Many years ago, we couldn’t predict how our experiment with Klaviyo would unfold. Turns out, when the ebusiness pros team migrated our first client from Mailchimp to Klaviyo in August 2016, it was the beginning of an enduring partnership.
What was revolutionary at the time was an intentional shift away from the status quo of sending “batch and blast” emails to as many people as possible. Instead, Klaviyo based their approach on the premise that the best email marketing is timely, event-driven, and responsive to someone’s behavior (an action taken, or absence of action). They called this a Flow – an automated series of emails sent to a specific group of people, using content intentionally created for that audience.
Klaviyo got our attention with their deep integration with Shopify and their emphasis on the balance of sending Flows and Campaigns (one-off emails, like a newsletter). Their core priority of developing rich profiles with customer data was the piece de resistance.
Our Partnership with Klaviyo
We bet on that platform in 2016 and doubled down on Klaviyo in 2019, becoming a Master Partner.
It was 2018 when I attended my first in-person Klaviyo event. Back then, I was a fledgling marketer in the first year of my apprenticeship with ebusiness pros. I wasn’t the Klaviyo expert I am now, so hearing their data science team speak about Klaviyo’s vision for how marketers could leverage its data insights was powerful.
That capacity for data to shape great customer experiences motivated me to develop the deep product expertise I have now.
Notable Results Yield a Special Invitation
Since we adopted Klaviyo into the tech stack we recommend to all our clients, the results we’ve accomplished got their team’s attention. Our perspective on reporting and willingness to play the long game when implementing systems of Flows was valuable to Klaviyo’s product team as they improved the software each year.
In 2022, I got involved with the Klaviyo Community and gave recommendations to other Klaviyo users when they posted questions in the forum. My expertise there led to a special invitation to apply for the Klaviyo Community Champion program’s 2023 cohort.
As one of only 12 Champions selected, I’m proud to be part of this elite group of accomplished marketers scattered across the globe.
It’s been a pleasure to help people learn how to get the most from Klaviyo and create better marketing experiences for their customers.
Having the opportunity to publish articles for the Klaviyo Community has also been meaningful. It’s exciting when someone can benefit from learning how our agency uses Klaviyo at a high level, and they apply it to their own business.
Celebrating Year’s End in Boston at Klaviyo HQ
This December, Klaviyo brought us together for an end-of-year event to celebrate the wonderful contributions each Champion brought to the Community in 2023. It was a two-day gathering at their Boston headquarters.
We met with VPs and various product teams there and even had a surprise chat with AB – Klaviyo’s CEO, Andrew Bialecki! Each of these sessions gave us insight into the future of the product as a CDP/CRM hub for all the data a brand needs to manage. We asked hard questions and gave constructive feedback, too.
One decisive takeaway is that the marketing facilitated by Klaviyo is so much more than “just email.” It’s about powering smarter digital relationships.
Healthy customer data management enables personalized messaging in email, SMS, paid advertising, and even customized experiences on your website… Someday, that will be the norm!
I loved filming videos in the Klaviyo studio, sharing stories of our best client results and recommendations for how other brands can learn from those examples. Not too long ago, I produced a podcast of my own. After conducting so many interviews myself, it was great fun being interviewed by the Klaviyo team.
The best part of this experience has been getting to know my fellow Community Champions as we learn from each other.
Going into the finer points of how world-class marketing is supported by email led to lively conversations in our monthly Zoom meetings. We reached a new level of discussion over two days spent together in Boston. I was a little hoarse when I returned to Austin – we all had so many things to say!
Each Champion has well-informed opinions on strategy, tactics, and how to bend the Klaviyo platform to do your bidding. Being among a group of pros who challenge me this way has been an invigorating experience. A few of them have made an especially strong impression…
I’m fascinated by Omar Lovert’s unique perspective on Customer Value Optimization (CVO). His agency, Polaris Growth, has doubled down on Klaviyo similarly to ebusiness pros.
Brett Bernstein has opened the doors to a new world for ambassador marketing. The way his software company, Gatsby, enables sustainable automation for brand ambassador programs is transformative. It also enables interesting strategies to improve your ROAS with Instagram ads.
Learning from Peyton Fox, the Champion paired with me as a mentor, was a pleasure. The email designs from her agency, Spark Bridge Digital, are great inspiration.
Klaviyo has facilitated this peer group I’m proud to be part of, and our whole team is grateful. Its ripple effects are good for us, good for our clients, and good for Klaviyo.
While in Boston, I was honored to receive an award from the Klaviyo team for my email marketing expertise. TSA might have had to inspect my bag to ensure the pointed edges weren’t dangerous, but it made the trip home safely with me. I wasn’t about to put that in checked luggage!
What the Future Holds
Klaviyo is not a perfect tool, nor the answer to every problem. That said, it’s a solid platform upon which our clients’ mailing lists have only become more valuable over the years.
Your most valuable asset for your business is your customer database, which most commonly manifests as an email list. The wise stewardship of that list is a crucial leverage point for any B2C ecommerce business.
As Klaviyo continues iterating and improving its product, our agency similarly continues to iterate and improve. It’s a symbiotic relationship I’m glad to support through endeavors like the Community Champion program.
Now the 2024 cohort approaches… I’m looking forward to reuniting with returning Champions, and welcoming new ones, at our next round table meeting. For now, Zoom will serve its purpose as we navigate time zones. Our next in-person gathering will be special when it comes again.
