Last Updated on September 23, 2024 by Ewen Finser
One of my favorite reasons to recommend Klaviyo to ecommerce brands is that they have dozens of pre-built template automations and sequences.
I love how they lay it all out in simple terms based on what you are trying to do:
Because Klaviyo is highly specialized for ecommerce, many of these templates are proven, battle tested layouts based on the latest best practices.
In short, just by implementing some of these templates – and with a decent list size of 500+ – you are bound to see some incremental uplift shortly after implementing.
With this context, here are my favorite templates to run on new Klaviyo implementations:
1. Abandoned Cart Flow Template
This is one of my go-to’s for every store we run. An instant value add, particularly for established brands.
This is one of the reasons I love Klaviyo. They have thousands of data points on what works specifically for ecommerce.
So, if you do nothing else with Klaviyo, activate this template!
2. Welcome Sequence (with customer trigger)
Many email platforms have standard welcome sequences, but Klaviyo takes this seriously with dozens of iterations.
My favorite is the welcome sequence template that distinguishes between new customers vs just subscribers, allowing me to tailor my message and sequences to both separetely:
Once you start receiving your first customers (or if you are already established), get this implemented ASAP.
3. Product Review / Cross Sell
Most brands do a terrible job of asking their customers for a review! I’m a huge fan of just making the “ask” and Klaviyo makes this easy with a variety of review request templates.
BUT, this specific one is my favorite because it adds a cross-sell component to, with other related products a customer may be interested in based on their recent purchase:
This is also a great example of why having an integrated platform for SMS / Email messaging is helpful. You can directly integrate conditional logic, all in one flow.
4. Countdown to Birthday Series
This one isn’t “required” but goes a long way towards building trust and showing your customers that you care about their big day.
Unlike many basic “it’s your birthday” emails, I like this one because it starts 2 weeks prior and plants some seeds in the minds of your customers well before the birthday. Think of this as the “wish list building” period.
Just remember that for this automation to be successful, you’ll need to be collecting birthdates on signup.
5. First Purchase Thank You & Bounce Back
This template is a great way to build engagement and loyal customers.
As ecommerce store operators, we always have a segment that purchases from us once, but never comes back. Many times this is because they had a very unique customer journey that’s hard to recreate.
This campaign welcomes users to your brand but gives them an immediate reason to make another purchase.
Once a customer orders at least 2X, they often become lifetime customers with multiple repeat purchases. This is perfect for brands where you want customers to “get to know” more than just a marquee product.
6. Customer Winback
I love these templates (and Klaviyo has many) that focus on bringing back previously loyal customers.
I’ve found these campaigns are great for more consumable products where a customer naturally orders more after a certain time period (could be as simple as socks, etc…). You can even pair this with specific discounts for maximum effect and/or a recurring subscription with a steep initial discount.
7. Tag VIP Customers
This is another one that is often overlooked by brands. More often than not, you have some power customers that make exponentially more purchases than typical customers (or larger cart sizes).
I’m frequently surprised when brands do NOT know who these people are. Simply tagging them opens up a whole world of possibilities for special offers, swag, reviews, and more!
The “trigger” could be X number of purchases over a certain period, or X dollars of revenue generated.
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Alright, so these are my TOP picks. Of course there’s an entire library of options and this is Klaviyo’s strong suite.
Hopefully this guide gave you some ideas of where to start (or where I started) and should get you on the right track with Klaviyo off the bat.