Customer.io Primary Workflow

Overview

Implement Customer.io's primary messaging workflow: identify users, track events, and trigger automated campaigns.

Prerequisites

• Customer.io SDK configured
• Campaign/workflow created in Customer.io dashboard
• Understanding of your user lifecycle events

Instructions

Step 1: Define User Lifecycle Events

// events/user-events.ts
export const USER_EVENTS = {
  // Onboarding
  SIGNED_UP: 'signed_up',
  EMAIL_VERIFIED: 'email_verified',
  PROFILE_COMPLETED: 'profile_completed',
  FIRST_LOGIN: 'first_login',

  // Engagement
  FEATURE_USED: 'feature_used',
  CONTENT_VIEWED: 'content_viewed',
  SEARCH_PERFORMED: 'search_performed',

  // Conversion
  TRIAL_STARTED: 'trial_started',
  SUBSCRIPTION_STARTED: 'subscription_started',
  UPGRADE_COMPLETED: 'upgrade_completed',
  PURCHASE_COMPLETED: 'purchase_completed',

  // Churn Risk
  INACTIVE_WARNING: 'inactive_warning',
  SUBSCRIPTION_CANCELLED: 'subscription_cancelled',
  ACCOUNT_DELETED: 'account_deleted',
} as const;

export type UserEvent = typeof USER_EVENTS[keyof typeof USER_EVENTS];

Step 2: Implement Event Tracking Service

// services/customerio-service.ts
import { TrackClient, RegionUS } from '@customerio/track';
import { USER_EVENTS, UserEvent } from '../events/user-events';

interface User {
  id: string;
  email: string;
  firstName?: string;
  lastName?: string;
  plan?: string;
}

export class CustomerIOService {
  private client: TrackClient;

  constructor() {
    this.client = new TrackClient(
      process.env.CUSTOMERIO_SITE_ID!,
      process.env.CUSTOMERIO_API_KEY!,
      { region: RegionUS }
    );
  }

  // Called on user signup
  async onSignup(user: User): Promise<void> {
    await this.client.identify(user.id, {
      email: user.email,
      first_name: user.firstName,
      last_name: user.lastName,
      created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
      plan: 'free',
      onboarding_status: 'started'
    });

    await this.track(user.id, USER_EVENTS.SIGNED_UP, {
      signup_source: 'web',
      signup_date: new Date().toISOString()
    });
  }

  // Called when email is verified
  async onEmailVerified(userId: string): Promise<void> {
    await this.updateUser(userId, {
      email_verified: true,
      email_verified_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
    });
    await this.track(userId, USER_EVENTS.EMAIL_VERIFIED);
  }

  // Called on subscription change
  async onSubscriptionStarted(userId: string, plan: string): Promise<void> {
    await this.updateUser(userId, {
      plan,
      subscription_started_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
    });
    await this.track(userId, USER_EVENTS.SUBSCRIPTION_STARTED, { plan });
  }

  // Generic tracking method
  async track(userId: string, event: UserEvent, data?: Record<string, any>): Promise<void> {
    await this.client.track(userId, {
      name: event,
      data: {
        ...data,
        timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
      }
    });
  }

  // Update user attributes
  async updateUser(userId: string, attributes: Record<string, any>): Promise<void> {
    await this.client.identify(userId, attributes);
  }
}

export const cioService = new CustomerIOService();

Step 3: Integrate with Application

// routes/auth.ts
import { cioService } from '../services/customerio-service';

app.post('/signup', async (req, res) => {
  const user = await createUser(req.body);

  // Fire and forget - don't block signup on analytics
  cioService.onSignup({
    id: user.id,
    email: user.email,
    firstName: user.firstName,
    lastName: user.lastName
  }).catch(err => console.error('Customer.io error:', err));

  res.json({ user });
});

app.post('/verify-email', async (req, res) => {
  const userId = await verifyEmailToken(req.body.token);

  cioService.onEmailVerified(userId)
    .catch(err => console.error('Customer.io error:', err));

  res.json({ success: true });
});

Step 4: Create Dashboard Campaign

In Customer.io Dashboard:

1. Go to Campaigns > Create Campaign
2. Select trigger: Event "signed_up"
3. Add workflow steps:
   • Wait 1 day
   • Send welcome email
   • Wait 3 days
   • Branch: if email_verified = false, send reminder
   • Continue nurture sequence

Output

• User lifecycle event definitions
• Customer.io service integration
• Application route integration
• Campaign workflow triggering

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Event not triggering	Wrong event name	Match exact event name in dashboard
User not receiving	Missing email attribute	Ensure email is set on identify
Duplicate sends	Multiple event fires	Deduplicate or use idempotency

Resources

• Customer.io Campaigns
• Trigger Events

Next Steps

After implementing primary workflow, proceed to customerio-core-feature for advanced features.