Dynamics Community Forum Thread Details

I want to create a journey which starts when a customer places their first order, the order will be recorded at Account level. I'm not sure whether this is possible using a custom trigger or if I'll need to build a dynamic segment and use a calculated field based on the total number of order placed.

I can create a trigger based on the date an order was created but I can't see how to identify the first order. If I create a calculated field showing the number of orders per account could I build a segment that looked at orders created in the last 24 hours and filtered out people who already had more than one order on their account?

I'm surprised there is not an out the box trigger for something like this, any input welcome if there is an easier way to do this.

Categories:

Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys

Hello LW-10031405-0,

You're trying to solve a common and valuable marketing automation problem: triggering a journey based on a customer's first order at the Account level. You're right to question the best approach, as there are a few ways to tackle this.

Understanding the Challenge:

First Order Identification: The core challenge is reliably identifying the very first order placed by an Account.
Real-time Marketing Triggers: While powerful, Real-time Marketing triggers have limitations in directly identifying "first" events.
Account-Level Tracking: You're working with Account-level data, which adds complexity.

Methods and Recommendations:

Calculated Field and Dynamic Segment (Recommended):
- Calculated Field:
  - Create a calculated field on the Account entity that counts the number of related Orders.
  - This can be done using a rollup field or a calculated field that leverages related entity counts.
- Dynamic Segment:
  - Create a dynamic segment that targets Accounts where:
    - The "Order Created On" date is within the last 24 hours (or your desired timeframe).
    - The calculated field (Order Count) is equal to 1.
- Journey Trigger:
  - Use this dynamic segment as the entry point for your Real-time Marketing journey.
- Advantages:
  - Reliable and accurate identification of first orders.
  - Leverages standard Dynamics 365 functionality.
  - Relatively simple to implement.
- Considerations:
  - Calculated fields may have a slight delay in updating.
  - The segment will only include accounts which have had an order created within the last 24 hours. If the order was created outside of that time frame, the account will not enter the journey.
Power Automate and Custom Trigger (More Complex, but Powerful):
- Power Automate Flow:
  - Create a Power Automate flow that triggers when an Order is created.
  - In the flow:
    - Retrieve the related Account.
    - Use Dataverse actions to count the number of Orders related to the Account.
    - If the count is 1, trigger a custom trigger in Real-time Marketing.
- Custom Trigger:
  - Create a custom trigger in Real-time Marketing that can be invoked by Power Automate.
- Journey Trigger:
  - Use the custom trigger as the entry point for your journey.
- Advantages:
  - Real-time triggering.
  - More control over the logic.
  - Can be used to perform more complex actions.
- Disadvantages:
  - Requires Power Automate skills.
  - More complex to set up and maintain.
Plugin (Most Complex, but Most Powerful):
- Develop a Plugin:
  - Create a Dynamics 365 plugin that triggers on the creation of an Order.
  - In the plugin:
    - Retrieve the related Account.
    - Query the Dataverse to count the number of related Orders.
    - If the count is 1, trigger a custom event or update a field that triggers a Real-time Marketing journey.
- Journey Trigger:
  - Use a trigger based on the field that the plugin updates.
- Advantages:
  - Real-time triggering.
  - Maximum control and flexibility.
  - The most reliable method.
- Disadvantages:
  - Requires development skills.
  - Most complex to set up and maintain.

Why No Out-of-the-Box Trigger?

Real-time Marketing is designed to be highly flexible, allowing you to build custom logic for various scenarios.
Directly identifying "first" events can be complex and depends on specific business requirements.
Microsoft wants to allow for the most flexibility possible.

Key Recommendations:

Start with the calculated field and dynamic segment approach. It's the simplest and most reliable method for most scenarios.
Use Power Automate for more complex logic or real-time triggering.
Use a Plugin when absolute real time triggering, and reliability is needed.

By implementing one of these solutions, you can effectively trigger your journey based on a customer's first order.

If my answer was helpful, please click Like, and if it solved your problem, please mark it as verified to help other community members find more.
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me.

My response was crafted with AI assistance and tailored to provide detailed and actionable guidance for your Microsoft Dynamics 365 query.

Best Regards,
Daivat Vartak

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Journey Start Point - First Order Placed - Trigger or Segment?

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