What is a goal step?

A goal step is one of the most effective tools you can use in your automations. Learn how it works and how to use it in this article.

Parts of this article:

• What is a goal step?
• How do contacts reach a goal step?
• How is a goal step structured?
• How do you use a goal step?
• Examples of practical applications

What is a goal step?

A goal step is used to measure the effectiveness of your marketing activities. When used correctly, it can provide a snapshot of how a specific part of your marketing is performing.

Once a contact meets the conditions of the goal step, they immediately jump from their current location to the Goal Action, skipping all intermediate steps. They then proceed to the next action in your automation. When a contact meets the required conditions in a goal, it is considered that they have "achieved" that goal.

Contacts can encounter a goal only once upon entering the automation. If you want contacts to encounter a goal action multiple times in an automation, they must exit and re-enter the automation.

Please note: If you add the goal step to an 'Active' automation, make sure to first set the automation to 'Inactive'. After you finish editing the automation, set it back to 'Active' so contacts can continue to enter the automation.

How do contacts reach a goal step?

Your contacts can reach a goal action in two ways:

1. Organic:
   Contacts reach the goal step because it is the next step in the automation.
2. Movement:
   Contacts move to the goal step from their current position in the automation because they meet the conditions of the goal.

How is a goal step structured?

A goal step consists of five elements:

1. Goal name:
   Your contacts do not see this name.
   
2. The condition (go to this action when...)
   You set a condition that a contact must meet to achieve the goal. This is set up using the condition builder.
   
3. Location (and when this goal is...)
   This determines whether your contacts can achieve the goal based on their position in the automation. There are two options to choose from:
   
   • Under the contact's position
     A contact can only reach this goal and go directly to it if the goal is located in an automation below their position. If the goal is in an automation above the contact, they will no longer qualify to achieve the goal and will not proceed to it.
     
   • Anywhere
     This means that your contacts can achieve the goal from any position within the automation. This setting can be used if the automation contains an if/else step, as it allows the contact to jump from a path in the automation to the goal. If a contact (1) already passed the goal and (2) did not meet the goal conditions, they will not jump to the goal if they later meet the conditions.
     
4. Trigger conversion (trigger this conversion when this goal is achieved...)
   This feature is only available in the Professional subscription. You can specify whether achieving a goal should trigger a conversion.
   
5. Action (if the contact does not meet the conditions...)
   Here you can choose the next action for contacts who reach the goal step but do not meet the conditions. There are three actions to choose from:
   
   • Continue anyway
     Contacts will proceed to the next action in the automation.
     
   • Wait until the conditions are met
     Contacts will be queued in this action until they meet the conditions to proceed to the next action. This automatically builds a kind of waiting step.
     
   • End this automated series
     Contacts will immediately exit the automation once they reach this step.
     

How to use a goal step?

1. Choose the position where you want to place the goal step, and click on the plus sign.
2. Click on 'Conditions and Workflow'.
3. Click on 'Goal'.

4. A window will appear. Here you can set up the target step and give it a name of your choice.
5. Determine what your goal is, and fill in the condition builder to achieve this goal.

6. Choose what happens if a contact does not meet the target condition.
7. Click on 'Save', and you're done!

If you want to see how many people in the automation have achieved the goal, you can find this in the overview of your automations. This immediately shows the conversion rate.

Examples of practical applications

• Stop a specific automation as soon as a specific product is purchased
• Start a contact at a specific point in an automation. In the following help article, you can learn how to do this: How can I start a contact at a specific point in an automation?
• Skip certain emails for a contact in an automation, for example, for a webinar. See also: How do I create a webinar automation?