Automating your loyalty program can save you time and boost customer engagement. With Shopify Flow and the Ako Marketing app, you can automatically send rewards, manage customer tiers, and trigger emails based on customer behavior.

What is Shopify Flow?

Shopify Flow is a tool that lets you automate tasks in your store. It works by creating workflows, which is a series of actions that are triggered by something your customer does (like placing an order or leaving a review).

When connected with Ako Marketing, Shopify Flow can automatically handle things like:

Sending reward emails
Upgrading or downgrading customer VIP tiers
Notifying customers about their earned points or discounts

How does Shopify Flow Work?

Shopify Flow watches for events and takes action based on rules you set. With elements like triggers, conditions, and actions, you can create workflows that save time and make your store run more smoothly.

How do I connect Shopify Flow with Ako Marketing?

Open your Shopify Admin and click on the Ako Marketing app in the sidebar.
Go to Settings → Integration.
Look for the Shopify Flow option and click the Setup button.

This connects Ako Marketing with Shopify Flow and gives you access to custom automation templates.

How to Use Ako Marketing's Loyalty Points Automation in Shopify Flow?

Ako Marketing's template for Shopify Flow allows you to reward customers with extra loyalty points when they place orders above a specific amount. This automation helps build customer loyalty and encourages higher-value purchases. Here’s how you can use our pre-built template:

Open the Shopify Flow app from your Shopify admin.

Click Browse Templates to view ready-made workflows from Ako Marketing.

Select “Offer extra points for orders over a specific amount” template from Ako Markting

Click the "Install" button in the top right corner. You'll see a pre-install note reminding you to enable the loyalty program.

5. After installation, you'll need to configure three main components:

Understanding the Workflow Components

1. Trigger: "Start when..."

This determines when the automation will run. The template is set to trigger when an "Order paid" event occurs, meaning the automation will run whenever a customer completes payment for an order.

2. Condition: "Check if..."

This sets the criteria for awarding extra points. The condition checks if the order amount exceeds a specific threshold that you define.

For example, you might set:

"Check if order amount is over $100"
"Check if order amount is over $50"

3. Action: "Award points"

This specifies what happens when the condition is met. The template awards extra loyalty points to customers who meet the spending threshold.

Once you've configured all components to your satisfaction, you can click the "Turn on workflow" button and confirm activation in the dialog box by clicking "Turn on". Your automation is now live and will process all qualifying orders

How to Create My Own Workflow?

Shopify Flow makes it easy to automate tasks for your store. If you’re using Ako Marketing, you can connect the two to save time and improve your customer experience.

Step 1 - Create a workflow

Go to your Shopify admin → Apps → Shopify Flow → Click Create workflow in the top right

Step 2 - Select Ako Marketing Trigger

Select your trigger by choosing what event will initiate your workflow. Choose Ako Marketing

Ako Marketing offers several specialized triggers for your Shopify Flow workflows:

Customer Downgrade Tier

Triggered when a customer downgrades to a lower tier in your loyalty program
Use case: Send re-engagement offers to prevent further loyalty decline

Customer Renew Tier

Triggers when a customer renews their VIP tier status
Use case: Send thank you messages or exclusive benefits to loyal customers

Customer Update Points

Triggered when a customer's loyalty points balance is updated
Use case: Alert customers when they reach point milestones or send special offers

Customer Upgrade Tier

Triggered when a customer is upgraded to a new tier in your loyalty program
Use case: Welcome customers to their new tier with special perks

Step 3 - Select a Condition (Optional)

We check if the customer’s current tier matches a certain value (like Gold, Silver, or Platinum)

In the example of “Customer renew tier”, the variables available are:

customer → Info about the customer
currentTierName → The name of their current tier
tierExpiryDate → When their tier expires
shop → Info about your shop

Example: If currentTierName is Gold, we can send them an email or renew their membership.

Step 4 - Select Ako Marketing Action

After setting up your Shopify Flow conditions, it’s time to pick what action you want to happen when the condition is fulfilled. Here are the actions you can use:

Adjust VIP Tier

This lets you move a customer up or down a loyalty tier.
Use case: Move customers to a higher tier as part of a limited-time promotion

Award points

Add points directly to a customer’s loyalty balance.
Use case: Give bonus points on customer birthdays or anniversaries

Award points for order placed

Automatically awards points when a customer places an order, with custom rules
Use case: Award bonus points for first-time purchases of specific products

Award store credit

Grants Shopify store credit to customers that they can apply to future purchases
Use case: Provide "win-back" credit for customers who haven't purchased in a while

Custom reward

Creates a personalized reward within the Ako app beyond standard points and tiers
Use case: Offer exclusive access to products or early access to sales

Step 5 - Set Then / Otherwise Paths

After adding your action, you can create two possible outcomes:

Then: What happens if your condition is true.
Example: If the customer is in Gold, award them 500 points.

Otherwise: What happens if the condition is false.
Example: If they’re not in Gold, send a reminder email or do nothing.

This lets you create flexible automations based on different customer behaviors.

Why Use Shopify Flow with Ako Marketing?

Save time with automated loyalty actions
Increase customer engagement with timely rewards
Keep your VIP program running smoothly
Create custom automations that match your store’s needs

How to Set Up Shopify Flow for Loyalty Program Automation

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