Responder System & Email Automation

This guide covers how to configure automated email responses triggered by customer actions and lifecycle events in your offers. Vrio's responder system handles everything from welcome sequences to cancellation flows, keeping customers informed and engaged throughout their entire journey without manual intervention.

For detailed information on creating and setting up responders, see: Complete Responder Setup Guide

From simple order confirmations to sophisticated lifecycle marketing campaigns, this guide will help you understand which responders are available at the offer and offer cycle levels, and how the system determines which responder to send.

Why Email Automation Matters

Smart email automation isn't just about sending confirmations - it's about:

Keeping customers informed throughout their subscription lifecycle
Reducing support tickets by proactively communicating status changes
Improving retention through targeted lifecycle messaging
Building trust with timely, relevant communications
Scaling customer communication without increasing manual workload

Billing & Payment Responders

These responders handle all billing-related communications throughout the subscription lifecycle:

Payment Processing

Initial Charge Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when first payment is processed
Charge Responder (Cycle Level) - Sent when billing processes successfully. Can be bypassed on specific cycles if you want to skip sending charge confirmations for certain billing events.
Decline Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when payment processing fails. Note: Only sent if no dunning schedule is configured on the offer - dunning schedules use their own responder system instead.
Void Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when a transaction is voided

Renewal Reminders

Renewal Reminder Responder (Cycle Level) - The reminder email to send before billing
Reminder Timing (Cycle Level) - When to trigger the reminder (days before billing, specific dates, etc.)
Reminder Schedule (Cycle Level) - How many days before billing to send the reminder

This system is valuable because it keeps customers informed about upcoming billing and gives them time to update payment methods if needed.

Refunds & Returns

Refund Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when refunds are processed
Return Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when returns are processed
RMA Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when return merchandise authorizations are created

Fulfillment & Shipping Responders

These responders handle all shipping and delivery communications:

Shipping Notifications

Shipped Responder (Offer & Cycle Level) - Sent when shipments are shipped. When configured on both levels, cycle-level takes priority, allowing different shipping confirmations for trial vs. renewal shipments. Falls back to offer-level if no cycle responder is set.
Fulfillment Responder (Cycle Level) - Sent when fulfillment is completed
Delivered Responder (Cycle Level) - Sent when shipments are delivered. Falls back to campaign-level if no cycle responder is configured.

Subscription Management Responders

These responders handle customer subscription status changes:

Subscription Status Changes

Welcome Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when customers first purchase the offer, providing instructions or information specific to this subscription
Cancel Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when customers cancel their subscription
Reactivate Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when customers reactivate from cancelled status
Pause Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when customers pause their subscription
Unpause Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when customers resume their subscription

Offer Lifecycle

Expired Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when offers expire
Expired Reminder Responder (Offer Level) - Sent as reminder before offers expire

Gift & Special Programs

These responders handle gift subscriptions and special program communications:

Gift Subscriptions

Gift Responder (Offer Level) - Sent when gift subscriptions are purchased
Claimed Gift Responder (Offer Level) - Sent to gift recipients when they claim their subscription
Claimed Giftor Responder (Offer Level) - Sent to gift purchasers when recipients claim their gift

How to Configure

Offer Level Responders

To edit Offer Level responders, navigate to the responder you want to configure and click on the Responders tab on the left hand side. Note that if your offer type is Recurring, you will have more responders that you can configure.

Offer Cycle Level Responders

For offer cycle responders, the configuration depends on if you have a Custom offer or if you have a One Time Sale or Shared responder.

For custom recurring offers, navigate to the Configuration tab on the offer and click on the offer cycle you want to edit.

For one time sales or Shared offers, navigate to the Configuration tab and edit from that section.

Postback URLs & External Integrations

Beyond email responders, Vrio supports postback URLs (webhooks) that notify external systems when specific events occur. This enables custom workflows and integration with your own hosted scripts or third-party services.

Available Postback Events

Offer Level:

Cancel Postback URL - Triggered when subscriptions are cancelled
Reactivate Postback URL - Triggered when cancelled subscriptions are reactivated
Expire Postback URL - Triggered when offers expire

Cycle Level:

Transaction Postback URL - Triggered for billing events on specific cycles

Common Use Cases

Sync subscription status with external CRM systems
Trigger custom business logic or workflows
Update external inventory or fulfillment systems
Create custom analytics and reporting
Pass data to your own hosted scripts for advanced automation

For detailed postback configuration and implementation, see: Postback URLs & Pixel Tracking Guide

Configuration Best Practices

Use cycle-level responders when you need different messaging for different subscription phases (e.g., trial welcome vs. paid renewal confirmations)

Use offer-level responders for consistent messaging across all cycles within a subscription

Renewal reminders are essential for reducing payment declines - configure them at the cycle level for maximum flexibility with different timing and messaging per cycle

For detailed setup instructions, email template creation, and responder configuration, see the Complete Responder Setup Guide.