Building Jobs

This guide walks you through building jobs in Trig—from defining your goal to launching and measuring results.

Job fundamentals

Every job needs three things:

Goal

What do you want customers to do?

Audience

Who should receive this intervention?

Intervention

What messages will you send?

Step 1: Define your goal

What makes a good goal?

Goals should be:

Single action — One clear thing you want them to do
Measurable — Based on an attribute or event you can track
Achievable — Something the customer can realistically complete

Goal examples

Job Type	Goal
Onboarding nudge	`projects_created >= 1`
Feature adoption	`feature_X_used >= 1`
Expansion	`upgrade_completed = true`
Churn prevention	`engagement_restored = true`

Avoid compound goals. If you need multiple actions, create separate jobs.

Step 2: Define your audience

Targeting options

Using attributes directly:

sign_up_date > 1 day ago
AND sign_up_date < 7 days ago
AND invoices_created = 0

Using cohorts:

Member of cohort "New Self-Serve Users"

Using Trig metadata:

last_completed_Onboarding_Stage has any value
AND last_completed_First_Invoice_Job has no value

Exclusions

Always consider who should NOT receive this job:

Audience:
- sign_up_date > 3 days ago
- invoices_created = 0

Exclusions:
- last_entered_[this_job] has any value  (already been through)
- currently_member_of_[other_job] = true  (prevent overlap)

Organisation vs people

Target	When to Use
Organisation	Account-level decisions, commercial actions
People	Individual behaviour, specific user needs to act

Step 3: Set duration

Auto-exit timing

Every job should have an auto-exit duration:

Action Complexity	Duration
Simple (click, view)	3 to 7 days
Moderate (setup step)	7 to 14 days
Complex (invite team, integrate)	14 to 30 days

Err shorter. If someone hasn’t responded in 14 days, another email in the same job probably won’t help—try a different approach.

Step 4: Configure entry actions

Send initial email

The entry email is your first touch. Make it count. Configuration:

Sender: A real person (e.g., “Lee at FreshBooks”)
Subject: Specific and actionable
Body: Plain text, contextual, with clear steps

Example:

Subject: Quick tip to send your first invoice

Hi {first_name},

I noticed your team at {organization_name} signed up recently
but hasn't sent an invoice yet.

Here's how to send your first one—takes about 5 minutes:

1. Click "Create Invoice" in the left menu
2. Add your client's email
3. Click Send

If you run into any issues, just reply to this email.

Thanks,
Lee

Best practices for entry emails

Be specific

Reference what they have and haven’t done. Show you know their situation.

Be actionable

Give 1 to 3 clear steps. Include links where helpful.

Be brief

3 to 5 sentences for simple actions. No long paragraphs.

Be human

Plain text, from a real person, with a personal sign-off.

Step 5: Configure follow-up actions

Adding reminders

If customers haven’t completed after the initial email, send a follow-up:

Wait 3 days → Send follow-up email
Wait 7 days → Send second follow-up (optional)

Follow-up email strategy

First follow-up (Day 3 to 5):

Reference that you’ve reached out before
Try a different angle
Shorter than the original

Subject: Re: Quick tip to send your first invoice

Hi {first_name},

Following up on my earlier email—I wanted to make sure you
saw the steps to send your first invoice.

If you're running into any issues, just reply and I'll help.

Thanks,
Lee

Second follow-up (Day 7 to 10):

Acknowledge they might be busy
Offer help or a call
This is often your last automated touch

Most jobs use 1 to 2 follow-ups. More than that often means your job is too broad or goal is too ambitious.

Step 6: Configure completion actions

What happens on success

When a customer achieves the goal: Options:

Send congratulations message
Notify your team (Slack)
Update CRM field
Route to next job

Example:

Completion Actions:
├── Message Customer: "Great job sending your first invoice!"
├── Notify Team: "#wins - {organization_name} completed onboarding"
└── Update Attribute: completed_onboarding_job = true

Silent completion

Not every job needs a completion message. For feature adoption jobs, silent completion is often appropriate.

Step 7: Configure exit actions

What happens on failure

When a customer exits without completing: Options:

Notify team for manual follow-up
Update attribute for tracking
Route to alternative job

Example:

Exit Actions:
├── Notify Team: "@{csm_email} - {organization_name} failed onboarding, needs follow-up"
└── Update Attribute: failed_onboarding_job = true

Chaining to alternate jobs

Use exit actions to create branching journeys:

Job: Onboarding Nudge v1
├── Completed → Route to "Feature Adoption" job
└── Exited → Route to "Onboarding Nudge v2" (different approach)

Step 8: Review and launch

Pre-launch checklist

Goal is clear and measurable

Audience returns expected customers

Duration is appropriate for the action

Entry email is specific, actionable, and human

Follow-ups are spaced appropriately

Completion and exit actions configured

Exclusions prevent re-entry and overlap

Launch the job

Review configuration

Double-check all settings

Check audience size

Verify the number of customers who will enter

Launch

Click Go Live

Monitor

Watch the first few days for issues

Job chaining patterns

Success path

After completing Job 1, move to Job 2:

Job 2 Audience:
- last_completed_Job_1 has any value
- [next action criteria]

Failure path

After failing Job 1, try Job 1B:

Job 1B Audience:
- last_exited_Job_1 has any value
- last_completed_Job_1 has no value

Progressive journey

Welcome → Onboarding → Feature Adoption → Expansion
   ↓           ↓              ↓
Retry A    Retry B        CSM Outreach

Measuring job effectiveness

Key metrics

Metric	Formula	Target
Completion rate	Completed / (Completed + Exited)	20 to 40%
Time to completion	Avg days to complete	As fast as possible
Entry to exit rate	Exited / Total entered	Lower is better

What to optimise

If…	Then…
Low completion rate	Adjust messaging, timing, or goal
Long time to completion	Intervention may be too early
High exit at specific point	Focus messaging there
Certain segments complete more	Target them specifically

Common job patterns

Onboarding nudge

Goal: first_project_created >= 1
Audience: signup 1 to 7 days ago, no project created
Duration: 10 days
Entry: Plain text email with steps
Follow-up: Day 3, Day 7
Completion: Notify team
Exit: Route to "Onboarding Stalled" job

Feature adoption

Goal: feature_X_used >= 1
Audience: Premium plan, never used feature X, 30+ days old
Duration: 14 days
Entry: Email highlighting feature value
Follow-up: Day 5 with different angle
Completion: Silent
Exit: Flag for CSM

Churn prevention

Goal: engagement_restored = true
Audience: renewal in 90 days, no login in 30 days
Duration: 30 days
Entry: Personal outreach from CSM
Follow-up: Week 2, Week 3
Completion: Notify sales
Exit: Escalate to sales

Troubleshooting

”Job isn’t sending emails”

Is the job live (not paused)?
Are there customers matching the audience?
Is email integration configured?
Is the sender verified?

”Wrong customers entering”

Review audience criteria
Check for typos in attribute names
Verify date logic (before/after)

“Low completion rate”

Is the goal achievable?
Is messaging specific enough?
Is timing right (too early? too late?)
Are you targeting the right audience?

Summary

Building effective jobs:

Clear goal — Single, measurable action
Right audience — Specific targeting with exclusions
Appropriate duration — Time-bounded, err shorter
Human messaging — Plain text, specific, actionable
Strategic follow-ups — 1 to 2 max, vary the angle
Complete the loop — Actions on both completion and exit
Chain thoughtfully — Build progressive journeys

Well-designed jobs turn insight into action and create measurable impact on customer success.

​Job fundamentals

Goal

Audience

Intervention

​Step 1: Define your goal

​What makes a good goal?

​Goal examples

​Step 2: Define your audience

​Targeting options

​Exclusions

​Organisation vs people

​Step 3: Set duration

​Auto-exit timing

​Step 4: Configure entry actions

​Send initial email

​Best practices for entry emails

Be specific

Be actionable

Be brief

Be human

​Step 5: Configure follow-up actions

​Adding reminders

​Follow-up email strategy

​Step 6: Configure completion actions

​What happens on success

​Silent completion

​Step 7: Configure exit actions

​What happens on failure

​Chaining to alternate jobs

​Step 8: Review and launch

​Pre-launch checklist

​Launch the job

​Job chaining patterns

​Success path

​Failure path

​Progressive journey

​Measuring job effectiveness

​Key metrics

​What to optimise

​Common job patterns

​Onboarding nudge

​Feature adoption

​Churn prevention

​Troubleshooting

​”Job isn’t sending emails”

​”Wrong customers entering”

​“Low completion rate”

​Summary

Job fundamentals

Step 1: Define your goal

What makes a good goal?

Goal examples

Step 2: Define your audience

Targeting options

Exclusions

Organisation vs people

Step 3: Set duration

Auto-exit timing

Step 4: Configure entry actions

Send initial email

Best practices for entry emails

Step 5: Configure follow-up actions

Adding reminders

Follow-up email strategy

Step 6: Configure completion actions

What happens on success

Silent completion

Step 7: Configure exit actions

What happens on failure

Chaining to alternate jobs

Step 8: Review and launch

Pre-launch checklist

Launch the job

Job chaining patterns

Success path

Failure path

Progressive journey

Measuring job effectiveness

Key metrics

What to optimise

Common job patterns

Onboarding nudge

Feature adoption

Churn prevention

Troubleshooting

”Job isn’t sending emails”

”Wrong customers entering”

“Low completion rate”

Summary