Managing Real-time Segments

This page explains how to create, edit and manage the real-time segments using the HCL CDP Marketing Automation Platform. Segments allow marketers to target specific groups of users based on defined criteria, automate campaigns and analyze performance.

Create a Real-time Segment

To create a real-time segment, follow the steps below:

  1. On the Segments page, click + Segment and select Real Time option to create a new segment.
  2. In the New Segment screen, enter the following segment details:
    • Name: Enter a unique name (6–25 characters).
    • Tags: Add descriptive keywords to organize and analyze the segment. You can add multiple tags to a segment. For more information about adding tags, refer Add a Tag.
    • Description: Provide a brief description (at least 6 characters).

  3. In the Applied Rules section, to create a customer insights group, click + Customer Insights Group. By default, the first parent group is created with the Customer Event data source. After defining the first data source with rules, click + Customer Insights Group to add and define the next data source. Data sources include but not limited to Transactional Behaviour, Conversion Insights, Campaign Interaction, Customer Demographics.
    Note: You cant delete the default first parent group
  4. Add rules to the customer insights group based on the selected data source to filter segment data. To know more, refer Define Applied Rules.
  5. To apply rules to the segments, in the Dimension field, define rules by choosing dimensions such as "Last Page Visited" or "Purchase Value".
  6. In the Aggregate drop-down list, select appropriate available option. For more information about data type and operators, refer Data Types and Operators.
  7. To add more rules or create complex logic, use groups:
    • Add Rules and Groups: Click + Rule to add another rule to the current group or click + Group to create a nested group.
    • Set Logic: Use the AND/OR toggles to define the logical relationship within and between groups.
      • AND: Includes only users who meet all conditions in the group.
      • OR: Includes users who meet at least one condition in the group.
    • Exclude Users: To exclude users based on specific criteria, create a group and set its logic to NOT. For example, a group with the rule Channel = 'WhatsApp' can be used to exclude all users who interacted via WhatsApp.
      Remember:
      • Ensure that the exclude condition is placed at the end of a group or subgroup.
      • An exclude condition should be between two groups.
      • In a subgroup, if you want to exclude records, the exclude condition must be the last one in that subgroup.
      • Avoid placing exclude conditions between more than two parallel groups as it leads to an invalid scenario.
      • An "or" condition can be applied to children within an exclude group.
  8. To manage complex segment views, use the following features:
    • Move: Drag and drop a rule or group using the grip dots icon to reorder it or move it to a different parent group. All rules and values within the group will be moved to the new group.
      Note: You can't move any group to the main parent group.
    • Clone: Hold the Ctrl key and drag the grip dots icon of a group to create a duplicate of that group and all its rules.
    • Collapse: Click the collapse (-) icon on a group to hide its details and see a summary of its logic.
  9. After applying or changing rules, click the Refresh Count button to view the updated Segment Audience count.
    Note: A segment count of zero may indicate that the conditions are logically contradictory (e.g., Age > 30 AND Age < 20). Review your rules to correct any contradictions.
  10. Click Save Segment to save the Segment.

Define Applied Rules

You can define targeting rules in the Applied Rules section by selecting a data source. The available data sources are Customer Demographics and Customer Events. The options and configuration steps vary depending on the data source you choose.

To define rules to the real-time segment, follow the steps below:

In the Applied Rules section, click + Customer Insights Group and select a data source from the drop-down list to define customer insights. Similarly, if you want to include multiple groups, click Customer Insights Group and add respective data sources and configure customer insights.
  • Customer Demographics: allows you define rules based on demographic attributes such as city, country, and other profile information.
  • Customer Events: allows you define rules using properties from user events, such as actions or behaviors.

To define rules using Customer Demographics

  1. In the Data Source drop-down, select Customer Demographics.
  2. Under Rules, in the Dimension drop-down list, choose a dimension such as Country, City, or other profile attributes.

  3. Select an operator (for example, equals to, contains, etc.).
  4. Enter the dimension value like Chennai.

To define rules using Customer Events

  1. In the Data Source drop-down, select Customer Events.
  2. Choose one of the following event flow types:
    • MULTI-EVENT FLOW
    • ACTION & INACTION EVENT FLOW
If you select Multi-Event flow
  1. Under Rules, in the Events drop-down list, select an event, and in the in last x days field, set a time window (for example, in the last 7 days).

  2. Click + Filter By to add event properties, and in the Where section, aggregate the event properties.
  3. Click + Group and + Rule to add multiple groups and rules using the above steps.
If you select the Action or inaction event flow
  1. From the As soon as user does drop-down, select an event.

  2. Click + Filter By to apply event property filters to narrow down the event.
  3. In the And User section, choose either Does or Does Not option.
  4. Select another event that falls under this category, and set a time duration with units. For example, 2 days).

Edit a Real-time Segment

To edit the real-time segment and make changes to it, follow the steps below:

  1. On the Segments page, click the name of the segment you want to edit.
  2. Click the edit (📝) icon next to Conditions, to start the editing, and implement changes to the Segment.
  3. Click Save to apply the changes made. As a result, a pop-up window will appear to review the active engagements and journeys linked to the segment.
  4. Click Confirm Segment Edit after reviewing the changes made.
  5. As a result, a pop-up window will appear notifying the Segment Edited Successfully.
  6. Click View the Segment to examine the changes made.

Publish Real-Time Segment

After creating the real-time segment, you can send the real-time notifications, JSON, or events to third-party systems like Journey or other external APIs. To publish real-time segment data, follow the steps below:

  1. On the Segments page, select a real-time segment, and from the left pane, select either External API or Journey API.
  2. Select a configured API, and then click +Add Engagement.
  3. In the General tab, enter the engagement name.
  4. In the Configure Parameters tab, select either Journey or rtsCTEvent template from the drop-down list.
  5. Define the demographics and event attributes to publish.
    • Click the DEMOGRAPHIC tab, and select attributes to publish. Click the > icon to move them to the Original Field vs Custom Field section.
    • Similarly, click the EVENT tab, select an event from the drop-down list, and then select the attributes to publish. Click the > icon to move them to the Original Field vs Custom Field section.
  6. (Optional) In the Original Field vs Custom Field section, edit the names in the Custom Field column to customize the headers in the exported CSV file.
  7. Click Preview to preview the JSOB format of the selected attributes.
  8. Click Save to publish the real-time segment data. The segment data will be exported as a CSV file to the configured S3 bucket.

Duplicate a Segment

To duplicate a segment, follow the steps below:

  1. Click the three dots next to the desired segment, and click Duplicate.
  2. Rename the duplicated segment, and modify the rules, tags, or attributes of the segment as needed.
    Note: Make sure the segment name should be unique.
  3. Click Save Segment.

Archive a Real-time Segment

You can archive or unarchive the real-time segments created. If a segment is Archived, all the engagements under that Segment will be deactivated and hidden from the UI.

  1. In the Segments page, click the three dots next to the segment you want to archive. Archived segments will appear in the Archived tab and engagements under them will be deactivated.
  2. In the Segments page, click the Archived tab.
  3. Click the three dots next to the desired segment and select Unarchive.

Add a Tag

You can add multiple tags to a segment in the HCL CDP Marketing Automation platform to categorize and organize it effectively. These tags can be edited for existing segments as well.

To add a tag, in the Tags drop-down, enter the tag name and click Add tag name.