The Best Segments for eCommerce Email Marketing

As a digital marketer, you have to be in tune with your audience to ensure you’re sending the most relevant content that drives revenue. You might already know we’re huge fans of Klaviyo due to their robust data analytics and segmentation capabilities - in this blog, we’ll dive into a few of the best Klaviyo audience segments for eCommerce email marketing that we’ve found garners the best results.

To start off, segments can be used in email flows or campaigns, depending on how you utilize the data. Segments are defined by a set of conditions or properties. For example, how many times a customer has placed an order or the last time they visited your website. 

Segments are dynamic, meaning they are always changing based on customer behavior. According to Klaviyo’s blog, “Understanding the Difference Between Segments and Lists,” they are typically used in three ways: 

1. To send targeted campaigns
   Instead of sending a campaign to your entire newsletter list, you can use a segment to build meaningful cross-sections of your list to which you can send more relevant content; e.g., you could contact everyone on your newsletter list who also opened an email from you in the past 30 days.
   
   
2. To trigger email flows
   If you would like to trigger an automated email flow whenever someone meets a set of conditions (e.g., has made exactly one purchase) for the first time, you can use a segment as the flow trigger.
   
   
3. For analysis
   Since segments are automatically updated in real-time, they provide an easy way to see what's going on with your audience.

Now let’s jump into a few of our favorite segments and segment definition examples. It’s important to note that these segment definitions will change based on your type of business, marketing objectives, and other factors. 

There are two ways you can segment an audience. 

1. Purchase History 
2. Engagement

Segmenting by Purchase History

1. Non-purchasers: People who have never purchased 
2. One time purchasers: People who have purchased once
3. Repeat purchasers: People who have purchased two to three times
4. VIPs: People who have purchased more than three times

Why it’s important: Segmenting by purchase history allows you to target flows and campaigns to audiences that make the most sense. Targeting the right customers can pay off in terms of higher conversion rates, higher average order values, and increased revenue. 

Segmenting by Engagement

1. Unengaged: People who have never opened or clicked an email 
2. Engaged: People who have opened or clicked 1+ times in the last 90 days 
3. Highly Engaged: People who have engaged with your brand 3+ times in the last 30 days

Why it’s important: Similar to purchase history, segmenting my engagement allows you to target an audience that will generate the most revenue or alternatively, you could built flows to win back an unengaged segment. 

When it comes to using these segments in a campaign we recommend sending to the below: 

• Non-Purchasers (build awareness)
• Purchasers ( brand loyalists)
• Engaged (brand loyalists)
• VIPs (brand loyalists / likely to generate revenue)

Now that you’ve set up your segments you can start dropping them into flows or campaigns! Once you begin creating and testing your segments, you’ll find the right balance!