Email Automation: How Does It Work?

According to Klaviyo’s 2023 benchmark data, businesses that invest and optimise Klaviyo automated flows can obtain impressive results, with a 52.49% as average Open Rate, an average of 5.83% Click Rates and 1.82% in Conversion Rates.

A frictionless customer journey is decisive when the competition is only a few clicks away.

Let’s learn more about the critical aspects of understanding how to leverage email automation for customer retention and how Klaviyo can help every step of the way.

 

Email icons in sequence over a blue background

 

Imagine you are looking online for deals on sleeping bags as you are preparing to go camping.

Suddenly, you stumble upon a website selling the specific type of sleeping bag you expected to find. It is currently out of stock, so you’ll have to keep looking, but you sign up for their emails to stay informed.

However – you don’t receive a welcome email or any message acknowledging your subscription. You want to learn more about that brand, so you visit the website. As soon as the Home page loads, you get a pop-up asking you to sign up for their emails – irritating, right?

You decide to let go and keep on exploring other brands offering the same product. You see one that catches your eye, and their website welcomes you with a compelling 10% discount from your first purchase; all you have to do is join their mailing list. They have the product you want, so you subscribe without hesitation. Bam! You receive a warm welcome email with an attractive “redeem” button.

From that point on, you are impressed. You’re happy with the product from the moment you decide to buy it.

After your first purchase, they send you personalised emails with incredible offers, relevant articles, and the latest camping items that interest you.

In short, they won you over. Now, you’ll know where to go whenever you decide to purchase any camping gear.

This is an excellent example of how effective email marketing strategies must carefully balance automation and personalisation.

As your business strives to engage your audience and drive conversions, Klaviyo’s automated email sequences or flows can serve you as a powerful tool for achieving these goals.

With Klaviyo, you can create automated sequences of actions, including emails and SMS messages, triggered by specific customer behaviours or events.

We will delve into the importance of Klaviyo flows in your marketing strategy, explore the types of flows you should prioritise, and discuss how you can harness flows’ full potential to boost sales, generate leads, and deliver a seamless customer experience.

 

Klaviyo’s Automation Feature

 

Klaviyo benchmarks 2023
eCommerce Benchmark Data 2023. Source: Klaviyo

 

Building automated flow sequences in Klaviyo offers an unparalleled opportunity to streamline and optimise your marketing strategy. According to Klaviyo’s 2023 benchmark data, businesses that invest and optimise Klaviyo automated flows can obtain impressive results, with a 52.49% as average Open Rate, an average of 5.83% Click Rates and 1.82% in Conversion Rates.

By automating key touchpoints along the customer journey, you can ensure consistent and personalised communication that resonates with your audience in a timely manner.

The ability to trigger flows based on specific customer actions, such as subscribing to a list, joining a segment, making a purchase, or abandoning a cart, empowers you to engage with potential buyers at critical moments, ultimately driving conversions.

Remember, making your customers feel seen or heard by your brand can make the difference between gaining a one-time shopper or winning over a returning customer.

 

Identifying Key Flows to Set Live First

 

When starting with Klaviyo, it is essential to prioritise specific flows that lay the foundation for effective customer engagement.

By setting up these flows early on, you can establish a strong connection with your audience from the start and meet them early in their decision-making process.

Some of the key flows to prioritise include:

a. Welcome series: Introduce new subscribers to your brand and guide them towards making their first purchase. A well-crafted welcome series can create a lasting impression and increase the likelihood of conversion. This is the perfect time to include a small discount or a special offer to entice people into taking the next step, which is making a purchase and subscribing to your email list.

b. Abandoned cart: Recover potential lost sales by sending targeted messages to customers who haven’t completed their purchase. You can entice customers to revisit their abandoned carts and finalise their transactions through personalised reminders and incentives, such as more information about your business, FAQs, and customer reviews.

c. Post-purchase: Show appreciation to customers for their purchase and provide relevant recommendations for complementary products or exclusive offers. A thoughtful post-purchase message helps build loyalty in your brand and encourages customers to return for a second purchase.

d. Winback: Re-engage customers who haven’t made a purchase (or even opened your emails) in a while and reignite their interest in your brand. You can rekindle relationships with silent customers by tailoring messages based on their past purchase history or engagement patterns.

 

Optimising Flow Triggers and Filters for Targeted Communication

 

To ensure that your flows reach the right audience, it is crucial to understand how to use Klaviyo’s triggers and filters effectively.

Triggers define the specific actions or events that initiate a flow, while filters refine the criteria for sending messages within the flow.

Understanding how triggers and filters work together enables you to segment your audience effectively and deliver highly targeted communications.

For example, you want to target customers who have completed a purchase within the last six months to offer a special discount on their next purchase. The date of purchase would be your trigger.

In the same campaign, you also want to target people who live in a specific location. The profile’s location would be the filter you would use to make sure you send this message only to customers who find it relevant and not every customer who has shopped in the past six months.

When carefully considering the parameters for each trigger and filter, you can create personalised and relevant messages that truly resonate with your customer’s needs and preferences.

Crafting Effective Timing and Components within Flows

 

Email Marketing

 

Timing and flow components play a pivotal role in maximising the impact of your Klaviyo flows.

By strategically scheduling each step and incorporating relevant components, you can create a seamless customer journey that guides prospects towards taking the desired action and drives customer retention by offering engaging communications.

Consider the following tips to optimise your flows:

a. Time delays: Incorporate appropriate time delays between messages to avoid overwhelming subscribers. Allowing sufficient time for your customers to engage and decide increases the effectiveness of your communications.

In some cases, it is better to send a reminder following up a couple of days later instead of a couple of hours.

Make sure you understand why you need a time delay in your broadcasts, and take full advantage of it.

b. Flow components: Utilise action components to perform specific tasks, such as sending messages or updating customer profiles.

Incorporate timing components to schedule actions related to triggers or other activities.

Use logic components, such as conditional and trigger splits, to create customised paths based on customer behaviour or preferences.

To leverage this aspect of Klaviyo, you will need to get familiar with a more advanced side of this email platform. In this step, we recommend you get some guidance from our Klaviyo experts.

c. Personalisation: Dynamic content and merging tags are the key to personalising your messages within flows.

These are customised based on your customer data, such as their name, purchase history, or browsing behaviour, which enhances the relevance of your message.

 

Boosting Sales and Leads with Klaviyo Flows:

 

Employing Klaviyo flows in a strategic and thoughtful way can significantly boost sales growth and lead generation for businesses of all sizes and industries.

Personalised automation allows you to effectively nurture potential buyers as well as brand enthusiasts and quickly re-engage those customers who tend to drift apart.

By delivering timely and relevant messages that resonate with your target audience, you can strengthen relationships with your customers and enhance your company’s overall revenue in a sustainable way.

Klaviyo flows have transformed marketing automation by providing businesses with the necessary tools to create personalised, targeted, and automated customer journeys.

Prioritising which flows are key, effectively utilising triggers and filters, and carefully optimising timing and other components are crucial factors to achieving the maximum impact in the buyer’s journey you want your brand to provide.

The lesson learned is that using Klaviyo’s automated flows can help you craft an outstanding experience that keeps shoppers returning.

Our Klaviyo Strategy Experts’ knowledge base will empower you to elevate your marketing strategy, provide an outstanding customer journey, and achieve remarkable business growth.

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