TLDR Summary
Alpine IQ Flows is AIQ’s new event-driven automation builder that lets dispensaries run always-on customer journeys across channels (email, SMS, wallet notifications, browser push, mobile push, and voice drops) while tying actions like discounts and loyalty points directly into the journey logic. It’s a meaningful shift from “schedule and send” to “react and guide,” but the real results come from smart journey design, clean data, and margin-safe incentive strategy.
If you’re looking at Alpine IQ Flows and thinking, “Okay… this could be powerful,” you’re probably right. It can also get messy fast if the logic, incentives, or channels aren’t thought through. Below, we’ll break Flows down in plain English, share a few high-impact ways dispensaries are using it, and call out what to get right before you hit publish.
To make this easy to scan, here’s what we’ll cover:
Table of Contents
- What Alpine IQ Flows Is (and what it’s not)
- Why Flows matters for dispensary CRM
- What can trigger a Flow
- Omnichannel journeys: how to think about channels
- Loyalty inside the journey (the real unlock)
- AI conditions: where they help, where they don’t
- 7 high-impact journey ideas you can upgrade with Flows
- Measuring success beyond opens and clicks
- Constraints, gotchas, and a quick readiness checklist
- FAQ
- Turning Flows into revenue without chaos
What Alpine IQ Flows Is (and what it’s not)
Alpine IQ positions Flows as event-driven automation that reacts in the moment and uses real-time segmentation and logic to determine what happens next in a customer journey.
In plain terms: Flows is designed for behavior-based journeys, not one-off sends. Instead of building your week around “campaigns,” you build systems that respond when customers do something that signals intent, like a signup, an abandoned cart, or a purchase.
It’s also not a magic button. If your events aren’t reliable, your opt-ins are thin, or your incentives aren’t margin-safe, Flows can automate the wrong thing faster. That’s why we treat it like infrastructure, not a feature toggle.
Why Flows matters for dispensary CRM
The big shift is this: marketing doesn’t stop after send. Modern retention comes from relevance, timing, and follow-through, not just volume.
Flows pushes AIQ further into “connected retail,” where messaging can align with loyalty and commerce. AIQ’s documentation highlights journey building with triggers, delays, splits, and actions (including loyalty actions like gifting points or attaching discounts).
For operators, the practical benefits usually land in three places:
- Ecommerce conversion: responding to browsing and cart intent sooner
- Retention: guiding customers to a second, third, and tenth purchase
- Reduced workload: fewer manual “constant sends” to keep results stable
What can trigger a Flow
AIQ’s help docs describe Flows as connected nodes (triggers, actions, delays, splits, and more), with customers entering when they match the trigger criteria. It also lists common trigger types like signup forms, abandoned cart, purchased, points events, campaign events, and lifecycle triggers.
A useful way to categorize triggers (without getting too deep into the weeds):
High-intent triggers
These are actions that usually mean “buy soon” or “buy again soon,” like cart activity or purchases. They tend to drive the fastest ROI when your logic is clean.
Relationship triggers
Think “new to the brand,” “inactive,” “birthday,” or “just opted in.” These are where you build long-term retention, not quick spikes.
Loyalty triggers
Points earned, points redeemed, discounts unlocked. These are great for nudging behavior, but only if your rewards strategy is intentional.
Omnichannel journeys: how to think about channels
AIQ markets Flows as omnichannel automation from one builder, including email, SMS, wallet pass notifications, voice drops, browser push, and mobile push inside the same journey.
Here’s the key strategic point: omnichannel isn’t “send everywhere.” It’s sequencing and fallback.
One important “gotcha” AIQ calls out: if a customer hits a step for a channel they aren’t opted into, they may not progress to later steps unless you branch around that limitation.
That’s why the best journeys plan for:
- channel availability
- quiet hours and compliance constraints
- escalation only when engagement stalls
Loyalty inside the journey (the real unlock)
Flows includes built-in actions such as Give Discount and Gift Points as journey steps.
This matters because it lets loyalty shift from an “afterthought reward” to a real-time behavior lever. But there’s a fine line:
- done well, loyalty actions increase repeat rate and reduce discount dependency
- done poorly, they train customers to wait for deals
We’ll share plenty of strategic guidance in this article. The exact offer math and guardrails are part of what we build with clients, because it’s highly store-specific.
AI conditions: where they help, where they don’t
AIQ supports “AI Split” conditions where AI evaluates a yes/no question prompt to route customers.
Where AI conditions can help:
- adding context when rigid rules fall short
- making journeys adaptable when the “why” matters
Where they can hurt:
- when you need precise, auditable decision rules
- when “creative logic” risks discount waste or compliance issues
If you’re new to Flows, start with simple, measurable logic first. Then layer in AI conditions where they create real lift.
7 high-impact journeys you can upgrade with Flows
Below are strong starting points. These are intentionally concept-level so you can understand the opportunity without turning this into a step-by-step implementation manual.
1) Abandoned cart recovery
- Trigger: cart intent
- Goal: conversion without immediate discounting
- Common mistake: waiting too long, then over-incentivizing everyone
2) Category retention journeys
- Trigger: repeat purchase behavior by category
- Goal: increase purchase frequency in “their lane”
- Common mistake: generic weekly blasts that ignore preference
3) Winback / reactivation
- Trigger: inactivity window or lifecycle event
- Goal: reintroduce value and get a second look
- Common mistake: giving your best customers the biggest discounts
4) Loyalty boost journeys
- Trigger: points earned/redeemed or loyalty milestones
- Goal: increase loyalty participation and redemption
- Common mistake: random bonus offers with no behavioral purpose
5) First-time buyer nurture
- Trigger: first purchase
- Goal: reach second purchase faster
- Common mistake: treating all first-time buyers the same
6) Omnichannel welcome series
- Trigger: signup or opt-in event
- Goal: move from “new contact” to “known preference”
- Common mistake: using one channel only, then blaming the list
7) Post-purchase upsell
- Trigger: purchase event
- Goal: guide replenishment or complementary buys
- Common mistake: sending the same follow-up to every basket
Heady note: The lift usually comes from the parts most teams skip: smart branching, channel fallback, and margin protection.
Measuring success beyond opens and clicks
AIQ highlights node-level analytics inside a Flow and aggregate reporting across Flows.
Even if you never touch advanced attribution, you’ll make better decisions by setting:
- one primary KPI per Flow (conversion, repeat rate, AOV, redemption)
- one guardrail metric (opt-outs, discount burn, margin pressure)
If a Flow “wins” on clicks but bleeds margin or increases opt-outs, it’s not actually winning.
Constraints, gotchas, and a quick readiness checklist
AIQ’s docs include several operational constraints worth knowing upfront:
- Time delays: minimum 30 minutes, maximum 1 year
- Editing live Flows: once live, only time delay nodes can be edited (message content can be edited, but core logic is limited)
- A/B testing: not available “in this version,” per docs
- Compliance rules apply: sends follow TCPA, quiet hours, 10DLC, opt-in and unsubscribe handling
Readiness checklist (fast and honest)
Before you build serious journeys, confirm you have:
- reliable triggers/events (especially purchase + ecommerce events)
- clean opt-in coverage by channel
- a defined incentive strategy (what you’ll give, and when you won’t)
- baseline reporting expectations (what “success” means)
- internal owner for monitoring and iteration
If any of those are shaky, Flows can still work, but you’ll want to start smaller.
FAQ
What is Alpine IQ Flows?
AIQ Flows is Alpine IQ’s event-driven automation tool that lets you build customer journeys using triggers, splits, delays, and actions (including loyalty actions) to respond to real customer behavior.
What channels can Flows use?
AIQ promotes omnichannel journeys that can include email, SMS, wallet notifications, voice drops, browser push, and mobile push within the same Flow.
Can Flows include loyalty actions like points or discounts?
Yes. AIQ’s Flows docs include nodes such as “Give Discount” and “Gift Points.”
How fast do Flow triggers run compared to traditional audiences?
AIQ states Flows evaluate triggers and traits more frequently than traditional audiences, though timing varies by trait type.
Can I edit a Flow after it’s live?
AIQ’s docs say that once a Flow is live, only time delay nodes can be edited, and core logic like triggers and splits can’t be changed without duplicating a Flow.
Can I A/B test Flows?
Not currently, according to AIQ’s docs (“not in this version”).
Turning Flows into revenue without chaos
Flows is a big step forward for cannabis CRM because it makes “respond and guide” possible across channels while connecting messaging with loyalty actions.
If you want Flows to drive real growth (not just more automation), Heady can help in two ways:
- CRM + Flows strategy: we map your real customer behavior to 2–3 priority journeys that protect margin and improve retention.
- Implementation + optimization: we build, QA, and iterate the journeys so they don’t stall, spam, or over-discount.
If you’re running AIQ and want to pressure-test your current CRM against what Flows now makes possible, reach out for a free AIQ audit and growth plan.