Klaviyo

Klaviyo is een e-mailmarketingplatform speciaal gebouwd voor e-commerce en webshops. Het combineert e-mail- en sms-marketing met klantdata uit je webshop, zodat je gepersonaliseerde campagnes en geautomatiseerde flows kunt opzetten. Je stuurt niet zomaar nieuwsbrieven, maar berichten op basis van aankoopgedrag, surfgedrag en klantwaarde. Klaviyo integreert direct met platforms als Shopify, WooCommerce en Magento. Voor Nederlandse webshops is Klaviyo vooral interessant als je verder wilt dan standaard mailchimp-nieuwsbrieven en echt wilt sturen op conversie en customer lifetime value.

How Klaviyo works with customer data and flows

Klaviyo automatically extracts data from your ecommerce store: who viewed what, what's in the shopping cart, what's the average order value. You use that data to create segments. A segment can be: customers who have spent more than 150 euros in the past 30 days but haven't bought anything in the past 14 days. For each segment you set up a flow: a series of emails sent automatically based on triggers. Think abandoned-store cart emails, welcome series for new customers or win-back campaigns for inactive buyers. You build those flows once, then the system runs itself. The interface is visual: you drag and drop blocks and conditions, no code required. Klaviyo also drives A/B testing and reports for each flow how much revenue was generated.

Why Klaviyo came into being and why it is relevant today

Klaviyo werd opgericht omdat generieke e-mailtools te weinig inzicht gaven in wat e-mails opleveren voor webshops. Traditionele platforms zoals Mailchimp of ActiveCampaign bieden wel automatisering, maar missen de diepe e-commerce-integratie. Klaviyo pakt dat op door productdata, bestelgeschiedenis en browse-gedrag te combineren in één systeem. Voor webshops met meer dan 500 bestellingen per maand wordt e-mailmarketing vaak de grootste ROI-driver, mits je gericht stuurt. Klaviyo maakt dat meetbaar: je ziet per mail hoeveel omzet die heeft opgeleverd, welke producten zijn verkocht en welke klanten zijn geconverteerd. In de Nederlandse markt zie je Klaviyo vooral bij fashion, food en lifestyle-webshops die willen groeien zonder alleen op advertenties te leunen.

What Klaviyo delivers for SME ecommerce stores

Klaviyo allows ecommerce store owners to set up targeted campaigns without a marketing agency. You create segments based on customer behavior, send product recommendations that are really relevant and automate repeat purchases. An example: an ecommerce store in sports nutrition sets up a flow for customers who buy a jar of whey protein. After 25 days, they automatically get a reminder that the jar is almost gone, with a discount code for repeat ordering. That one flow generates 8 percent additional sales each month without an additional ad budget. Klaviyo also reports which emails don't work, so you can make adjustments quickly. If your ecommerce store is growing and you want to ecommerce store design or optimize for conversion, Klaviyo will help pull that conversion through to your customers' inboxes.

Klaviyo is mainly used by ecommerce stores that want to go beyond standard newsletters. Its strength lies in linking customer data to targeted automation. Below are four concrete applications that Dutch SME ecommerce stores use on a daily basis, plus when Klaviyo is or is not the right choice.

Leaving shopping cart-flows for immediate revenue gains

Most widely used application: automatically send emails to customers who have put products in their cart but have not paid. Klaviyo sends a reminder within 1 hour, a second e-mail after 24 hours with possibly a discount code and a final attempt after 3 days. You set the timing, text and discount percentage yourself. An ecommerce store with 200 abandoned shopping carts per week recovers an average of 15 to 20 percent of them through such a flow. Those are direct extra orders without advertising costs. Klaviyo shows which products are most often in abandoned carts, so you can also improve your product pages. This flow is often the first that ecommerce stores set up because the ROI is measurable and quickly visible.

Product recommendations based on purchase history

Klaviyo analyzes which products customers have bought before and automatically suggests related products in follow-up emails. An example: someone buys a yoga mat, Klaviyo sends an email two weeks later with yoga blocks and a water bottle. Those recommendations are not compiled manually, but based on what other customers often buy together. You can also create segments for customers who only buy on sale versus customers who pick up full-price products, and run separate campaigns on those. This application works especially well for ecommerce stores with a wide assortment and repeat customers. For a B2B ecommerce store with 12 regular customers and custom orders, this is less relevant; there you will benefit more from account-based marketing.

Win-back campaigns for inactive customers

Klaviyo identifies customers who haven't ordered anything in the past 60 or 90 days, even though they were active before that. You send an automated series to win them back: a reminder of their last purchase, an exclusive discount or a new-product announcement. These campaigns often have a lower open rate than other flows, but the customers who do respond order more on average because they are already familiar with your brand. For example, a Dutch fashion ecommerce store deploys a win-back flow after 75 days of inactivity, with a 15 percent personalized discount code. About 8 percent of those recipients order again. Without such a flow, that group would probably drop out permanently. Klaviyo reports exactly how much revenue the campaign generates, so you can calculate whether the discount is profitable.

When Klaviyo is the right choice and when it is not

Klaviyo is a good fit if you have an ecommerce store with at least 200 orders per month, repeat customers and a product range where cross-sell and upsell make sense. You want to work data-driven and have time to set up and adjust flows. Klaviyo is less suitable if you have a one-time-purchase business without repeat business, such as wedding dresses or custom kitchens. Also, for ecommerce stores with fewer than 100 orders per month, cheaper alternatives such as ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp are often sufficient. Klaviyo charges per contact and gets more expensive as your list grows. Starting from 10,000 contacts, you quickly pay 150 euros per month. So check first whether the expected extra turnover covers those costs.