'". Only both together fire the trigger.
Trigger types
| Type | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Event trigger | Reacts to a system event | Tag added, conversation closed |
| Schedule trigger | Time-based — one-off or recurring | Every Monday at 9am, once on June 15 |
| Webhook trigger | External system calls a SendSeven URL | Shopify order, CRM stage change |
| Time-relative trigger | Relative to a date on the contact | 24h before appointment, 7 days after signup |
| Manual | Agent fires from inside a conversation | "Drop this contact into the reactivation flow" |
Trigger examples from SMB life
- Newsletter signup: Trigger starts a welcome flow with three messages over 7 days.
- Shopify order: Webhook trigger starts an order-confirmation flow + 5-day cross-sell.
- Tag "Awaiting demo" added: Event trigger starts a reminder flow.
- Appointment in 24 hours: Schedule trigger starts a reminder chain WhatsApp → SMS fallback → call request.
- Conversation without reply for 7 days: Event trigger starts a follow-up flow.
- Customer replies for the first time: Trigger sets the tag "active" and starts a service onboarding flow.
Triggers and idempotency
An important property: the same trigger should not fire the flow multiple times if the event arrives multiple times for technical reasons (e.g., webhook retry after a brief network glitch). Good flow engines detect this via an event ID and ignore duplicates.
Conditions on triggers
Triggers can be filtered so that not every tag change fires the flow:
- Audience filter: Only contacts tagged "EU region."
- Frequency capping: Maximum once every 7 days per contact.
- Business-hours filter: Fire only Mon–Fri 9–6, defer otherwise.
- Exclusion: Don't fire if another flow is already running.
When multiple triggers start a flow
Some flows have multiple possible entry points. A reactivation flow could start either on "60 days of inactivity" or on "contact unsubscribed from newsletter." That's clean as long as both triggers reasonably lead to the same action. If not, build two separate flows.
Trigger vs. workflow start
Triggers start individual flows. A workflow is a broader business-process definition that can include several flows plus human steps. A trigger starts a flow — a workflow is the choreography of flows and manual actions.
Triggers at SendSeven
In the SendSeven Flow Builder, the trigger is the first node of the flow. Available types: tag trigger, webhook trigger, schedule trigger, manual trigger from the conversation view. Each trigger can carry additional filter conditions, and the validator checks at publish time whether the trigger config is sensible.