Loyalty Flows are critical for any brand that wants to nurture repeat customers and boost long-term engagement. Many Klaviyo flows focus on helping you acquire new customers and drive sales from those who may not have a pre-existing experience with your brand. But does this mean you should forget about your long-term relationships in the interest of increasing first-time orders? Of course not.
Don’t get us wrong, there are some brands out there that typically won’t receive repeat orders (or often at least). For example, a brand selling baby cots and cribs exclusively may not expect customers to return for a second order quickly (assuming they don’t sell crib accessories). Whereas an e-commerce store focused on baby supplies will expect return customers with a relatively short time between orders.
These types of brands, that want customers to become frequent purchasers, need to nurture loyalty. One such way to do so is via loyalty-specific flows.
What is a loyalty flow?
Loyalty flows are not standard in Klaviyo. However, these custom-built flows have become more popular in recent years. Essentially, they work by integrating with loyalty apps, usually connected to your Shopify account, to help customers understand where they sit at each stage of your loyalty program.
Note: Not all apps can integrate into Klaviyo, so it’s always best to check which ones have a native integration to make your processes as simple as possible.
Once integrated, you can typically target events, such as loyalty sign-up, points available, loyalty tier status, loyalty perks available (or nearly available) and even points expiring. These can then be used to boost sales and retain customer longevity.
How can you target customers with a loyalty flow?
We briefly touched on it before; however, there are several ways that you can utilise a loyalty flow to ensure that customers are nurtured at the right stage of the purchasing process. They include:
Welcome To The Loyalty Program Emails - These flows are sent to customers when they sign up for your loyalty program. They may offer an incentive as thanks for signing up (usually in the form of loyalty points). They also communicate how the loyalty tiers and systems work, so customers know how to claim their benefits.
Loyalty Tier Achieved - If you are utilising a tier-based system with different perks available at each level, you can set up flows to notify customers when they have moved up a tier. This allows them to understand any new perks available. You may also reward customers for their 'levelling up' with points or a small gift.
Points Available To Spend - This flow notifies customers when they have qualified for a loyalty perk, such as 10% off or free shipping. It shows them what they can redeem and reminds them how to redeem the offer. It can boost sales by encouraging customers to head online, and diverts attention to your brand, rather than a competitor's. We recommend setting up reminder emails within this flow, as not all customers will act immediately.
Points Expiring - If your loyalty program resets each year or if points have an expiry, it’s critical to remind your customers. This can guarantee they aren’t left surprised when they later attempt to use their now-expired points. Placing urgency in these flows reminds customers of how much they could save should they shop immediately. These flows are particularly great for products that a customer may not need over a long span of their lifetime, such as the baby products example. This is because it prevents stockpiling of points and ensures customers shop while a product is still relevant to them.
Birthday - Instead of a typical birthday discount email, many brands will use their loyalty programs to wish customers a happy birthday. A gift on this special day may be in the form of points or even temporarily upgrading their loyalty tier. Sharing this news with customers on their birthday can boost their relationship with your brand and help them feel like an important part of your community.
Ready to integrate your loyalty flows into your email ecosystem?
The Email By Design team is here to help with loyalty program recommendations, flow builds and more. Get in touch to find out how we can elevate your customer retention strategies. Book your free 15-minute call now.
