RT Journey Activation Configuration

Configure activations for RT journeys - webhooks, Salesforce, email, and other integrations.

Prerequisites

• RT journey created (use rt-journey-create skill first)
• Destination system credentials/endpoints configured

Activation Types

• Webhook: Send HTTP requests to any endpoint
• Salesforce: Update Salesforce objects
• Email: Send emails via email providers
• Custom: Integration-specific activations

Webhook Activation

Send HTTP POST requests to external endpoints:

{
  "type": "webhook",
  "name": "send_to_marketing_platform",
  "endpoint": "https://platform.com/api/events",
  "method": "POST",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{secret:api_key}}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-Custom-Header": "value"
  },
  "payload_template": {
    "user_id": "{{user_id}}",
    "event": "{{event_name}}",
    "timestamp": "{{event_time}}",
    "attributes": {
      "last_product_viewed": "{{last_product_viewed}}",
      "purchase_count_30d": "{{purchase_count_30d}}",
      "customer_tier": "{{customer_tier}}"
    }
  },
  "timeout_ms": 5000,
  "retry_count": 3
}

Webhook Configuration

• endpoint: Full URL (HTTPS required)
• method: HTTP method (POST, PUT, PATCH)
• headers: Optional headers (use {{secret:key}} for credentials)
• payload_template: JSON body with variable substitution
• timeout_ms: Request timeout (default: 5000)
• retry_count: Number of retries (default: 3)

Webhook Examples

Marketing Platform

{
  "type": "webhook",
  "endpoint": "https://marketing.com/api/v1/events",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{secret:marketing_api_key}}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  "payload_template": {
    "event_type": "user_action",
    "user_id": "{{user_id}}",
    "action": "{{event_name}}",
    "timestamp": "{{event_time}}",
    "properties": {
      "email": "{{email}}",
      "product_id": "{{product_id}}",
      "amount": "{{purchase_amount}}"
    }
  }
}

Slack Notification

{
  "type": "webhook",
  "endpoint": "{{secret:slack_webhook_url}}",
  "payload_template": {
    "text": "High value purchase!",
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "section",
        "text": {
          "type": "mrkdwn",
          "text": "*Purchase Alert*\nCustomer: {{email}}\nAmount: ${{purchase_amount}}"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Custom API

{
  "type": "webhook",
  "endpoint": "https://api.example.com/realtime/events",
  "method": "POST",
  "headers": {
    "X-API-Key": "{{secret:custom_api_key}}",
    "X-Event-Type": "{{event_name}}"
  },
  "payload_template": {
    "customer": {
      "id": "{{user_id}}",
      "email": "{{email}}",
      "tier": "{{customer_tier}}"
    },
    "event": {
      "name": "{{event_name}}",
      "time": "{{event_time}}",
      "data": "{{event_properties}}"
    }
  },
  "timeout_ms": 10000
}

Salesforce Activation

Update Salesforce objects directly:

{
  "type": "salesforce",
  "name": "update_lead_score",
  "object": "Lead",
  "operation": "update",
  "field_mapping": {
    "Email": "{{email}}",
    "Lead_Score__c": "{{customer_score}}",
    "Last_Activity__c": "{{event_time}}",
    "Products_Viewed__c": "{{viewed_products_30d}}",
    "Purchase_Count__c": "{{purchase_count_30d}}"
  },
  "match_field": "Email"
}

Salesforce Configuration

• object: Salesforce object (Lead, Contact, Account, Custom__c)
• operation: update, create, or upsert
• field_mapping: Map TD attributes to Salesforce fields
• match_field: Field to match on for updates

Salesforce Examples

Update Contact

{
  "type": "salesforce",
  "object": "Contact",
  "operation": "update",
  "field_mapping": {
    "Email": "{{email}}",
    "VIP_Status__c": "true",
    "Last_Purchase_Date__c": "{{event_time}}",
    "Last_Purchase_Amount__c": "{{purchase_amount}}",
    "Lifetime_Value__c": "{{total_lifetime_value}}"
  },
  "match_field": "Email"
}

Create Lead

{
  "type": "salesforce",
  "object": "Lead",
  "operation": "create",
  "field_mapping": {
    "Email": "{{email}}",
    "FirstName": "{{first_name}}",
    "LastName": "{{last_name}}",
    "Company": "{{company}}",
    "LeadSource": "Website",
    "Status": "New"
  }
}

Update Custom Object

{
  "type": "salesforce",
  "object": "Customer_Activity__c",
  "operation": "upsert",
  "field_mapping": {
    "Customer_Email__c": "{{email}}",
    "Activity_Type__c": "{{event_name}}",
    "Activity_Date__c": "{{event_time}}",
    "Product_ID__c": "{{product_id}}",
    "Amount__c": "{{purchase_amount}}"
  },
  "match_field": "Customer_Email__c"
}

Email Activation

Send transactional emails:

{
  "type": "email",
  "name": "welcome_email",
  "provider": "sendgrid",
  "template_id": "d-abc123xyz",
  "to": "{{email}}",
  "from": "welcome@company.com",
  "from_name": "Company Name",
  "subject": "Welcome to Our Platform!",
  "dynamic_data": {
    "user_name": "{{first_name}}",
    "signup_date": "{{event_time}}",
    "account_type": "{{customer_tier}}"
  }
}

Email Configuration

• provider: Email service (sendgrid, mailgun, ses)
• template_id: Email template ID from provider
• to: Recipient (use {{email}} variable)
• from: Sender email
• subject: Email subject line
• dynamic_data: Template variables

Email Examples

SendGrid Template

{
  "type": "email",
  "provider": "sendgrid",
  "template_id": "d-welcome-template",
  "to": "{{email}}",
  "from": "noreply@company.com",
  "dynamic_data": {
    "first_name": "{{first_name}}",
    "product_name": "{{purchased_product}}",
    "order_total": "{{purchase_amount}}",
    "shipping_date": "{{estimated_delivery}}"
  }
}

Abandoned Cart Email

{
  "type": "email",
  "provider": "sendgrid",
  "template_id": "d-cart-recovery",
  "to": "{{email}}",
  "from": "shop@company.com",
  "subject": "Your cart is waiting!",
  "dynamic_data": {
    "customer_name": "{{first_name}}",
    "cart_items": "{{cart_items}}",
    "cart_value": "{{cart_value}}",
    "discount_code": "SAVE10",
    "cart_url": "https://shop.com/cart/{{cart_id}}"
  }
}

Multiple Activations

RT journeys can have multiple activations:

{
  "name": "high_value_purchase",
  "event_name": "purchase",
  "filters": {
    "purchase_amount": {
      "operator": "greater_than",
      "value": 500
    }
  },
  "activations": [
    // 1. Update Salesforce
    {
      "type": "salesforce",
      "object": "Contact",
      "operation": "update",
      "field_mapping": {
        "Email": "{{email}}",
        "VIP_Status__c": "true"
      },
      "match_field": "Email"
    },
    // 2. Send thank you email
    {
      "type": "email",
      "template_id": "vip-thank-you",
      "to": "{{email}}",
      "dynamic_data": {
        "purchase_amount": "{{purchase_amount}}"
      }
    },
    // 3. Notify Slack
    {
      "type": "webhook",
      "endpoint": "{{secret:slack_webhook_url}}",
      "payload_template": {
        "text": "VIP purchase: {{email}} - ${{purchase_amount}}"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Variable Substitution

Use double curly braces for variables:

Available Variables

{
  // User Identifiers
  "user_id": "{{user_id}}",
  "email": "{{email}}",
  "td_client_id": "{{td_client_id}}",

  // Event Data
  "event_name": "{{event_name}}",
  "event_time": "{{event_time}}",
  "event_properties": "{{event_properties}}",

  // RT Attributes (from rt-config-attributes)
  "last_product_viewed": "{{last_product_viewed}}",
  "viewed_products_30d": "{{viewed_products_30d}}",
  "purchase_count_7d": "{{purchase_count_7d}}",
  "cart_value": "{{cart_value}}",

  // Batch Attributes (from parent segment)
  "customer_tier": "{{customer_tier}}",
  "total_lifetime_value": "{{total_lifetime_value}}",
  "account_status": "{{account_status}}",

  // Event-specific Fields
  "product_id": "{{product_id}}",
  "category": "{{category}}",
  "purchase_amount": "{{purchase_amount}}"
}

Secrets

Store credentials securely:

{
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{secret:api_key}}",
    "X-API-Token": "{{secret:webhook_token}}"
  },
  "endpoint": "{{secret:webhook_url}}"
}

Secret format: {{secret:secret_name}}

Testing Activations

# Test webhook endpoint manually
curl -X POST "https://your-webhook.com/endpoint" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "user_id": "test_123",
    "event": "test_event",
    "data": "test_data"
  }'

# Check webhook response
# Expected: 200 OK

# Test email template
# Use provider's test interface (SendGrid, Mailgun)

# Test Salesforce connection
# Verify credentials and object permissions

Common Errors

Error	Solution
"Webhook timeout"	Increase timeout_ms or optimize endpoint
"Invalid endpoint URL"	Use HTTPS and verify URL format
"Authentication failed"	Check secret values and credentials
"Salesforce field not found"	Verify field API names in Salesforce
"Email template not found"	Check template ID in email provider
"Variable not found"	Verify variable name matches RT attribute

Best Practices

Webhook Design

• HTTPS only: Always use secure endpoints
• Fast response: Respond quickly (< 5s)
• Idempotent: Handle duplicate requests
• Error handling: Return proper HTTP status codes

Salesforce Integration

• Field validation: Verify field types match
• Bulk operations: Consider API limits
• Match fields: Use stable identifiers (email, ID)

Email Activation

• Template testing: Test templates thoroughly
• Unsubscribe: Include unsubscribe links
• Deliverability: Monitor bounce/complaint rates

Performance

• Timeout: Default 5000ms, max 30000ms
• Retries: 3 retries with exponential backoff
• Parallel: Multiple activations run in parallel
• Rate limits: 100 activations/sec per journey

Next Steps

After configuring activations:

• Test: Test each activation type thoroughly
• Monitor: Track success rates → Use rt-journey-monitor skill
• Optimize: Refine payload templates and filters

Resources

• Activation Types Documentation
• Webhook Best Practices
• Salesforce Integration