Generating More Revenue with Klaviyo

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December 21, 2024

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Ron

Each month at Underground Ecom we select a number of unaffiliated Ecom brands to speak to about the challenges and successes they see with email marketing. We reached out to 15 brands (the full list of which we have included at the bottom of this article) all using the email marketing platform klaviyo to talk about their experiences and get some insights into what is working for them and what areas they could be doing more in. These insights help us stay in tune with how Klaviyo is being used and helps us to craft insightful content to share with about email marketing in the Ecom space. With this article we want to explore the number one thing that almost every Ecom brand we spoke to through the series of interviews said that they would like to see improved – More Revenue!

All of the brands interviewed have had a positive experience adopting Klaviyo and value it as one of the best email marketing tools for an ecommerce store. On average the brands we spoke to generated around 17.5% of their total revenue through email and most believed that there is a lot more left on the table for them to unlock. For some such as Raw Living and AREA home the unrealised potential for revenue can be put down to something as straightforward as marketing enthusiasm or knowhow, but for others there are some more allusive areas where real revenue growth can be achieved. Through some of our own experience and the common issues raised we are going to address some of the key areas where klaviyo users can increase their revenue generated through email.

Generating More Revenue with Klaviyo: Full knowledge of Features

The most common skill Ecom brands told us could be holding them back is the proper knowledge of all of the tools available in Klaviyo. Sarah Silva from Map Shop said “There are a lot of buttons and areas that I simply don’t have time to go through and manage that hold important data to help us improve”. This is no surprise given the number of features within klaviyo, some of which we have listed here:
AB Testing, Abandoned cart series, API for custom integration, Automated list imports, Built-in autoresponders, Custom activity fields, Customer profiles, Drag-and-drop email design, Dynamic data blocks, Email newsletters, Facebook Audience Integration, One-click integrations, Order follow-ups, Personalized emails, Product recommendations, Real-time tracking, Responsive email templates, ROI-based reporting, Segmentation, Signup forms and popups, Signup forms and popups, Smart sending, SMS, Triggered emails, Website tracking, Website Popups, Welcome emails

The main features used by those we interviewed are Flows, Campaigns, Pop-Ups, Reporting, and SMS. Exploring more of the available features is a great place to start when looking to maximize revenue. We will touch on several of those features that we believe could be holding potential revenue gains throughout the rest of this article. One example is the Facebook Audience Integration feature, this is a lesser used feature that can sync any segment in Klaviyo to a Facebook custom audience. This can help drive people back to your site to complete a purchase they may have been considering. This feature works best when you have a larger list size.

Segmentation

The biggest knowledge gap that we have identified through the interviews is the in-depth knowledge to specifically target audiences based on behavior, something Burlap & Barrel believed they could vastly improve upon. The fine tuning required to set up highly targeted campaigns is time consuming and requires some mastering. For example, Acon Finland Oy Ltd commented that it takes them a lot of time and effort to set up localisation. So it is no surprise that this is often put on the back burner for a lot of Ecom brands. Fortunately Klaviyo provides dynamic segmentation which will take a lot of the manual work out of updating your audiences profiles, this can sort customers by Acquisition Source, Average Order Value, Browsing Behaviours, Purchase Frequency, Shopping Cart Profile, Shopping Preference and many more.

A big part of that knowledge gap is with the analytics and strategy that will ultimately guide your segmentation. Looking at the analytics dashboard will help you view the performance of your campaigns and indicate whether the targeting changes you are making are working. The analytics within Klaviyo are generally considered to be superior to a lot of other email marketing platforms and there is a lot of useful information within it to get accustomed with. The brands ISH and BeautyMatter who we interviewed highlighted this as their key area for improvement.

Content Creation

The biggest problem faced by CBD Essentials USA is finding the time to design the actual emails. It can be a hugely time consuming area within email marketing and often requires a fair bit of dedication to create new and regular content for audiences. Furthermore the fine tuning of this content through A/B testing features can consume many more hours of your time in the pursuit of maximizing your revenue potential and keeping your audience engaged. It is worth mentioning that Klaviyo has a great visual editor and content creation tools to make this task a little easier for their customer.

One area that can really contribute to an increase in revenue is the dynamic content you can use in the flows and campaigns sent to your audience. Making the content that you send as personalized as possible can have a significant impact on the conversion rate and have your audience feeling more engaged. Some of those that commented on the difficulty of content creation and personalisation included Them People Store and The Kids’ Table.

Optimize Flows

Now this is where real lasting conversion increases can be realized. Once set up flows will work on autopilot for you and getting these as optimized as possible will pay dividends over time. Increasing your conversion rate through flows will make a significant impact on revenue in the long term. The majority of people have abandoned cart flows set up which in our opinion are essential, but we would recommend setting up win back flows, back in stock flows, and birthday/anniversary flows. As much as 70% of carts are abandoned and this is where Klaviyo can really shine. Vitamart.ca was one of the brands who recognised that there is significant revenue opportunity in having these set up better for them.

Resources

The fifth and final observation we made throughout the interviews was how many commented on a lack of resources holding their email marketing efforts back. The most common issues faced are not having enough time or money to invest into email marketing. Time being especially stressed by Excellent Photo as a limitation. This is a difficult obstacle to overcome as this is a challenge that almost every business struggles with. It is worth bearing in mind that email is likely the most worthwhile marketing activity you can be investing in. The acquisition cost versus most other marketing channels is often much lower and the return on investment can be significant.

Summary

Throughout the interviews we conducted the overwhelming theme is that Ecom brands want to see more revenue through email marketing but generally lack the time and resources to fully explore the potential they have in front of them. Klaviyo does a great job of providing the tools necessary for Ecom stores to convert more customers, but having the time and money to fully utilize the platform is a struggle for most. Understanding the full range of features is typically the first obstacle faced. Getting accustomed to segmenting your audience and using the analytics to guide your strategy we would say is the next step to unlock that earning potential. Next is producing content that converts and putting the time into producing highly converting emails. As an extension to this we recommend building and optimizing flows within klaviyo that will capture as many lost sales as you possibly can. And finally we would recommend giving full consideration to the potential return on investment when it comes to investing more into your email marketing efforts.

We would like to thank all of those who found the time to speak with us this month and encourage you to check out their stores through the links below.

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