Single automation triggers one immediate action from a single event, ideal for simple tasks like welcome emails or birthday vouchers. Workflows support multiple triggers and steps, enabling complex, personalized customer journeys with conditional logic and timing controls, such as multi-email sequences or loyalty rewards. Single automation is quick and simple; workflows are for long-term, multi-step engagement.
Single Automation: One Trigger, One Action
A single automation is the simplest form of automation that follows a very linear path:
Trigger: A customer takes an action (e.g., connects to WiFi, makes a booking, has a birthday).
Response: One immediate action happens (e.g., send an email, apply a tag, award loyalty points).
Example: A guest logs into your WiFi → they instantly receive a “Welcome to our WiFi” email.
This is quick and effective, but limited to one trigger = one action.
Workflow: A Complete Journey
A workflow is like an upgraded automation.
Instead of one action, it allows you to build multi-step customer journeys that react intelligently over time:
Multiple Triggers – Start journeys from bookings, WiFi, reviews, birthdays, loyalty sign-ups, and more.
Nodes (Steps) – Mix and match actions, decisions, waits, and outcomes.
Conditional Paths – Personalise based on tags, opt-in status, or engagement (opened/clicked emails, review ratings, etc.).
Timing Control – Wait hours, days, or until a specific event happens before moving forward.
Clear Endpoints – Mark a journey as successful (customer engaged) or unsuccessful (no action, opted out, or failed delivery).
👉 Example:
Customer books a table → Wait 1 hour → Send a pre-visit email → Wait until booking is completed → Send review request → If 5-star review → Add “VIP” tag and award points → If negative review → Open support ticket.
This is a complete journey, not just a single message
Quick Comparison
Feature | Single Automation | Workflow |
|---|---|---|
Trigger | One event | Multiple events supported |
Action | One immediate response | Multiple steps across time |
Personalisation | Minimal | Full decision-based logic |
Timing | Instant only | Waits, delays, event-based timing |
End Result | One action delivered | Customer completes a full journey |
Best For | Simple, one-off tasks | Complex, multi-step engagement |
When to Use Each
Use Single Automations for quick, simple reactions like:
Welcome email on WiFi login
Birthday voucher on the day
Tagging loyalty sign-ups
Use Workflows when you want to build customer journeys like:
Multi-email onboarding sequences
Review request + follow-up + escalation
Loyalty rewards with conditional paths
Win-back campaigns after inactivity
In short:
Single Automation = One action, simple and instant.
Workflow = Multi-step, conditional, and designed for long-term customer journeys.