How can I segment users in a Customer Journey based on their in-app actions? Should I use Events or Tags?

You can effectively segment users in a Customer Journey based on their actions using either Events or Tags. The best method depends on your specific technical setup and preference.

Both approaches allow you to create dynamic user paths. For example, you can build a journey that initially shows an offer to users and then excludes those who have already purchased it, started a trial, or simply closed the offer screen.

Here’s a breakdown of both methods:

1. Using Events

This method is ideal if your application is already configured to send custom events to track user behavior.

• How it works: Your application sends a specific Event whenever a user performs a key action. For example:
  • paywall_closed
  • trial_started
  • subscription_purchased
• In your Journey: You would use the "Filter by Event" element. You can configure the journey to check if a user has performed one of these events and then guide them to a different branch or exit them from the journey.

2. Using Tags

This method involves assigning or updating a Tag value in a user's profile when they perform an action.

• How it works: Your application sets a Tag on the user's device. For example, you could use:
  • A Boolean Tag like has_interacted_with_paywall and set it to true.
  • A String Tag like subscription_status and set its value to "trial" or "active".
• In your Journey: You would use the "Filter by Tag" element to check the value of the Tag and segment users accordingly.

Which one should I choose?

Both methods are powerful and will achieve your goal.

• Choose Events if your app is already event-driven and you want to trigger journey logic based on real-time user actions.
• Choose Tags if you prefer to manage a user's state or attributes directly on their profile and use that state for segmentation.