Here at Blend, we put email marketing at the centre of all our client’s marketing. As long term partners of Klaviyo, we created the ‘Klaviyo Nucleus Approach’ which uses the powerful data possibilities of Klaviyo with other leading Shopify apps to create a seamless experience for shoppers. In this article, our CEO, Adam Pearce, explains why we took this approach and how it works.
If you follow social media posts around email, you’ll likely have seen some conflicting stories.
‘Email is dead.'
'Chatbots are the new king.'
‘It’s all about SMS…’
‘Klaviyo has just received a multi-million dollar investment due to its growth.’
For me, this whole debate around email is null and void. Yes, email is important, but so are the other channels we use to generate revenue for our Shopify based businesses. The key is to make sure that we’re never over-reliant on one channel and that different channels can work together to help the overall growth of the business. So, in a nutshell, email is NOT dead and email is NOT the ‘silver bullet’.
Why Use Klaviyo?
In our team’s opinion, all high growth Shopify businesses should be using Klaviyo for email marketing. For us, this means any businesses that have:
- Traffic of over 1500 per month and growing
- Revenues of at least $5000 per month and growing
The reasoning here is that while Klaviyo can provide similar features of being able to create flows and campaigns like other Email Service Providers (ESPs), it’s the ability of Klaviyo to allow access and use of data that is unrivalled. While I could list endless features, here are some questions I’d like to ask you:
- Would you like to be able to get predictions of when your customers will buy again and when is best to email them?
- Would you like to be able to create specific email flows to customers that purchase a specific combination of products to be able to sell more to them?
- Would you like to streamline all of your email notifications from various apps so they are all sent via one channel?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above, then perhaps it's worth reading on.
What is the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach?
Put simply, the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach looks at how to get your Shopify apps to share data to improve the overall performance of all of your apps. While there are thousands of apps available, here at Blend, we focus on using some of the best in class apps for our clients and integrating these for best results. Here’s an illustration of how it works:
With the five key apps shown above, it's possible to pass data between the apps which in turn helps the performance of each app to generate revenue. So, for example, if you’re using LoyaltyLion and Klaviyo, you’re able to pass the number of points each user has to Klaviyo, which will then display on any emails to your customer. By doing so, you’ve then enabled the customer to use their loyalty points and in turn, improve the chances of your email converting. While this example is basic, it just shows how the data that is collected by each of the apps can be passed back to Klaviyo to improve performance.
How can you use the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach with Shopify?
Let’s look at a specific example now to illustrate what can be done with the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach.
Pet Brand Example
For Pet Brands, we often recommend the following apps:
- Klaviyo
- Octane AI Shop Quiz
- Reviews.io
- Gorgias
- LoyaltyLion
Using each of these apps, here’s how we’d use the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach.
Step 1: Octane AI Shop Quiz and Klaviyo
Octane AI Shop Quiz allows us to create an onsite quiz that also can collect email and SMS opt-in. To encourage email sign up, we may create an onsite quiz that allows potential customers to complete a quiz that provides them with some specific recommendations for their pet. For example, we may ask:
- What breed is your dog?
- How old is your dog?
- What diet does your dog have?
Due to the integration with Klaviyo, we can then store each of these answers as ‘profile properties’ against the Klaviyo account of that person. So let’s imagine that I fill out this quiz with these answers:
- What breed is your dog? French Bulldog
- How old is your dog? 5 years old
- What diet does your dog have? Raw
As all of this information is now stored in Klaviyo, we can set up some personalised Klaviyo email flows and campaigns, such as:
- A personalised welcome flow around French Bulldogs.
- A campaign to a segment where dogs are older and associated products for older dogs.
- A flow with diet tips for dogs on a raw diet.
Step 2: Reviews.io and Klaviyo
Reviews.io allows us to gather google reviews for our brands and individual product reviews. Often when using reviews platforms, the review process is handled by the review platform itself, and for the customer, this means a generic email.
By integrating Reviews.io and Klaviyo, once a customer has made a purchase, we can automate the collection of company and product reviews using Klaviyo. But, what’s even more powerful is the ability to create flows based on the review given. So for example, let's imagine that:
- The pet brand has received several reviews, and a few have been 1 star
- 3 people have left 5-star reviews and a great review with a video
Due to the integration between Reviews.io and Klaviyo, we would be able to
Setup an automated flow that would notify us as the brand to contact the 1-star review or send an automated email that would ask them to call us to resolve the issue. For 5 star reviews, set up an automated flow to offer discounts for a high value spend off their next purchase.
By using the data from Reviews.io, we’re able to better segment and take action with reviews in an automated way, which will lead to a better customer experience.
Step 3: Gorgias and Klaviyo
Gorgias is a helpdesk platform that allows us to manage our communications with customers through one central point - and gives visibility of all communications in one place. When a customer makes contact with us, it can sometimes be difficult to see all the information we need like order details and previous communications, which is where the integration with Klaviyo can help.
For example, let's imagine that we have a chat message from a customer who wants to know the status of their order. By integrating Gorgias and Klaviyo, we’d be able to see the exact details of the order and the emails received and sent by the customer. If the customer is tagged in Gorgias (such as high spender) this can help us prioritise communication and give better customer service.
As customer service is seen as a difficult thing to manage through Shopify, this part of the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach can help with this aspect.
Step 4: LoyaltyLion and Klaviyo
LoyaltyLion is a loyalty and referral platform that allows us to create programs to strengthen loyalty and recommendations. One of the key issues with loyalty programs is when Shopify brands expect the customer to access their loyalty program independently, which is where the integration with Klaviyo can be exceptionally helpful.
Let’s imagine that as a pet brand, we notice the following:
- While sign-ups are high for our loyalty program, customers are not using their points.
- Certain groups are using their loyalty points well, and the AOV of these customers is high.
While there are many options with the integration between LoyaltyLion and Klaviyo, to address these points, we could:
- Setup the integration between LoyaltyLion and Klaviyo so that a pre-header contains the points value for the customer in each email they receive from us. By doing this, we’re ensuring that the customer has a regular opportunity to use their points and spend.
- Create Klaviyo segments for those who have spent/accumulated points with specific offers to encourage them to spend further.
While these are just some of the ways LoyaltyLion and Klaviyo can be part of the Klaviyo Nucleus Approach, this is a must for any brand that are using both apps.
Get help with Klaviyo?
While I've scratched the surface here, you can download our Shopify App Lookbook using the form below. This gives some more in-depth information about how you can integrate your apps with Klaviyo, with some industry-specific ideas.
When it comes to working with Blend on Klaviyo, we’re proud to be long term partners of Klaviyo, with a Klaviyo Master Partner Status. While we work predominantly with high growth brands on Klaviyo (like Fresh Patch), we have several ways to help, regardless of your journey with email marketing. You can find out more about Klaviyo for Shopify here.
Published: June 11 2021
