Strategic advice

Email marketing is an effective tool for businesses. While social media and influencer marketing are growing in popularity, email still provides a great return on investment (ROI).To optimize your email marketing strategy, you first need to understand how your competitors are engaging with your shared audience. Competitor analysis helps you uncover opportunities to improve your own approach.Here's a quick guide on how to conduct effective competitor research for email marketing.Identify top competitorsKnow exactly who your main competitors are. These are typically businesses that offer similar products or services and target the same audience as you.Direct competitors should be your focus, here. Their strategies may offer relevant insights to support your email marketing efforts.Look at:Competitors with a similar target audience Competitors that have a strong presence in your industry Those who might not be direct competitors, but are known for their exceptional email marketing efforts

Have you ever had a subscriber sign up, open a few emails, and then poof—they disappear like your favorite pair of socks in the dryer? (Seriously, where do they go?)Well, let’s talk about how to stop that from happening.In this post, I’m sharing how you can turn those shiny new subscribers into loyal superfans with a nurturing sequence that feels less like a sales pitch and more like a genuine connection. Sound good? Let’s go!Why nurturing subscribers mattersOkay, here’s the deal: getting someone to sign up for your email list is the easy part, but keeping them engaged is where the real connection happens. If you only reach out when you want to sell something, you risk losing their attention.Here’s the good news: nurturing your subscribers can increase their lifetime value, build trust, and keep your open rates from tanking. According to Klaviyo’s latest email marketing benchmarks, welcome email open rates average 54.34%—way higher than your typical email campaign.If you keep the momen

Join us for our next “real stories, real success” fireside chat on January 29th at 12:00 PM EST, featuring Rachel Fagan, Vice President of Marketing at Happy Wax. Rachel will share insights into how this innovative brand has redefined the home fragrance industry by blending community, sustainability, and creative marketing strategies. Register here!The Happy Wax experienceHappy Wax is more than just a home fragrance company—it’s a mission-driven brand dedicated to creating healthier, eco-friendly alternatives for scenting your home. With pet-safe wax melts, stylish warmers, and a focus on clean ingredients, Happy Wax transforms everyday moments into joyful, memorable experiences.“Our goal is to offer clean, innovative, and eco-friendly products that bring joy into everyday moments,” Rachel explains. “We’re not just selling wax melts; we’re crafting an experience—a cozy, inviting home with a sustainable edge.”Rachel, who brings over 12 years of experience working with consumer goods, sh

Customer retention transcends mere repeat purchases; it's about cultivating a thriving community that actively champions your brand.  Loyal customers transform into brand ambassadors, amplifying your message through their genuine endorsements. This cycle of advocacy, fueled by trust and authenticity, is significantly propelled by user-generated content (UGC). When customers share their experiences through photos, videos, and reviews, they're not just engaging—they're endorsing your brand to their networks, enhancing your brand’s authenticity and reach.But what makes customers want to share their experiences? How can strategic tools like Klaviyo streamline and enhance this process? Let’s explore actionable strategies that transform satisfied customers into brand ambassadors, leveraging personal touches to foster a deep, emotional connection with your brand.Transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates through UGCThe transformative power of User-Generated Content (UGC) is not jus

The promise of analytics for marketers is clear: actionable insights to help B2C brands connect with customers strategically and grow the bottom line. Analytics unlock your ability to make smarter decisions, personalize at scale, and stay ahead in a competitive landscape. According to our latest research with Forrester, most retail leaders want to leverage customer data to segment their customers and personalize content and offers.Realizing that potential is harder than it sounds. Only 53% of marketing decisions are influenced by analytics, citing poor data quality, inactionable insights, and unclear recommendations as common roadblocks​ – and marketing teams are ultimately left to rely on intuition over data, missing opportunities to drive meaningful results.With Klaviyo, you can put your data to work with insights that are accessible and actionable, even if you’re low on time or technical resources. Reports are easy to understand and customize, so you can answer critical end-of-year

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Cleide Cardoso at Skin Rocks for an inspiring fireside chat! They shared their journey of building a skincare brand focused on education, transparency, and real results.From developing science-backed products to fostering a loyal community, Skin Rocks has redefined what it means to prioritize customers in the beauty industry. Their commitment to sustainability and ethical practices stood out as a core part of their mission, ensuring they balance innovation with responsibility.Cleide also shared valuable insights for entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of staying true to your vision, embracing feedback, and always learning along the way.A big thank you to Cleide for such an insightful conversation and to everyone who engaged with us! If you missed this event, we have you covered. You can rewatch the event below!Stay tuned for more exciting stories from incredible brands. Let us know what you enjoyed most about this chat in the comments below

Surprise and delight marketing is all about going beyond the transactional, to create unforgettable, unexpected experiences for your customers.It’s about surpassing expectations and sparking genuine joy—leaving a lasting impression that transforms casual shoppers into lifelong advocates for your brand.When it comes to surprise and delight campaigns, they can be a lot like flossing. You know it’s essential, but finding the time, energy, and motivation can feel like a challenge. And let’s not forget the biggest hurdle in retail—budget. How do you justify the ROI on initiatives centered around emotional connections, personal loyalty, and relationship building?The answer lies in one simple question: What is your customer truly worth to you? How do you quantify the value of a loyal brand advocate—someone who keeps coming back, shopping with you for years, and enthusiastically recommending your brand to everyone they know?In my opinion, that kind of loyalty is priceless. This (lost) art of s

Hello Community, I’m a big fan of data, and when it comes to helping my clients develop meaningful and impactful campaign strategies, everything I do is data-driven. Klaviyo comes packed with a variety of reports and dashboards to help you analyze, really any aspect of your owned marketing initiatives. In fact, the amount of data and analysis you can access from this platform is among the best in the marketplace. Over the last few years, since I’ve been using Klaviyo, I have seen them roll out a ton of different reporting tools. While the list of different tools for campaigns and flows is long, I wanted to highlight some of my recent favorite reports in an area that might get overlooked: list growth and engagement. Here are my top 3 list growth and engagement reports you can use to track success and identify growth opportunities. 1. Subscriber Growth ReportFor a long time, measuring growth had to be manually figured out via segments and for a specific list. It was challenging to determ

Imagine writing a letter to someone you’ve never met—you’d probably struggle to make it personal. The same challenge applies to marketing without a clear sense of who your audience is. That’s where customer personas come in. These fictional profiles, built on real data, provide a window into the preferences, behaviors, and motivations of your audience. By sketching out your ideal customers—complete with their quirks, habits, and aspirations—you unlock the power to craft messages that truly resonate. Whether it’s leveraging behavioral data, demographics, or even asking your audience directly, customer personas help you go beyond generic communication to create personalized experiences that engage and convert. Ready to start? Let’s break it down.What is a buyers persona:A customer persona is a profile that represents a segment of your audience based on shared characteristics, preferences, and behaviors.Think of it as a sketch of your ideal customer persona—a fictionalized version that ca

 When it comes to simplifying and elevating skincare, Skin Rocks by Caroline Hirons, is making waves. The mission of Skin Rocks is to empower individuals with straightforward, science-led skincare education and guidance. The brand builds trust by championing transparency, busting myths, and providing expert advice that is practical, accessible, and tailored to real skin needs. Skin Rocks is dedicated to cutting through the noise of the skincare industry, focusing on proven, results-driven solutions over empty marketing claims, helping customers make confident, informed choices for their skin.We asked Cleide Cardoso, CRM and Loyalty Manager at Skin Rocks, to explore the brand’s journey, her role in shaping customer relationships, and the loyalty strategies that make Skin Rocks stand out.Cleide’s path to Skin Rocks began in the B2B marketing world of television before transitioning to the beauty and ecommerce industries. Her passion for customer experience and technology blossomed at Afr

Free trials are a great way to engage interested leads and bridge the gap between the consideration and buyer phases of the customer journey.Leads tend to be more qualified, since only someone truly interested in your product or solution wants a trial. And the longer someone uses a product, the more likely they are to keep it or purchase more.Is a free trial offer right for your business?Free trials are a great tactic, but they don’t work well for all business types. If you sell products that are very complex or high-value, a free trial might not offer enough time for users to truly appreciate the product/service.If you have a very small team and limited resources, the effort to set up (and possibly manufacture) a trial version of your product could be prohibitive.Lastly, if you’re part of a niche market or have a small number of potential consumers, a free trial might not be necessary since consumers in these types of markets tend to be more informed.Benefits of offering a free trialI

The development of loyalty programs: establishing genuine customer relationships with VIP tiersAcquiring new customers can be 4–5x more expensive than retaining current ones, according to Forbes—which makes building customer loyalty a wise and economical tactic.VIP loyalty programs have the power to transform new customers into devoted brand advocates, especially during hectic times like the holidays—and using personalisation and VIP tiers can improve your loyalty program above and beyond points, further increasing customer retention. Here’s how. Shifting the perspective of loyalty programsOne-size-fits-all loyalty programs are obsolete. More than points and discounts, today's consumers seek out distinctive experiences, a feeling of belonging, and relationships that make them feel like they’re part of a community.Memorable experiences, not just points, are what create loyalty in today’s world. VIP tiers address this need by giving consumers a more upscale brand experience and making th

Testing your Klaviyo flows is a critical step to ensure that your marketing strategy delivers the right message to the right person at the right time. This post will guide you through testing your flows, and explore how splits and filters can refine your audience targeting for maximum impact.Why thorough flow testing mattersThe last thing a marketer wants to do is send the wrong message, send the right message but to the wrong person, or send the right message to the right person but at the wrong time.Sending irrelevant messages could cause your subscribers to:Unsubscribe from your marketing messages, which means they’ll be less likely to make a repeat purchase and become a loyal customer “Tune out” of your promotional messages because they assume they’re mostly irrelevant, leading to poor engagementTo help you avoid those outcomes, Klaviyo flows include a couple of neat features, filters and splits, which allow you to personalize your marketing flows.Using filters in flowsKnowing how

With BFCM around the corner, standing out means more than just attracting clicks—it’s about converting those clicks into bigger sales. Let’s explore some powerful cross-sell and up-sell strategies that can help you boost conversions, increase order value, and build customer loyalty. Ready to make the most of your holiday traffic? Let’s dive in.Reclaim Abandoned Carts with Up-Sell OpportunitiesWhat it is:An up-sell flow encourages customers to consider a higher-value or related item when they abandon their cart. This approach can also include bundling to present added value and enhance the shopping experience.Why it matters:High-ticket items often have higher abandonment rates. By offering additional value, such as bundled deals, brands can encourage customers to return to their carts and complete the purchase, reducing lost revenue during BFCM.How to do it:In your email highlight the abandoned items and include a section showcasing related, higher-priced products with a clear call-to-a

Discover how Shopify’s Checkout Blocks empower merchants to capture valuable first-party customer data at checkout, creating new events and customer properties in Klaviyo to fuel smarter, data-driven marketing strategies. Leveraging Checkout Extensibility to Unlock Valuable Customer DataIn a world where privacy regulations are tightening and third-party data sources are shrinking, first-party data has become more critical than ever. It’s the data your customers willingly share—direct from the source. This unlocks opportunities for deeper personalisation and smarter marketing. In this article, we’ll explore how you can leverage this data using Checkout Blocks & Shopify’s Checkout Extensibility.In Shopify Summer Editions 2024, Shopify announced that Checkout Blocks is now free for all Plus merchants, offering more flexibility to customise the checkout experience. With Checkout Blocks, merchants can easily add custom fields, style changes, and even modify text, all without coding. The

Are you familiar with this scenario? Sales are sluggish, so you decide to send an email campaign with a discount offer. It works and delivers an immediate boost in sales. You might think, “Wow, this is easy!” But can you just keep regularly sending? Not so fast, my friends. Regularly sending discount emails can help deliver short-term sales, but it can also:Erode your profit margins Attract price-sensitive customers who aren't loyal Devalue your brand in the eyes of consumers On top of all that, here's the real problem: relying on discounts means you're not truly nurturing your customer base. You're just bribing them to come back. When was the last time you felt a genuine connection with a brand that constantly bombarded you with discount codes? Exactly.  In the ever-competitive ecommerce market, this approach is unsustainable. Consumers have countless options, and if price is their only consideration, you'll always be racing to the bottom. So how can you nurture your customer base wit