Targeting the Right Customers with Segment Filters

15-20 minutes

Tutorial 19.2: Targeting the Right Customers with Segment Filters

Introduction

Not every message should go to every customer. A "We miss you!" offer makes no sense for someone who visited last week, and a VIP reward shouldn't go to a first-time walk-in. Segment filters let you narrow down exactly who receives your campaign based on their appointment history, spending, preferences, and more.

This tutorial explains every available filter, how filters combine, and how to build targeted audiences for common salon scenarios.

Who this is for: Salon owners, admins, and managers creating marketing campaigns.

What you'll learn:

How segment filters work and how they combine (AND logic)
Every available filter type and what it does
How the live recipient count estimate works
Channel requirements for email and SMS campaigns
Practical filter combinations for common marketing scenarios

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

Familiarity with creating campaigns (see Tutorial 19.1)
Customers in your system with varying appointment history, spending, and consent settings (see Tutorial 3.1 for adding customers)
An understanding of marketing consent (see Tutorial 3.3 for customer preferences)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the Audience Step

Create a new campaign or edit an existing draft (see Tutorial 19.1)
Navigate to step 2, Audience, using the step navigation at the top
You'll see the Target Audience card with the description: "Add filters to narrow down who receives this campaign. Leave empty to send to all eligible contacts."

Step 2: Understand How Filters Combine

All segment filters use AND logic — a customer must match every filter you add to be included. For example, if you add "Last appointment within 30 days" AND "Is VIP customer", only customers who are both VIP and visited within the last 30 days will receive the campaign.

The more filters you add, the narrower your audience becomes.

Step 3: Understand the Default Consent Filter

When you create a new campaign, a marketing consent filter is automatically added:

Email campaigns: "Has email marketing consent" — only includes customers who have opted in to email marketing
SMS campaigns: "Has SMS marketing consent" — only includes customers who have opted in to SMS marketing

These filters ensure you respect your customers' communication preferences. You can remove them, but we strongly recommend keeping them in place.

Step 4: Add a Filter

Click the Add Filter button below the existing filters
A new filter row appears with a dropdown to select the filter type
Choose a filter type from the dropdown
If the filter requires a value (such as a number of days or an amount), enter it in the field that appears
The Estimated recipients count updates automatically as you add or modify filters

To remove a filter, click the X button on the right side of the filter row.

Step 5: Understand All Available Filters

Here is every filter type available, grouped by category:

Marketing Consent Filters

Filter	What It Does	Input
Has email marketing consent	Only includes customers who have opted in to receive marketing emails	None — simply add it
Has SMS marketing consent	Only includes customers who have opted in to receive marketing SMS messages	None — simply add it

Note: The email consent filter only appears for email campaigns, and the SMS consent filter only appears for SMS campaigns.

Appointment-Based Filters

Filter	What It Does	Input
Last appointment within X days	Customers who completed an appointment within the specified number of days	Number of days
Last appointment more than X days ago	Customers who have visited before but haven't completed an appointment within the specified number of days	Number of days
Never had an appointment	Customers who have never had a completed appointment	None
Appointment count at least	Customers with at least this many completed appointments	Minimum count
Appointment count at most	Customers with no more than this many completed appointments	Maximum count

Spending Filters

Filter	What It Does	Input
Total spend at least	Customers whose total spend meets or exceeds this amount	Currency amount
Total spend at most	Customers whose total spend is at or below this amount	Currency amount
Has outstanding balance	Customers who have unpaid or partially paid transactions	None

Customer Attribute Filters

Filter	What It Does	Input
Birthday month	Customers born in the selected month	Select a month (January–December)
Referral source	Customers who came from a specific referral source	Text (e.g., "Google", "Facebook")
Has badge	Customers who have a specific badge assigned	Select a badge (VIP, Prefers Silence, Often Late, Often Early, Frequent Visitor, New Customer)
Is VIP customer	Customers with the VIP badge	None

Step 6: Read the Estimated Recipients Count

Below the filters, you'll see the Estimated recipients indicator:

While calculating, you'll see a spinning icon with "Calculating..."
Once ready, it shows the count in bold — for example: "42 customers with an email address matching your filters" (or "with a phone number" for SMS campaigns)
If the estimate can't be calculated, you'll see "Unable to estimate"

This count reflects the number of active customers who:

Match all your filters
Have the required contact information (email address for email campaigns, phone number for SMS campaigns)

The estimate updates every time you add, remove, or change a filter.

Step 7: Build Targeted Audiences for Common Scenarios

Here are practical filter combinations for common salon marketing goals:

Win Back Lapsed Customers

Goal: Re-engage customers you haven't seen in a while.

Has email marketing consent (auto-added)
Last appointment more than 60 days ago — targets customers who have visited before but not recently

Reward Your VIPs

Goal: Send an exclusive offer to your most loyal customers.

Has email marketing consent (auto-added)
Is VIP customer — only customers with the VIP badge
Last appointment within 90 days — ensures they're still active

Birthday Month Special

Goal: Send a birthday treat to customers celebrating this month.

Has email marketing consent (auto-added)
Birthday month — select the current month

Encourage First-Timers to Return

Goal: Follow up with customers who've only visited once.

Has email marketing consent (auto-added)
Appointment count at least — set to 1
Appointment count at most — set to 1
Last appointment more than 14 days ago — give them time to have returned on their own

High-Value Customer Appreciation

Goal: Thank your biggest spenders.

Has email marketing consent (auto-added)
Total spend at least — set to your threshold (e.g., 500)

Common Pitfalls

"My recipient count dropped to zero after adding a filter"

Filters use AND logic, so each additional filter narrows the audience further. If you're too specific, you may exclude everyone. Try removing one filter at a time to see which one is causing the drop. Also check that your customers have the required contact information and marketing consent.

"I can't find the consent filter I'm looking for"

The email consent filter only appears for email campaigns, and the SMS consent filter only appears for SMS campaigns. You won't see "Has SMS marketing consent" when creating an email campaign, and vice versa.

"The referral source filter isn't matching any customers"

The referral source filter matches the exact text in the customer's referral source field. Make sure you're entering the value exactly as it appears on customer profiles — for example, "Google" rather than "google search". Check a few customer profiles to see how the referral source is recorded.

"I'm not sure what counts as a 'completed' appointment"

The appointment-based filters only count appointments with a completed status. Cancelled, no-show, and scheduled appointments are not included. This ensures your targeting is based on customers who actually visited.

Tips and Best Practices

Always keep the consent filter — marketing consent isn't just good practice, it's often a legal requirement. The consent filter is added automatically for a reason
Start broad, then narrow — begin with one or two filters and check the estimated count. Add more filters only if the audience is too large
Use birthday campaigns monthly — set a recurring reminder to create a birthday campaign at the start of each month using the birthday month filter
Combine appointment and spending filters thoughtfully — "Last appointment more than 60 days ago" AND "Total spend at least 200" targets high-value customers you're at risk of losing
Check the estimate before proceeding — always verify the estimated recipient count before moving to the next step. If the count seems unexpectedly low or high, review your filters
Remember that customers need contact info — even if a customer matches all your filters, they won't receive the campaign if they're missing an email address (for email) or phone number (for SMS)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use OR logic instead of AND?

No, all filters combine with AND logic. Every customer must match all filters to be included. If you need to reach two different groups (e.g., VIPs OR customers who haven't visited in 60 days), create two separate campaigns — one for each group.

What happens if I don't add any filters?

If you remove all filters (including the consent filter), the campaign will target all active customers in your salon who have the required contact information. We recommend always keeping at least the marketing consent filter.

Does the "Total spend" filter include refunded transactions?

Yes, the total spend calculation includes both completed and refunded transactions. Deposit credits are excluded from the total.

Can I save a set of filters to reuse later?

Not directly, but you can duplicate a sent campaign to create a new draft with the same filters. This is a great way to reuse a proven audience segment. See Tutorial 19.3 for details on duplicating campaigns.

How does the "Last appointment more than X days ago" filter work exactly?

It includes customers who have had at least one completed appointment in the past, but whose most recent completed appointment was more than X days ago. It does not include customers who have never had an appointment — use the "Never had an appointment" filter for those.

Are inactive or deleted customers included?

No. Segment filters only target active customers in your salon. Archived or inactive customers are automatically excluded.

Last Updated: February 2026