Setting Up Email Funnels in Bitrix24 CRM Marketing
An email funnel in CRM marketing is an automated series of emails triggered by a specific event in the CRM and guides the client through a predefined scenario. The manager doesn't click "send" — emails are delivered automatically based on conditions.
How funnels differ from mass mailings
A mass mailing is a single email to a segment. A funnel is a sequence of emails with conditions and delays. Example of a funnel: customer moves deal to status "Quote sent" → after 2 days email "Reminder about our offer" → if no response after 3 days → email "Any questions?" → if deal moves to "Lost" → email "We'd love to continue the conversation".
Creating a funnel
Section: CRM → CRM Marketing → Email → Email Chains (Funnels).
Setup steps:
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Trigger (activation event). What launches the funnel: deal status change, new lead creation, form submission, link click from previous email.
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Audience. Contacts or leads from a CRM segment. For example: all deals in the "Sales" funnel, stage "Quote sent", assigned to the sales department.
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Funnel steps. Each step is either an email, condition, or delay:
- Email — template with subject and body, CRM field placeholders.
- Delay — wait N hours/days before next step.
- Condition — if customer opened email → one scenario, if didn't open → another.
- CRM action — change status, create task, notify manager.
Email templates
Templates are created in the CRM marketing editor. Block editor (drag-and-drop) and HTML editor are available for custom markup.
Variables in the template — CRM entity fields:
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{CONTACT_NAME}— contact name. -
{DEAL_TITLE}— deal title. -
{DEAL_OPPORTUNITY}— deal amount. -
{ASSIGNED_NAME}— assigned manager name. -
{ASSIGNED_PHONE}— manager phone.
Personalization through these fields increases open rates — "John, we prepared an offer for you" works better than impersonal messaging.
Branching conditions
At each funnel step, you can set a condition for branching:
| Condition | Description |
|---|---|
| Email opened | Tracked by pixel in email |
| Link clicked | UTM or tracking link in email |
| Deal status changed | Customer moved forward in the funnel |
| Field filled | Manager filled required field |
If customer opened email and clicked the link — no need to send them "reminder". The condition excludes them from the follow-up branch.
Unsubscribe and GDPR
Every email must have an unsubscribe link — Bitrix24 adds it automatically when using CRM marketing templates. A customer who clicks "Unsubscribe" is excluded from future mailings for that contact.
Funnel analytics
After launch, "Statistics" section provides:
- Percentage of opened emails (open rate) for each step.
- Click-through rate (CTR).
- Number of conversions (link clicks → closed deals).
- Number of unsubscribes.
If first email open rate is below 15% — issue is in email subject or sender. If CTR is low — issue is in email content or offer.
Setup of a 3-5 step email funnel with templates — 1 working day.