Contact date based trigger

Learn how to configure the Contact date based trigger entry trigger and control which contacts can enter your journey.

What we'll cover

1. Concepts
2. How to configure this trigger
3. Settings and contact filtering
4. Use cases and business examples
5. Troubleshooting
6. Trigger notes
7. FAQ
8. Need help?

1 Concepts

The Contact date based trigger starts contacts based on a date field in your audience. It is useful for reminders, renewals, anniversaries, and other date-driven automation.

Note: This trigger is an entry trigger. Place it at the top of the journey to control how contacts begin the journey flow.

2 How to configure this trigger

Here are the steps:

1. Open the journey, and add a new entry trigger.
2. Choose Contact date based.
3. Enter a Name for the trigger.
4. In Settings, choose the date field and timing behavior (for example, before, on, or after the date, if available).
5. Use Apply to which contacts to narrow who can enter.
6. Click Save.

Pro-tip: Use a trigger name that explains when the trigger is intended to be used. Clear names make multi-trigger journeys easier to manage.

3 Settings and contact filtering

This trigger depends on the selected contact date field and the timing rules configured in Settings. Contacts typically enter when the date rule is met.

Most trigger editors include an Apply to which contacts section so you can choose All contacts or Only contacts that meet criteria.

Note: Trigger settings define the trigger behavior, and journey Settings define whether the contact can enter again later.

4 Use cases and business examples

Use cases and business examples

• Renewal reminders: Start reminder emails before a renewal date field.
• Anniversary messages: Send milestone messages on or around a customer anniversary date.
• Deadline follow-up: Start a sequence a few days before a due date stored on the contact.

5 Troubleshooting

Common issues to check

• Verify the selected date field contains valid values for the affected contacts.
• Check time and timing offsets in the trigger Settings.
• Use Apply to which contacts carefully so you do not accidentally exclude valid contacts.

Warning: If you make trigger changes in a live journey, test with a small internal segment before relying on the new behavior in production.

6 Trigger notes

• Date fields are defined in the audience. Default values are ignored by this trigger.
• The trigger always runs when the journey is started, then based on the recurring schedule, if configured.

Warning: You can cause a loop for contacts using the recurring schedule and setting the journey to allow multiple runs per contact.

7 FAQ

8 Need help?

If you need help configuring journey triggers, contact support. We’re happy to help!