AMPscript - Day 3 - Conditional Statement & Control Flow

Basic IF-ELSE-ELSEIF-THEN-ENDIF:

Confluence Link: https://elearningit24.atlassian.net/wiki/external/MjhmNTRmOWIzNmUyNDVkMTgzN2MxNmFiZjk2MzExMjQ

Quick understanding of each Conditional Statements

IF: Starts the statement and checks the very first condition.

THEN: Defines the action or code block to run if the preceding IF condition is true.

ELSEIF: Tests additional, alternative conditions if all previous IF or ELSEIF conditions were false.

ELSE: A final "catch-all" block that runs only if none of the preceding IF or ELSEIF conditions were met.

ENDIF: Closes the entire conditional statement and allows the rest of the program to continue running

Conditional Flow: AMPscript conditional logic is used in Salesforce Marketing Cloud to control personalization, dynamic content, and decision-making inside Emails, CloudPages, and Journeys. AMPscript has only one core conditional statement:

IF Statement: The IF statement checks a condition and executes code only if the condition evaluates to TRUE. %%[ IF Age >= 18 THEN SET @msg = "Eligible" ENDIF ]%%

Points to Remember

✅ Always initialize variables before using them to avoid blank outputs.

✅ Use NOT EMPTY() checks when working with customer attributes that may contain NULL values.

✅ Implement fallback content for missing data such as names, locations, or demographic information.

✅ Use ELSEIF instead of deeply IF statements whenever possible for better readability and easier maintenance.

✅ Validate critical fields like Email Address, Mobile Number, and Customer ID before displaying content.

✅ Apply IF conditions for compliance requirements such as age restrictions, consent management, and opt-in preferences.

✅ Leverage IF logic to personalize:

Subject lines
Hero banners
CTAs
Discounts
Language preferences
Transactional messages

✅ Standardize data values (e.g., Country Codes, Loyalty Tiers) to prevent condition mismatches.

✅ Keep business logic simple and reusable to improve performance and reduce troubleshooting effort.

✅ Test all possible scenarios, including:

Valid data
Missing data
Unexpected values
Multiple condition matches

Syntax: %%[ IF <condition> THEN <statement> ENDIF ]%%

Flow Diagram:

Sample DE for use case:

To start, go to Email Studio> Create an Blank email template and Drag and drop HTML.

Set Variable: As per my Sample DE, I've added the fields in the variable because throughout the use cases I will be using each variable.(Ensure the @, Comma and spelling along with the capitalization are all correct, otherwise it will throw error.

1️⃣ Eligibility & Compliance Checks (Most Common)

Used in

Age-based offers
Gambling / alcohol / finance compliance
COPPA / GDPR consent logic

⚠️ Real-time issue

Age may be NULL → condition fails silently
👉 Always add fallback

Workflow for Use Case 1:

AMPscript Code:

%%[VAR @Age]%%

%%[Set @Age=AttributeValue("Age")]%%

%%[IF NOT EMPTY(@Age) And Age>= 20 THEN]%%

You can access this offer

%%[ELSE]%%

Offer Restricted

%%[ENDIF]%%

Output

Offer Restricted

You can access this offer

2️⃣ Personalization (Content Display Control)

🟢 Show different message blocks

Workflow for Use Case 2:

Used in

Dynamic banners
Email body personalization
Subject line logic

Code:

%%[VAR @Gender, @FirstName, @HeroImage, @Greeting]%% %%[ Set @Gender=AttributeValue("Gender") Set @FirstName=AttributeValue("FirstName") ]%% %%[ IF @Gender=="Male" THEN Set @HeroImage="https://image.s10.sfmc-content.com/lib/fe2f117170640578741179/m/1/8d9fcb06-57b2-4776-b5ec-6815307eb49b.png"]%% %%[ELSE]%% %%[Set @HeroImage="https://image.s10.sfmc-content.com/lib/fe2f117170640578741179/m/1/967f3c19-6add-44de-85b5-340870f88da6.png"]%% %%[ENDIF]%% %%[IF NOT EMPTY (@FirstName) THEN Set @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName) ELSE Set @Greeting = "Hi there"]%% %%[ENDIF]%% %%=v(@Greeting)=%%

Customise Greeting as per the First Name, image as per the Gender

Name is empty in "FirstName" Field, so it says "Hi there" here.

3️⃣ Offer & Promotion Logic

🟢 Loyalty-based discounts

Used in

Coupons
Promo codes
Exclusive campaigns

Workflow for Use case 3:

Code:

%%[

VAR @LoyaltyTier, @FirstName SET @LoyaltyTier = AttributeValue("LoyaltyTier") Set @FirstName = AttributeValue ("FirstName") ]%% %%[ IF @LoyaltyTier == "Gold" THEN SET @Discount = "Your discount is 30%" ]%% %%[ ELSEIF @LoyaltyTier == "Silver" THEN SET @Discount = "Your discount is 20%" ]%% %%[ ELSE SET @Discount = "Your discount is 10%" ]%% %%[ ENDIF ]%% %%[IF NOT EMPTY (@FirstName) THEN Set @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName) ELSE Set @Greeting = "Hi there"]%% %%[ENDIF]%% %%=v(@Greeting)=%% %%=v(@Discount)=%%

Output:

When loyalty Tier is not set in the DE records, it will automatically give the default 10% as per the AMPscript code:

%%[

ELSE SET @Discount = "Your discount is 10%" ]%%

4️⃣ Localization / Language Handling

Use cases

Multi-language emails
Country-specific legal footers
Regional content

⚠️ Production issue

Country codes mismatch (IN vs India)
👉 Normalize data upstream

%%[

VAR @FirstName, @Language, @Country, @Greeting, @Message

SET @FirstName=AttributeValue("FirstName")

SET @Language=AttributeValue("Language")

SET @Country=AttributeValue("Country")

]%%

%%[

IF @Country == "IN" OR @Country == "India" THEN

SET @Language = "Hindi"

SET @Message = "विशेष ऑफर केवल आपके लिए!"

ELSEIF @Country == "FR" THEN

SET @Language = "French"

SET @Message = "Offre spéciale juste pour vous"

Else

SET @Language = "English"

SET @Message = "Special offer just for you!"

ENDIF]%%

%%[IF NOT EMPTY(@FirstName) THEN

SET @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName)

ELSE

SET @Greeting = "Hi There"

ENDIF]%%

%%=v(@Greeting)=%%

%%=v(@Language)=%%

%%=v(@Message)=%%

Output:

5️⃣ Channel Suppression (Email / SMS / Push)

Use cases

CAN-SPAM compliance
Opt-in based channel control
Preference centers

Important: AMPscript does not prevent an email from being sent. "True" channel suppression should be implemented using Journey Entry Criteria, SQL filters, Suppression Lists, or Exclusion Data Extensions before the send occurs.

START

│

▼

Retrieve EmailOptIn

│

▼

EmailOptIn = True?

│

┌---------I─────┐

│ │

YES NO

│ │

▼ ▼

Show Suppress

Offer Marketing Content

│ │

└────┬─────┘

│

▼

Render Email

│

▼

END

Code:

%%[ VAR @FirstName, @EmailOptIn, @Message, @Greeting SET @FirstName = AttributeValue("FirstName") SET @EmailOptIn = AttributeValue("EmailOptIn") ENDIF]%% %%[IF @EmailOptIn == "True" THEN SET @Message = "🎉 Exclusive 20% Discount Coupon" ELSE SET @Message = "Please update your communication preferences." ENDIF]%% %%[IF NOT EMPTY(@FirstName) THEN Set @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ",@FirstName) ELSE SET @Greeting = "Hi There" ENDIF]%% %%=v(@Greeting)=%% %%=v(@Message)=%%

Output: Email OptIn "True"

Email OptIn "False"

6️⃣ Dynamic CTA / URL Handling

Used for

Mobile vs desktop experience
App deep links
Tracking URLs

Code: (If you have CTA link existing in DE, you can use the below coding)

%%[VAR @FirstName, @Device, @CTAURL, @CTAText, @Greeting SET @FirstName = AttributeValue("FirstName") SET @Device = AttributeValue("Device") SET @CTAURL = AttributeValue("CTAURL") ]%% %%[IF @Device == "Mobile" THEN SET @CTAText = "Shop on Mobile" ELSEIF @Device == "Desktop" THEN SET @CTAText = "Shop on Desktop" ELSE SET @CTAText = "Click Here" ENDIF]%% %%[IF NOT EMPTY(@FirstName) Then SET @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName) ELSE @Greeting = "Hi There" ENDIF]%% %%=v(@Greeting)=%% %%=v(@CTAURL)=%% %%=v(@CTAText)=%%

Code: (If you don't have CTA link existing in DE, you can use the below coding)

%%[VAR @FirstName, @Device, @CTAURL, @CTAText, @Greeting SET @FirstName = AttributeValue("FirstName") SET @Device = AttributeValue("Device") SET @CTAURL = AttributeValue("CTAURL") ]%% %%[IF @Device == "Mobile" THEN SET @CTAText = "Shop on Mobile" SET @CTAURL = "https://m.company.com/sale" ELSEIF @Device == "Desktop" THEN SET @CTAText = "Shop on Desktop" SET @CTAURL = "https://m.company.com/sale" ELSE SET @CTAText = "Click Here" ENDIF]%% %%[IF NOT EMPTY(@FirstName) Then SET @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName) ELSE @Greeting = "Hi There" ENDIF]%% %%=v(@Greeting)=%% <a href="%%=RedirectTo(@CTAURL)=%%"> Shop Now </a> %%=v(@CTAText)=%%

<a href="%%=RedirectTo(@CTAURL)=%%"> Shop Now: This code helps you add hyperlink

7️⃣ Data Validation & Null Handling (CRITICAL)

🟢 Prevent broken emails

🟢 Default fallback values

🔥 Most common real-world bug
➡️ AMPscript fails silently when values are NULL

Code:

%%[

VAR @EmailAddress, @City, @Status, @FirstName

SET @EmailAddress = AttributeValue("EmailAddress")

SET @City = AttributeValue("City")

SET @FirstName = AttributeValue("FirstName")

/* 1. Prevent broken emails */

IF EMPTY(@EmailAddress) THEN

SET @Status = "Invalid Record"

ENDIF

/* 2. Default fallback values */

IF EMPTY(@City) THEN

SET @City = "Your Area"

ENDIF

]%%

%%=v(@FirstName)=%%

%%=v(@Status)=%%

%%=v(@City)=%%

%%=v(@EmailAddress)=%%

Output:

"Invalid Record" Email address:

"Your Area" where the city was not mentioned

8️⃣ Behavioral Targeting (Engagement Based)

Use cases
Re-engagement campaigns
Win-back journeys
Content throttling

Code:

%%[VAR @LastOpenDays, @Segment SET @LastOpenDays = AttributeValue("LastOpenDays") IF @LastOpenDays <= 30 THEN SET @Segment = "Active" ELSE SET @Segment = "Inactive" ENDIF]%% %%=v(@LastOpenDays)=%% %%=v(@Segment)=%%

Output:

45 Days - Inactive

15 Days - Active

9️⃣ Transactional Emails (Order / Payment Logic)

Used in
Order confirmation
Payment failure emails
Refund notifications

Code:

%%[VAR @FirstName, @OrderStatus, @Greeting, @msg

SET @OrderStatus = AttributeValue("OrderStatus")
SET @FirstName = AttributeValue("FirstName")

IF OrderStatus == "Confirmed" THEN
SET @msg = "Your order is confirmed"
ELSEIF OrderStatus == "Cancelled" THEN
SET @msg = "Your order was cancelled"
ENDIF]%%

%%[IF NOT EMPTY(@FirstName) Then
SET @Greeting = CONCAT("Hi ", @FirstName)
ELSE @Greeting = "Hi There"
ENDIF]%%

%%=v(@Greeting)=%% 
 
%%=v(@msg)=%%

Output:

🔟 Journey Decision Pre-Processing

Why used
Prepare flags before Journey entry
Reduce Decision Split complexity
Performance optimization

Code:

%%[VAR @CustomerScore, @Path, @SubscriberKey SET @CustomerScore = AttributeValue("CustomerScore") SET @SubscriberKey = AttributeValue("SubscriberKey") ]%% %%[IF @CustomerScore <= 80 THEN SET @path = "High Value" ELSE SET @Path = "Standard" ENDIF]%%

Output:

Customer score & path:

This code is an automated classification engine. It evaluates your raw customer data and categorizes subscribers into tracks at the exact moment an email is generated. Instead of manually managing different lists, this script updates a hidden tracking flag (`@Path`) dynamically. You use that flag to:
Automatically show different layout designs to different tiers.
Segment users inside a Journey Builder Decision Split.
Clean up your database context before data goes to external systems

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