Freshchat campaigns push outbound messages to website visitors and existing contacts. Used right, they nudge stuck users to convert. Used wrong, they trigger spam reports and tank your sender reputation across email and SMS too.
Campaign types
Three categories:
- In-app/web: triggered by user behavior on your site.
- Email broadcast: scheduled or triggered email blast.
- SMS/WhatsApp: same audience but different channel.
Each has different consent requirements. Web in-app campaigns can be opt-out (visitor can dismiss). Email and SMS require explicit opt-in via prior consent capture.
Confirm consent state before any cross-channel campaign. The campaign builder shows “audience size” but does not filter for consent unless you configure the segment to do so.
Trigger configuration
Behavioral triggers work best:
- Time on page (over 30 seconds suggests engagement).
- Page sequence (visited pricing then docs).
- Form abandonment (started checkout, did not complete).
- Repeat visit (returned within 7 days).
Avoid generic triggers like “any visitor on any page.” Spray-and-pray campaigns get dismissed in two seconds.
For existing contacts, trigger on lifecycle events: trial day 3, day 7, day 14. Each trigger has a unique message addressing the moment.
Message frequency cap
Build a cap: no contact receives more than one campaign message per 24 hours, max three per week. Without a cap, multiple campaigns can fire at once and the visitor gets bombarded.
The cap is set under Campaign Settings, Frequency. Globally enforced. Individual campaigns can opt out (e.g., transactional notifications) but the default is on.
Quiet hours
Outbound messages respect contact’s timezone. SMS at 3am loses customers permanently. Configure: SMS and WhatsApp campaigns send only between 9am and 6pm contact-local time.
In-app web campaigns can fire any time the user is on the site (they triggered it by visiting). Email campaigns send during business hours by default.
A/B testing
The campaign builder supports two-arm A/B for message text, CTA, and timing. Run for at least 48 hours and 1000 recipients per arm before declaring a winner. Below those numbers, randomness dominates.
Track conversion (the desired action), not click-through. CTR can be high while conversion is low; what matters is downstream behavior.
Targeting from CRM segments
Pull segments from Freshsales or Freshmarketer into Freshchat campaigns. The integration syncs segment membership. A “trial expiring” segment in Freshsales auto-targets the related contacts in Freshchat.
Refresh interval is hourly. For time-sensitive campaigns, factor in the lag.
Suppression lists
Build a global suppression: contacts who have unsubscribed, have churned, or are in active complaints. Every campaign filters against the suppression list automatically.
Without a suppression list, churned customers get re-engagement campaigns and respond with anger. Brand damage exceeds campaign value.
Reporting
Campaign report shows: sent, delivered, opened, clicked, converted, unsubscribed. Watch the unsubscribe rate; over 0.5 percent per campaign signals targeting is too broad. Tighten the trigger.
For paid acquisition campaigns, attribute downstream revenue back to the campaign via UTM and a CRM field. Otherwise you are reporting clicks, not value.
What to do this week
Audit your active campaigns. Confirm each has a trigger more specific than “any visitor,” a frequency cap, and quiet-hours respect. Disable or fix any that fail these checks before they create complaints.
