Rule: Welcome New

Welcome a member the moment they join — land the first weeks before RFM even scores them

Works without the Smart Segmentation add-on

This playbook fires on Joins the program, not on an RFM tag, so it works with or without the Smart Segmentation add-on, which is where RFM comes from. You only need the add-on to follow new members by segment, for example to see how many move on to Promising or Loyal.

Cheat sheet — a Rule, ~5 minutes

Step 1 — Pick Rule, name it Welcome New.

Step 2 — Trigger: Joins the program.

Step 3 — Stack two actions:

• Send asset → welcome Gift (a reason to come back a second time).
• Send SMS / email → welcome template.

Step 4 — Save, set Active.

Fires once, at registration — immediately, not waiting for the nightly RFM run. This is how you act on the New segment.

This playbook builds a Rule that welcomes every new member the instant they register and gives them a concrete reason to come back. It's the RFM New segment's playbook — but with a twist worth understanding: you trigger it on joining, not on the RFM:New tag, because the welcome needs to land at the door, not the morning after.

What you'll build

The moment a member completes registration, this Rule:

1. Fires on the Joins the program trigger.
2. Sends a welcome Gift (a first-visit-back incentive) and a message that says hello and explains the program in one line.
3. Fires exactly once per member — there's no "re-register" event.

Why Joins the program, not the RFM:New tag

The New segment is your just-joined members — welcome them at the door

A member is in the New segment because they're too recent — or have too little activity — for RFM to score them yet. They're tagged RFM:New on the next nightly run, but that's hours after they signed up. A welcome that lands the next morning has already missed the moment.

So the right trigger for a welcome is Joins the program, which fires the instant the member is created. The RFM:New tag and this Rule are two views of the same population — "members we haven't scored yet" — approached from the two ends: the tag lets you filter New members; the Joins trigger lets you greet them in real time. For onboarding, greet them.

When to use this

Use it the day you turn on member registration, RFM or not — every program wants a welcome. It earns its place in the RFM set because the New segment's whole job is the onboarding window: a New member who moves into Promising or Loyal is a win; one who slides to Lost without ever passing through Promising tells you the welcome didn't land.

Before you start

2 prerequisites — a welcome Gift and a welcome template

• A welcome Gift exists under Benefits → Gifts. The job of this Gift is to earn a second visit — a free item or a meaningful discount on the next purchase, with an expiry short enough to create a reason to return soon. See Gifts.
• A welcome message template exists under Comm. Templates. An SMS for immediacy, an email if you want room to explain the program. Say hello, explain how the program works in a sentence, and point at the welcome Gift.

Walkthrough

Smart Campaigns live under Marketing → Smart campaigns. Click Create campaign.

Step 1 — Campaign details

Pick Rule, name it Welcome New, and record the intent in the description.

Step 2 — When (trigger + audience)

• Trigger: Joins the program — fires once per member at account creation.
• Audience — leave as all registered members. (You can narrow by registration source / channel in the trigger's conditions if you want a different welcome for app vs in-store sign-ups — see Variations.)
• Timing — At any date and time.

Step 3 — Actions

Action 1 — Send asset → your welcome Gift, Quantity 1, No delay.

Action 2 — Send SMS (or Send email) → your welcome template, No delay.

Step 4 — Preview

Confirm Kind is Rule, trigger reads Joins the program, two actions. Save, then Active.

Variations

3 common tweaks — by channel, a second-visit nudge, email-first

A different welcome by sign-up channel. Use Split into several cases on step 3, branching on the registration source (app, in-store, partner). An app sign-up might get a push-friendly welcome; an in-store sign-up an SMS. The trigger is the same; the cases differ.

Bridge New → Promising with a second-visit nudge. A New member's first return is the make-or-break moment. Consider a follow-up Rule that fires on their first Makes a purchase after joining, with a small "two more visits to your reward" punch-card nudge — moving them toward Promising. (See the Punch card playbook for the mechanic.)

Email-first for richer onboarding. If you have room to explain the program properly, lead with a Send email and keep the SMS as a short nudge. Email templates are built in Comm. Templates.

Gotchas

3 things that commonly trip people up

• Send the welcome once. Joins the program fires a single time per member — good. Don't also build a second welcome on Tagged → RFM:New, or members get greeted twice.
• Paused means missed. Members who register while the Rule is Paused don't get a welcome and aren't caught up on resume.
• Watch the transition, not the send. Success isn't "welcome delivered" — it's New members moving into Promising or Loyal. If they're going straight to Lost, the welcome Gift isn't pulling them back for a second visit.