Trigger-based communication: The key to impact with relevance!
Oct 22, 2025
|
Post written by
Hannes Bünger
Photo: Museums Victoria
From Calendar-Based to Trigger-Based Campaigns
Many CRM teams still work with calendar-based campaigns. Newsletters, monthly mailings, and seasonal campaigns are planned well in advance and sent to large groups of customers at once. The problem is that this method often leads to low relevance. The campaigns quickly become outdated, the effects are short-lived, and each time a mailing is completed, the work must start over.
Trigger-based communication offers a completely different way of working. Instead of thinking "what campaign should we send next month?" we start thinking "what customer behavior or event should we react to – and how do we do it best?" This is what makes trigger-based communication one of the most powerful methods for modern customer engagement.
What Is a Trigger?
A trigger can be described as an event or behavior that, once turned into data, automatically starts a communication or workflow. So it's essentially the answer to the question when and why we should communicate.
Examples of Triggers
A customer buys a car → offer car insurance.
A customer clicks on travel content → send travel insurance offer.
A storm warning is issued in the customer's area → send damage prevention tips.
It's important to differentiate between trigger and target audience.
Trigger = when/why we communicate.
Target Audience = who we communicate with.
Why Trigger-Based Communication Changes Everything
The significant value of trigger-based communication is that it makes customer dialogue more relevant. The message is sent at the moment the customer is most receptive, which dramatically increases the chance for engagement. Meanwhile, the method is more efficient: instead of constantly producing new campaigns, we create always-on flows that continue delivering as long as the trigger remains.
Benefits of Triggers
Higher relevance – communication feels personal.
Efficiency – campaigns are reused and scale better.
Long-term – triggers can last for years.
Improved customer experience – the company is perceived as proactive.
Different Types of Triggers
There are many ways to categorize triggers, but a good method is to start with five main types.
Customer Journey Triggers: based on an activity in the customer's journey, like a quote request, first login, or claim report.
Customer Lifecycle Triggers: tied to the relationship status, e.g., new customer, churn risk, or win-back.
Life Events: personal events such as moving, marriage, new car, or child.
External Triggers: external factors like weather, legal changes, or power outages.
Business-Driven Triggers: internal needs like new products, seasonal campaigns, or resource utilization.
Triggers: There are many different types of triggers for customer dialogues.
Map the Customer Journey to Find the Right Triggers
An effective way to identify new and relevant triggers is to conduct a customer journey mapping. By analyzing the customer's experience step by step, it becomes clear which events and needs can serve as starting points for communication.
In such mapping, you can work with three perspectives at each step of the customer journey:
Customer Needs – what need is the customer trying to fulfill here?
Customer Challenges – what obstacles or problems might arise?
Customer Actions – what behaviors or signals does the customer show at this step?
By documenting this, it becomes easier to see where in the journey communication can make the most difference. For example, if the customer often gets stuck in the research phase (challenge), a trigger-based email with a guide (need) could be crucial in leading her forward (action).
The result of such mapping is a list of concrete trigger points that are directly linked to real customer behaviors and needs – an invaluable source of inspiration for building relevant and automated flows.
Think Broader About Data Sources for Triggers
For certain types of triggers, especially those based on life events, your own data storage might be too limited. The company doesn't always see the signals in time, and to react, you sometimes need to gather data from other actors.
Here, second-party data can be a valuable solution. It means establishing partnerships with organizations that have access to relevant data points – data that is not public but can be shared under controlled conditions.
Examples of Second-Party Data for Triggers:
Apps: pregnancy apps, health apps, or pet apps can give early signals of important life events.
Retail chains: changed buying behavior can reveal new needs, e.g., when a customer starts buying products for pets, babies, or renovations.
Ecosystem partners: banks, insurance companies, real estate agents, or telecom operators that see events in the customer's life earlier than you do.
It's about thinking broadly: who in the ecosystem sees the customer's changing needs first – and can we create a partnership to share that signal?
In practice, this requires having a clear strategy for data exchange, privacy, and consent. The partnership must be transparent and built on the customer's approval. But when it works, it can provide powerful new opportunities: instead of reacting late to a life event, the business can be first on the scene with a relevant offer.
Second-party data is therefore an important complement to your own first-party data and can open doors to entirely new trigger logics that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
How to Build a Trigger-Based Campaign
Building an effective trigger-based campaign requires a structured approach. The first step is always to qualify the business value. How many customers are affected by the trigger? What is the likelihood that they will convert? And what value does each conversion create? This way, you can prioritize among the many triggers that can be identified.
Steps in the Process
Define the trigger – what event should start the dialogue?
Limit the target audience – who should the communication reach?
Design the communication – keep the message linked to the trigger.
Customize CTAs – choose call-to-actions based on funnel steps (inspiration, explanation, or action).
Orchestrate the channels – decide in what order email, push, SMS, or telemarketing are used.
Set up control groups – always measure the difference against a group that doesn't receive the mailing.
Automate and scale – make the trigger an always-on part of the program.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many businesses make the mistake of building too many triggers simultaneously. The result is overcommunication and conflicts between messages. Another common trap is designing the message too broadly – a trigger dialogue must always feel tied to the specific event that triggered it.
Typical Mistakes
Too many parallel triggers that clash.
Messages that become too general.
Technical shortcomings – triggers built without real-time data.
Confusing trigger (when/why) with target audience (who).
From Batch to Event-Driven
Traditionally, triggers have often been built on scheduled batch jobs, such as mailings to customers whose insurance expires in 30 days. It remains relevant, but with today's event-based architecture, we can go further. Here, it is the event itself – for example, a contract renewal or a product purchase – that in real time triggers the communication.
Differences
Batch = updates occur on schedule, often days after the fact.
Event-driven = communication is triggered in real time, directly at the event.
The Key: Customer Insights
The most successful trigger strategies are built on solid customer insights. Through analysis, we can identify which customers are about to leave, which are likely to buy more, and which have the highest lifetime value. Predictive models, propensity scoring, and recommendation algorithms can further enhance this.
Sources of Insight
Analyses of historical purchasing and usage patterns.
Predictive models that anticipate likely behavior.
Behavioral data from web, app, and previous campaign responses.
In Conclusion
Trigger-based communication is one of the most powerful tools for increasing relevance, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. By combining real-time data, customer insights, and smart workflows, companies can move from calendar-based batch mailings to a model where communication feels personal and timely every time.
It's not just about the technology, but about understanding the customer's life, behaviors, and context – and meeting them with the right message at the right moment.