A strong Klaviyo flow strategy is the difference between email marketing that works while you sleep and email marketing that barely moves the needle. For DTC brands, optimising flows means increasing retention, maximising lifetime value, and converting first-time customers into repeat buyers. Here’s how to get your flows working harder.
The essential Klaviyo flows every DTC brand needs
Before optimising, ensure you have the right foundations in place. These flows should be non-negotiable for any DTC brand using Klaviyo for retention marketing:
- Welcome series - Capture leads and turn subscribers into customers with a series of engaging emails introducing your brand, products, and values.
- Abandoned checkout - Recover lost revenue by reminding customers about their abandoned carts with urgency-driven messaging and incentives.
- Browse abandonment - Nurture high-intent visitors by re-engaging those who looked at products but didn’t add them to their cart.
- Post-purchase - Build loyalty and reduce buyer’s remorse with educational content, cross-sell recommendations, and a seamless onboarding experience.
- Win-back flow - Re-engage lapsed customers with personalised offers, product updates, or reminders of why they loved your brand in the first place.
- VIP & loyalty - Reward high-value customers with early access, exclusive discounts, or personalised thank-you emails to drive repeat purchases.
Optimising your Klaviyo flows for higher conversions
Once your flows are in place, it’s time to refine them. Here’s what separates high-performing brands from those leaving money on the table:
- Segmentation is everything - Not all customers should get the same abandoned checkout or win-back emails. Tailor your flows based on behaviour, purchase history, and engagement levels.
- Test subject lines aggressively - Open rates dictate flow performance. A/B test subject lines with curiosity, personalisation, and urgency to improve performance.
- Dynamic content wins - Use Klaviyo’s data-driven features to insert recommended products, personalised offers, and browse history to increase engagement.
- Time delays matter - Sending emails too soon or too late can kill conversions. Test different timing strategies to find the sweet spot for each flow.
- Mobile-first design - The majority of email opens happen on mobile. Ensure your flows are visually optimised, with clear CTA buttons and minimal friction.
Making Klaviyo flows work for your brand
The most successful DTC brands don’t see Klaviyo flows as a ‘set and forget’ system—they use them as an active revenue engine. Regular testing, performance tracking, and iteration are key to unlocking their full potential.
Bringing storytelling into flows
Flows aren’t just about automation - they’re an opportunity to enhance brand storytelling. Take Mother Root’s recipe card emails, which integrate seamlessly into post-purchase flows. By offering cocktail recipes tailored to the products customers have purchased, they turn a standard transactional email into a compelling brand moment.
Using social proof to drive retention
For subscription and repeat-purchase brands, retention-focused flows are just as important as acquisition. Freja’s social proof email, for example, builds credibility by featuring real customer experiences, reinforcing why new subscribers should stick with the product. This kind of content works well in flows like welcome sequences, post-purchase touchpoints, or subscription renewal reminders.
Flows as a growth tool
Optimised Klaviyo flows should evolve alongside the business. Whether it’s adding educational content to onboarding, enhancing personalisation in replenishment reminders, or A/B testing winback emails, the brands that invest in refining their flows see the best longterm ROI.
At Tribe, we help brands increase revenue with Klaviyo by optimising their flows to maximise revenue, retention, and customer engagement. If your email flows aren’t driving results, let’s fix that.