How do I set up a Customer Journey for users based on a complex combination of events and tags?

When creating a Customer Journey with multiple conditions (e.g., a user performed Event A, has Tag X, but has not performed Event B), it is best practice to use a simple entry trigger and then filter users inside the Journey using Condition Split elements.

Putting all your logic into a single, complex entry segment can be inefficient and may not work for real-time scenarios. Instead, consider one of these two recommended approaches:

Method 1: Real-time, Event-Triggered Journey (Recommended)

This is the most effective method for reacting to user behavior as it happens. The Journey is "always on" and triggers the moment a user performs a specific action.

1. Entry Element: Start your Journey with an Event Trigger. Choose the primary event that should cause a user to enter the flow (e.g., ProductViewed).
2. Flow Control: Immediately after the entry point, add a Condition Split element.
3. Configure Conditions: Inside the Condition Split, check for the remaining criteria. For example:
   • Check if the user has the required Tag (e.g., Tag "product_name" eq "your-product").
   • Check if the user has not performed another event (e.g., Event "Purchase" count eq 0).

Users who meet these additional conditions will proceed down the "Yes" path of the split, while others will exit.

Method 2: Scheduled, Audience-Based Journey

This method is useful if you want to check a group of users on a recurring schedule (e.g., daily or weekly) rather than in real-time.

1. Create a Segment: Build a segment with only your broadest, most static criteria. For example, include only the Tag condition (Tag "product_name" eq "your-product"). Do not add the event-based conditions to the segment itself.
2. Entry Element: Start your Journey with an Audience-based entry and select the segment you just created.
3. Set a Schedule: Enable Scheduled Launch to make the Journey run regularly (e.g., every day). This ensures the system re-evaluates the audience and adds new qualifying users.
4. Flow Control: Just like in the first method, add a Condition Split element inside the Journey to check for the more dynamic, event-based criteria (e.g., Event "ProductViewed" occurred AND Event "Purchase" did not occur).

By using a Condition Split, you ensure that your Journey logic is clear, flexible, and correctly evaluates users based on their real-time behavior or scheduled checks.