Mapping out visitor journeys

In this guide, you’ll learn how to map out sophisticated visitor journeys within a RightMessage Flow.

It’s all about “nodes” and “paths”

A Flow is made up of paths that lead to nodes.

At the top of every Flow is a path that leads downward. Think of this as “a page view has occured.” When the page has loaded and RightMessage runs, our software will follow this path down looking for nodes.

A node is a decision point (“should this person go down the left path, or the right path?”), a question, an offer (like a lead form), or where a Flow terminates – at least for the current page view.

And on every subsequent page view, this Flow will rerun. The visitor will go from the top, to the bottom of the Flow. Assuming nothing’s changed (like the visitor’s segmentation hasn’t changed, and there are no page-specific decision nodes) then they’ll follow the exact same path on every subsequent page view. 

It’s ultimately up to you to determine how, and when, someone should go down a different page.

Along paths, you can create new nodes – which are outlined below.

Question

Questions in a Flow allow you to segment your visitors by asking them to provide information about themselves. When you add a Question component, you're essentially creating a way for visitors to self-segment into one of your Segment Groups.

How Questions Work

• A question directly corresponds to a Segment Group

• Each answer option corresponds to a segment within that group

• Visitors who are already segmented won't see the question again

When Questions Display

A visitor will only see a question if they:

• Haven't answered it before

• Haven't been auto-segmented

• Don't have existing segment data from your ESP/CRM

Creating a New Question

1. Click the Question node and drag it onto the Canvas onto a + sign where you want to place it.

2. 

3. Click on the node and a slide in will appear where you can

• Use an existing question

• Ask a multiple choice

• Ask a yes/no question

• Ask an open ended question

• Generate a question using AI

This creates both the question in your Flow AND a new Segment Group automatically.

Ask a multiple choice question

1. Click the + button in your Flow

2. Select "Question" from the Display section

3. Choose "Create new question"

4. Fill in the following:

What would you like to find out?

• Enter your question text that visitors will see

• Keep it clear and conversational

• Example: "What's your biggest business challenge?

What are the possible answers?

• Add your answer options one by one

• Click "Add another answer option" for more choices

• Keep options clear and mutually exclusive

• Aim for 4-6 options maximum

Optional Settings:

• Toggle "Collect open-ended answers with an 'Other' option" if you want to allow custom responses

• If using Customer.io, you can sync answers to a specific attribute

Internal Name

• Give your question a clear internal name

• This helps you identify it in your Segments section

• Example: "Business Challenge"

• Use descriptive names that your team will understand

Click "Create Question" to add the question to your Flow and create its corresponding Segment Group.

Remember: Questions are about gathering actionable data. Only ask what you'll actually use for personalization.

Form

Forms allow you to collect visitor information and sync it directly with your ESP/CRM. Unlike simple questions, forms can gather multiple pieces of information at once.

Form fields

The default form field is "Email address" - without it it's not really a form.

Advanced Field Types:

• Text Input (single line)

• Text Area (multiple lines)

• Checkbox (single option)

• Hidden Fields

Hidden Custom Fields

Hidden fields are powerful tools for data collection without user interaction. Use them to:

• Pass UTM parameters

• Track campaign sources

• Record visit timestamps

• Store segment data

• Pass custom values to your ESP/CRM

Actions

Form Submission Actions

When a form is submitted, RightMessage can perform several actions in your ESP/CRM automatically:

Add to Segment:

• Directly add subscribers to ESP segments

• Update ESP/CRM tags

• Add to specific lists or groups

• Example: Add to "Newsletter Subscribers" segment

Trigger Events:

• Fire custom events in your ESP

• Trigger automation workflows

• Start email sequences

• Example: Trigger "Downloaded Guide" event

Offer / Promo

You can also pitch an offer within a Flow

Drag the Offer / Promo node onto a + node on the Canvas

Click the +  on any path. Select Pitch an offer  and either select an existing offer, or create a new one.

Offers 'terminate' a visitor's journey

Unlike with question nodes, offer nodes are terminating points in a Flow. There’s no way to add any nodes below an offer. Once an offer is “accepted” (the form is filled out and submitted, or the CTA button is clicked), the visitor is either taken to another page or shown a success message.

To not show offers again, gate the displaying of an offer with a "Condition" (yes/no decision) that either checks to see if the page the offer links to has been viewed or the tag/field data you set in your ESP/CRM when an offer form is submitted is present.

Message

Messages are display components that show content after specific actions (usually form submissions). To add a Message to your Flow:

1. Set up a Form somewhere in your Flow

2. Specify the Form

3. From the Display section, drag the Message component to the + node after the given form

4. The Message node will appear in your Flow

Common Uses:

• "Thanks for subscribing!"

• Download instructions

• Next step guidance

• Confirmation details

Redirect

The Redirect component lets you send visitors to specific URLs after actions or conditions are met.

Adding a Redirect

1. Find the + node where you want the redirect to happen

2. From the Actions section, drag the Redirect component onto the + node

3. Configure your redirect settings

Common Uses

• After your survey ran you can redirect people to various pages on your website based on the gathered segmentation data

• Resource download pages

• Product pages based on segments

• Course access links

Remember: Redirects end the current Flow - no components after a Redirect will execute.

Code

The Code component lets you execute custom JavaScript within your Flow. This is powerful for advanced customization and third-party integrations.

Adding Code

1. Locate a + node where you want to run code

2. From the Actions section, drag the Code component to the + node

3. The code editor will appear

Common Uses

• Fire analytics events

• Update custom cookies

• Trigger third-party scripts

• Manipulate page elements

• Send data to external tools

Example Code Snippets

// Fire Google Analytics event
gtag('event', 'completed_survey', {
  'event_category': 'Engagement'
});

// Update cookie
document.cookie = "userType=subscriber; path=/";

// Custom tracking
mixpanel.track("Completed Onboarding");

Set Data

The Set Data component allows you to update custom fields or scoring in your ESP/CRM without requiring form submission.

Adding Set Data

1. Find the + node where you want to update data

2. From the Actions section, drag the Set Data component to the + node

3. Configure your data settings

Common Uses

• Update lead scores based on behavior

• Track page visits

• Record engagement metrics

• Flag specific actions taken

Example Scenarios

• Increase "Product Interest" score when visiting pricing page

• Set "Last Viewed Product" field

• Update "Engagement Level" based on content viewed

• Track tutorial completion progress

Condition

The Condition component creates Yes/No decision points in your Flow, allowing you to create different paths based on visitor data or behavior.

Adding a Condition

1. Look for where you want to split your Flow

2. From the Flow section, drag the Condition component to a + node

3. Configure your condition rules

What You Can Check For

Anything that you can use to create Segment Groups:

How It Works

• "Yes" path: Visitor matches condition

• "No" path: Visitor doesn't match

• Each path can lead to different components

Common Uses

• Show different content to subscribers vs non-subscribers

• Route based on engagement level

• Personalize based on previous actions

• Create targeted experiences

Router

The Router component lets you create multiple paths based on segments, creating different journeys for different types of visitors.

Adding a Router

1. Find where you want to split your Flow by segments

2. From the Flow section, drag the Router component to a + node

3. Select which Segment Group to route by

How Routing Works

• Creates one path per segment in the selected group

• Includes a "Default" path for unsegmented visitors

• Visitors follow their matching segment path

• Only one path can be followed

Remember: Unlike Conditions (Yes/No), Routers create paths for each segment in a group, allowing for more granular personalization.

Random Split

The Random Split component lets you create multiple paths with different probabilities, perfect for A/B testing or distributing traffic.

Adding a Random Split

1. Find where you want to split your Flow randomly

2. From the Flow section, drag the Random Split component to a + node

3. Set up how many different paths you want (default is 2)

How It Works

• Creates multiple paths with custom probability

• Visitors are randomly assigned to a path

• Assignment persists during the session

Example Uses

A/B Testing:

• 50/50 split between two offers

• Testing different questions

• Form variations

• Message effectiveness

Exit Flow

The Exit Flow component ends the current flow path. It's a clean way to stop processing when no further actions are needed.

Adding an Exit

1. Find where you want to end a flow path

2. From the Flow section, drag the Exit Flow component to a + node

3. That's it - no configuration needed

Remember: Exit Flow doesn't mean the visitor can't enter other flows - it just ends the current one.