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Understanding Next-Best-Action Designer channels

Next-Best-Action Designer comes with a full set of channels and triggers which are part of the strategy framework.



Channels, triggers and events on the Channels tab

Channels

Channels can be toggled on or off. If a channel is toggled off, its status is stored in a decision data rule (DDR) and the related part of the strategy framework is turned off. Setting the toggle to on reactivates the related part of the strategy framework.

To add additional channels, edit the ChannelSettings DDR, and then implement these channels in the channel extension strategies within the framework. These custom channels appear under Other on the Treatment landing page. When creating a new Other treatment, you can specify the custom channel, and then pick the direction (inbound or outbound). On an Action rule, to use a custom channel, add the Other channel, and then pick the appropriate treatment.

Triggers

The Next-Best-Action strategy framework can be invoked by real-time channels through our Container REST API and Kafka event stream, as well as on a scheduled basis.

As you define one of these triggers, Next-Best-Action Designer generates a data flow with a strategy based on the specified business structure. These generated data flows can be seen on the Data Flows landing page if the View system generated flows setting is enabled.

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Enabling channels and defining triggers

Select the channels which you use to communicate with your customers, as well as the triggers that cause Pega Customer Decision Hub to decision on Next-Best-Actions.

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Understanding channels

Channels are a means of communication that customers can use to interact with a company. These communications can be outbound (allowing you to send out messages to customers) or inbound (allowing customers to contact you or otherwise respond to your brand). Pega Customer Decision Hub includes support for the following channels:

Channel Direction Additional comments
Call center Inbound
Email Outbound
Mobile Inbound
Other N/A Use the Other channel to manage communications that are not covered by any of the predefined channels.
Paid N/A Use the Paid channel to enable advertising on paid destinations, such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and others. For more information, see Paid Media Manager Overview.
Push notification Outbound
Retail Inbound
SMS Outbound
Web Inbound

You can enable or disable any of the individual channels. If a channel is toggled off, its status is stored in a decision data rule (DDR) and the related part of the strategy framework is turned off. Setting the toggle to on reactivates the related part of the strategy framework.

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Enabling channels

Use the on/off toggles to indicate which inbound and outbound channels are active and should be considered for Next-Best-Action.

Note: Your Pega Customer Decision Hub™ license determines which channels can be enabled in your application. For example, to use the Paid channel, you must have the license for Pega Customer Decision Hub Paid Media Edition. Before you enable a channel, review your license details to ensure that you are licensed to use that channel.

  1. In the Channels tab of the Next-Best-Action Designer, in the Channels section, review the active toggles.
  2. If you want to disable a channel for Next-Best-Action, set the related toggle to OFF.
    If a channel is toggled off, its status is stored in a Decision decision data rule (DDR) and the related part of the strategy framework is turned off. Setting the toggle to on reactivates the related part of the strategy framework.
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Defining real-time container triggers

Real-time containers manage content in real-time channels. Adding a real-time container as a trigger enables it to be called by an external channel. When a container is loaded, for example, when an individual views an ad for an action in a predefined placement on the web channel, it triggers the next best action.

For more information, see Managing content in real-time channels with real-time containers.

Before you begin:

Define a real-time container. For more information, see Managing content in real-time channels with real-time containers.

  1. In the Channels tab of the Next-Best-Action Designer, click Edit, and then in the Triggers > Real-time containers section, click Configure icon.
  2. Select the real-time container that you want to add as a trigger and click Add > Apply.


    Next-Best Action Designer Channel tab showing how to add a real-time container as a trigger.


    Adding a real-time container as trigger
  3. In the Business structure level list, associate the container with the business issue and group.
    Note: Before adding real-time containers as triggers, work with your system architect to make sure your the design time configuration of your access group is pointing to highest (and only) unlocked artifacts ruleset version.
  4. Click Submit.
  5. Click Save.
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Defining real-time event triggers

Define real-time events to respond to real-time customer engagement opportunities triggered by an external event. For example, you can define a real-time event which triggers Next-Best-Action after an individual signs up for a loyalty card with your retail store.

For more information, see Responding to real-time customer engagement with real-time event triggers.

Before you begin:

Define a real-time event. For more information, see Responding to real-time customer engagement with real-time event triggers.

  1. In the Channels tab of the Next-Best-Action Designer, in the Triggered by > Events section, click Configure.
  2. Select the event that you created.
  3. In the Business structure level list, select the business issue and group with which the event is associated.
  4. Click Submit.
  5. Click Save.
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Configuring a recurring schedule for Next-Best-Action

Configure a recurring schedule for running Next-Best-Action using an audience that represents all customers and a daily schedule. The outbound schedule initiates any outbound actions, for example, campaigns or audience updates on external advertising platforms.

Note: This schedule applies across all issues and groups in your business hierarchy, and uses the top level customer context. If you want to define a schedule specific to a different context, or a particular issue or group, see step 7.

  1. In the Channels tab of the Next-Best-Action Designer, in the Primary schedule > Recurrence section, set up a recurring schedule, start date, and end date for outbound Next-Best-Action.
  2. To select the starting population, in the Outbound schedule > Starting population section, click Configure.
    Note: The starting population for Next-Best-Action is based on the top level customer context. For more information about configuring segments, see Defining customer audiences with customer segments. In the current version of Pega Customer Decision Hub, prospect segments cannot be used as starting populations for Next-Best-Action.
  3. To apply constraints to actions and avoid overexposure, specify the number of times that an action can be offered to a group of customers, in the Volume constraint section, click Configure. For more information about volume constraints, see Avoiding overexposure of actions with volume constraints.
  4. Click Save.
    Note: To review and adjust the outbound schedule, click Actions > Open outbound schedule. This opens the underlying multi-channel campaign strategy. This action is restricted to administrator-type operators.

    Result:

    The outbound schedule configuration is created in Draft mode.
  5. To launch the outbound schedule, click Actions > Run.
    The Run action is only available after you configure the schedule.
  6. To suspend an active outbound schedule, click Actions > Suspend.
  7. Optional: In addition to the primary schedule defined for your main customer context, you can define secondary schedules to run your marketing operations for different customer groups or contexts.
    1. In the Channels tab of the Next-Best-Action Designer, click Actions > Add schedule.
    2. In the new Additional schedule section, in the Issue / Group list, select the issue and group or groups to which the schedule applies.
      Note: As a best practice, you should launch all outbound actions at the top level of your Next-Best-Action Designer hierarchy. However, if required, you can select specific issues and groups to define additional outbound schedules that run your marketing operations at different times for different levels of your business hierarchy.
    3. In the Context list, select the customer context that you want to target.

      For example:

      For example, when targeting the customers at the account level, you might use a context like Household or Account, depending on the settings that you configured in the Context Dictionary.
      Note: Choosing context other than top level customer context will result a warning, as using contexts below primary will impact engagement policies and might result in action failures.
    4. Select the starting population and optionally also the volume constraint, as described in steps 2 and 3.

Result:

After an outbound run is launched, you can click the Run details link to view details about the campaign data flow. For more information about run details and scheduled runs, see Viewing Run Details and Run schedule.
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Frequently asked questions about channels

See the following topics for additional information, tips and tricks, and best practices.

Can I add or remove channels?

You can edit the decision data rule to add or remove channels if required. For an example, see Configuring additional channels for use with volume constraints.

You can also use the Other channel type for any channel which is not covered by Pega Customer Decision Hub out of the box.

How many Other channels can I add?

There is currently no limit to the number of channels that you can add.