Segments, tags and fields

Fields hold facts about a contact. Tags are simple labels. Segments are saved rules that find contacts by their fields, tags, consent and activity. Use them to choose who gets a broadcast or enters a sequence.

Custom fields

Use a field for a fact you want to filter on or put in a message, such as a city, a plan or a renewal date. Every contact already has Phone, Name, Email and Tags.

1. Go to Contacts → Fields & tags and click New field.
2. Enter the Label. The Key fills in by itself. Imports and the API use the key, and it can't be changed later.
3. Choose the Type: Text, Number, Date, Yes / no, One of a list, Several of a list, Email, Phone number or Link. It can't be changed later either.
4. For a list type, enter the Options, separated by commas.
5. Click Create field.

Values get onto contacts from:

• the contact's page,
• an import,
• a form or Flow question with Save to contact field,
• the Update contact step in a sequence,
• a calendar that saves each booking to the contact (see Bookings).

Delete removes the field's values from every contact. It's refused while a segment uses the field.

Tags

Use a tag for a simple yes-or-no label: a campaign, an event, a lead source. You don't create tags in advance. Type one where you need it and it exists. Tags are cleaned up as they're saved: "VIP Customers" becomes vip-customers, so the same tag can't appear twice with different capitals. A tag is at most 40 characters.

Add tags in any of these places:

• One contact: the Tags box on their page.
• Several contacts: tick them on All contacts, click Add tag or Remove tag, type the tag and confirm.
• An import: a Tags column, or Tag to apply.
• A form: Add tags under After they submit.
• A link or QR code: Tag contacts. See Links and QR codes.
• A sequence: the Update contact step.

The Tags card on Fields & tags lists your tags with a count. Click one to see its contacts. A tag says nothing about consent. Tagging someone never opts them in.

Build a segment

A segment is a rule, not a list. Contacts join and leave it as their details change. You don't need to rebuild it before each send.

1. Go to Contacts → Segments and click New segment.
2. Enter a Name and, if you like, a Description.
3. Under Conditions, choose All of, Any of or None of these conditions.
4. Click Add condition. Choose the Field and the Condition, then enter the value.
5. For a mix of "all" and "any", click Add group.
6. Watch the count at the top and the Sample of 20 contacts below. Numbers in the sample are masked.
7. Click Save segment.

Date fields also offer conditions such as within the last … days, more than … days ago and anniversary in the next … days.

• A segment can have up to 50 conditions and groups, with groups up to three levels deep.
• With no conditions, a segment matches every contact.
• Segments only find active contacts. Erased contacts never match.
• The count on the Segments page is from the last save. Open a segment for a live count, or click View contacts.

Built-in segments

Every organisation has these. They can't be changed. To adjust one, copy its conditions into a new segment.

Use them in broadcasts

1. In the broadcast wizard, go to the Audience step.
2. Under Send to, pick segments, tags or both. A contact is included if they're in any of them.
3. Under Leave out, pick any segments and tags to exclude.
4. On the Review step, check the numbers.

• A segment can't get around consent. Opted-out, unconsented (for marketing) and unreachable contacts are always left out, and the review step shows how many.
• Fields can fill a template's variables. A contact with no value is skipped unless you set a fallback.

Use them in sequences

• Start or end a sequence with a tag: the trigger A tag is added, and the exit rule When this tag is added.
• Limit who enters: an Entry segment.
• Add a whole segment by hand: Add contacts, up to 1,000 at a time.
• Branch: a Condition step on A contact segment (filter). The segment's filter is copied in when you choose it, so later edits to the segment don't change the step.

See Sequences.

Who can do what

• Segments: Owners, Admins and Managers can create and change them. Analysts can view them.
• Fields and tags: Owners, Admins, Managers and Agents can change them.

What can go wrong

• The count doesn't update. It waits until every condition has its value.
• A field can't be deleted. The message names the segment using it. Change or delete that segment first.
• A segment can't be deleted. "A scheduled campaign uses this segment; launch, edit or cancel it first".