A path triggered by behavior
A customer journey is an automated path a user moves through based on what they do. Unlike a one-time broadcast, it's a multi-step workflow: an event enrolls someone, and from there they advance through sends, waits, and branches. It's the mechanism that turns a lifecycle stage into something that actually runs.
The nodes a journey is built from
A journey is assembled from a handful of node types. An entry trigger — an event like a signup, a purchase, or a form submit — enrolls the user. Send nodes deliver a message. Wait nodes pause for a delay or until an event happens. Branch nodes split the path on a condition. An exit ends it, often when a goal is met. The node names vary by platform, but the shape is consistent across tools.
Journey vs broadcast vs drip
Three things get confused. A broadcast is a one-time send of the same message to a whole list. A drip sends message three on day seven regardless of behavior. A journey is event-triggered: it sends message three only if the user did — or didn't do — something. Customer.io's docs draw the same line between broadcasts and triggered journeys. The journey is the one that reacts.
| Broadcast | Drip | Journey | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Sent once to a list | Fixed schedule | An event the user causes |
| Reacts to behavior | No | No | Yes |
| Best for | An announcement | A simple fixed series | Lifecycle automation |
Where journeys fit
Journeys are how segments and lifecycle stages become live automation. A dynamic segment feeds a journey's entry; the branches respond to what users do; the exit fires on a goal. An onboarding sequence is just a journey with activation as its goal. Build the map first, then run it as journeys.