Want to keep your best customers coming back? Setting up a VIP flow in Klaviyo can help you build stronger relationships with your top-tier customers while driving repeat purchases and loyalty. Here’s a quick summary of how to do it:
- Define Your VIP Segment: Use metrics like Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value (RFM) to identify your most valuable customers. Options include:
- Big Spenders: Customers with annual spend above a set threshold.
- Frequent Purchasers: Those who make multiple purchases yearly.
- Blended Approach: Combine spend and frequency metrics.
- Build the VIP Flow:
- Create an automated flow in Klaviyo triggered by your VIP segment.
- Personalize emails with dynamic content like tailored product recommendations and exclusive discounts.
- Use SMS for direct engagement with high open rates.
- Personalize Rewards: Offer perks like early access to products, tiered discounts, free shipping, or exclusive collections to make VIPs feel valued.
- Track and Improve: Monitor key metrics like open rates, click rates, and revenue. Use A/B testing and customer feedback to refine your strategy and boost performance.
Key Stats to Know:
- VIPs often make up only 1–10% of your customer base but contribute 20–50% of your revenue.
- SMS has a 98% open rate, making it a powerful tool for VIP engagement.
- Personalized experiences can increase customer loyalty by up to 76%.
How To Create A VIP Segment & Flow In Klaviyo
Step 1: Define Your VIP Customer Segment
Start by identifying your VIP customers – not just those who spend the most, but the ones who significantly impact your revenue. According to McKinsey, VIP customers typically make up only 1–10% of a company’s customer base, yet they contribute 20–50% of total revenue and generate 10 to 25 times the revenue of an average customer.
Set Your VIP Criteria
To define your VIP customers, focus on the right metrics. RFM analysis – short for Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value – is a great starting point for understanding customer behavior. Dive into your purchase history, paying close attention to full-price purchases and high-margin products. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is another critical metric to include, but don’t forget to account for indirect costs like customer support or returns when calculating true customer value.
Here are three common ways to define your VIP segment:
- Big Spenders: Use revenue thresholds over a specific period. For example, set a threshold slightly higher than your average customer’s annual spend to pinpoint your top earners.
- Frequent Purchasers: Focus on order frequency. Identify customers who consistently engage with your brand through repeat purchases.
- Blended Approach: Combine revenue and frequency metrics for a more complete picture of customer value.
Your VIP criteria will depend on your audience, business model, and profit margins. Look for loyal customers who already stand out and use their traits to shape your VIP personas.
Once you’ve outlined your criteria, you’re ready to build your VIP segment in Klaviyo.
Create the VIP Segment in Klaviyo
With your criteria in hand, head to Klaviyo to create the segment. Navigate to Audience > Lists & Segments, then click Create New > Create Segment. The segment builder allows you to set specific conditions for inclusion.
Here are a few examples:
- Big Spenders: Set the condition: “What someone has done > Revenue > is greater than ___ in the last 365 days”. For instance, if the average customer spends $200 annually, you might set your VIP threshold at $500 or $750.
- Frequent Purchasers: Use the condition: “What someone has done > Placed Order > is greater than ___ in the last 365 days”. If your average customer places 2 orders per year, consider setting the threshold at 5 or 6 orders.
- Blended Approach: Combine conditions with an OR connector: “What someone has done > Placed Order > is greater than ___ in the last 365 days OR What someone has done > Revenue > is greater than ___ in the last 365 days”.
Make sure to include a timeframe, such as the last 365 days, to focus on recent activity. Use AND/OR connectors to refine your segment further. Be sure to name your segment clearly, like “High Spenders – $500+ Annual” or “Frequent Buyers – 5+ Orders/Year,” so you can easily find it when setting up workflows.
If revenue doesn’t appear as an option in the segment builder, it could mean no orders have been placed in your store yet. In that case, start with engagement-based metrics like email opens or website visits, and add purchase data later as transactions occur. You can also leverage Klaviyo’s Segments AI to define your segment by simply describing it.
Step 2: Build Your VIP Flow in Klaviyo
Now that you’ve defined your VIP segment, the next step is creating an automated flow to engage these high-value customers. When done right, this flow will deliver a tailored and meaningful experience.
Create the Flow
Head over to the Flows section in your Klaviyo dashboard and click Create Flow. You can either start from scratch or choose a pre-built template. For the trigger, select Segment and link it to the VIP segment you set up earlier. This ensures the flow kicks in automatically whenever a customer qualifies as a VIP, whether they’re new to the program or a returning customer reaching a new milestone.
Klaviyo’s flow editor is intuitive and highly customizable. You can add conditional splits, time delays, and even combine multiple communication channels within a single flow. For example, if you’re setting up a welcome sequence, segment-based triggers work perfectly since customers enter the flow only once. For ongoing campaigns, consider creating separate flows or leveraging event-based triggers.
If your VIP program has multiple tiers, you can either build separate flows for each tier or use conditional splits within one flow to tailor the experience for different groups.
Plan Your Email Sequence
Once your flow is set up, focus on crafting an email sequence that emphasizes exclusivity and builds a personal connection.
Start with a warm, personalized welcome email that highlights the benefits of being a VIP. A plain-text email, perhaps signed by your brand’s CEO or founder, can add a genuine, personal touch.
Clearly outline the perks your VIP customers now have access to, such as early access to products, special discounts, free shipping, or a dedicated support line. Make sure this information is front and center so customers immediately understand the value they’ve unlocked.
Follow up with engaging content that keeps the momentum going. This could include sneak peeks at upcoming launches, exclusive tips, or behind-the-scenes updates. You might also want to incorporate SMS into your VIP flow for more immediate, personal engagement – just be sure to use smart sending features and respect quiet hours.
Your email sequence should aim to deepen loyalty, drive repeat purchases, and inspire referrals. Keep an eye on performance metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Use A/B testing to fine-tune your messaging and offers, ensuring your flow stays effective and relevant.
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Step 3: Personalize the VIP Experience
With your VIP flow in place, the next step is to make every interaction feel unique. Generic messages won’t cut it – VIPs expect experiences tailored specifically to them. This is where dynamic content comes in to refine and elevate each interaction.
Add Dynamic Content
Klaviyo’s dynamic content feature allows you to customize emails for different customers based on their profile data, purchase history, and browsing behavior – all within the same email. This means you can create a more personalized experience without starting from scratch for every message.
For example, include product recommendations that align with a VIP’s past purchases or browsing habits. If someone frequently shops for skincare, your email can automatically highlight new arrivals in that category. Meanwhile, a customer who prefers jewelry will see a curated selection of accessories instead.
You can also personalize discount offers using dynamic content. For instance, platinum-tier VIPs might see a 25% discount, while gold-tier members receive 20%. The brand Saie uses this approach effectively in their "First In Line" campaigns, where they thank VIPs for their loyalty and offer tiered discounts: 15% off sitewide, 20% off orders over $60, and 25% off orders over $75.
When setting up dynamic blocks, keep things simple. Limit conditions to three to five per email to ensure clarity and avoid overcomplicating the design. Always include a fallback option to prevent broken layouts for customers with incomplete data. Use Klaviyo’s preview tool to double-check how your email will look for different customer profiles before hitting send.
To streamline the process, Klaviyo’s Modular Dynamic Block Library offers reusable blocks that automatically adapt to each subscriber. This tool lets you create a collection of personalized elements that can be mixed and matched across campaigns, saving time while maintaining a tailored experience.
Once your emails are personalized, shift your focus to offering rewards that underscore VIP exclusivity.
Create Exclusive Rewards
To make your VIPs feel genuinely valued, offer rewards that feel both special and relevant. Early access to sales is a classic perk that makes VIPs feel like insiders with first dibs on the best deals.
Other effective rewards include early access to exclusive collections, invitations to special events, free or expedited shipping, and points multipliers. Offering exclusive products or collections only available to VIP members adds a sense of scarcity and exclusivity, which can drive engagement. Some brands even go the extra mile with perks like dedicated customer service representatives or extended return policies.
The key is to align rewards with what matters most to each VIP. As Heather DuBois from LoyaltyLion puts it:
"Experiential rewards like free shipping and discounts matter, but so does giving feedback and being part of the product development process, so people feel they’re like insiders."
Take inspiration from successful programs. Sephora’s Beauty Insider program, for instance, offers tiered rewards that grow more appealing as customers advance, with members contributing 80% of the company’s total sales. Similarly, Adidas adiClub members shop 50% more often than non-members and boast double the lifetime value.
Personalization is essential when selecting rewards. A fitness enthusiast might appreciate early access to athletic collections, while a customer known for gifting might value complimentary gift wrapping or personalized notes.
In fact, 76% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that personalize their experience. Your VIP customers expect this level of care, so ensure your rewards reflect their unique preferences and shopping habits.
The ultimate goal? Create experiences that make your VIPs feel genuinely valued and understood, not just another entry in your database. When done right, personalized VIP experiences can transform loyal customers into passionate advocates for your brand.
Step 4: Track and Improve Your VIP Program
Launching your VIP flow is just the beginning. To truly make an impact, you need to monitor its performance and use the insights to fine-tune your approach. Without keeping an eye on the right metrics, you could miss out on opportunities to make your program more effective.
Track Key Metrics
To understand how well your VIP flow is performing, focus on metrics like open rates, click rates, conversion rates, and revenue. These numbers provide a clear picture of how your VIP customers are engaging with your messages.
Klaviyo offers several tools to help you analyze performance, such as a 30-day analytics snapshot, visual canvas analytics, and detailed recipient activity reports. These tools let you see how your VIPs interact with each message in your sequence.
- Open rates: These measure how well your subject lines grab attention.
- Click rates: A key indicator of genuine engagement, as Erin Aguilar, Senior Customer Success Manager at Klaviyo, puts it:
"Click rate is a true indicator of customer engagement."
- Conversion rates and revenue per recipient: These reveal whether your VIP flow is successfully driving sales. Companies optimizing their Klaviyo flows have seen impressive gains: 52.49% more opens, 5.83% more clicks, 1.82% higher conversion rates, and $1.91 in average revenue per recipient.
You should also monitor metrics like bounce rates, spam complaints, and unsubscribe rates to protect your sender reputation. Here’s a breakdown of what to watch for:
| Metric | Needs Attention | Room for Improvement | Healthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bounce rate | >2% | 1%-2% | <1.0% |
| Spam complaint rate | >0.05% | 0.01%-0.05% | <0.01% |
| Unsubscribe rate | >1% | 0.3%-1% | <0.3% |
| Open rate | <27% | 27%-33% | >33.0% |
| Click rate | <0.8% | 0.8%-1.2% | >1.2% |
Be sure to check the recipient activity tab for skipped messages, which can highlight potential issues. Set up a regular reporting schedule – whether bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Frequent reviews help you catch short-term issues, while longer intervals provide insights into overall trends in customer loyalty and program health.
Adjust Based on Performance
Tracking metrics is just the first step. The real value lies in using that data to improve your VIP flow.
Start with A/B testing to fine-tune your approach. Experiment with subject lines, send times, email designs, and reward offers. Keep in mind, only about 1 in 8 tests deliver meaningful results. To ensure accuracy, test one variable at a time. Begin with simple changes, like tweaking subject lines or call-to-action buttons, before moving on to more complex elements like email layouts. Focus on optimizing your highest-performing messages first, especially those tied to sales or retention.
Refine your segmentation strategy using performance data. If certain VIP segments show lower engagement, adjust your criteria or create sub-segments with more personalized messaging. As Randy McHugh, Founder of Stimulate Agency, explains:
"The best way to optimize email revenue per recipient is by refining your segmentation strategy."
Emails targeted at highly specific segments can generate over three times the revenue per recipient compared to broad campaigns.
In addition to analyzing numbers, gather direct feedback from your VIP customers. Surveys can help uncover what they value most about your program and highlight areas for improvement.
It’s also important to clean your email lists regularly. Remove inactive VIP subscribers who haven’t engaged for months, but consider running a re-engagement campaign (a "sunset flow") before taking them off your list entirely. This keeps your sender reputation intact and ensures your metrics reflect genuinely engaged customers.
Finally, take advantage of Klaviyo’s AI personalization features to automatically tailor content based on each VIP’s behavior and preferences. This can save time while making your emails more relevant to individual customers.
Improving customer loyalty has a direct financial payoff – a 5% increase in loyalty can boost profits by as much as 85%. By consistently optimizing your VIP program, you can unlock significant growth for your business.
Conclusion: Build Long-Term Loyalty Through VIP Flows
Setting up a VIP flow in Klaviyo is just the beginning – it’s a gateway to forging deeper, lasting relationships with your customers. The real magic lies in continuously refining your VIP program to align with your customers’ evolving needs and preferences. These strategies not only enhance brand loyalty but also make a measurable economic impact.
Here’s why it matters: repeat customers, though they represent just 21% of buyers, contribute a massive 44% of revenue and 46% of orders. On top of that, 57% of shoppers are more inclined to join a loyalty program if it includes VIP perks and exclusive rewards. The potential is undeniable.
But loyalty isn’t as simple as it used to be. Today’s consumers are juggling more programs than ever – on average, they belong to over 15 loyalty programs, a 10% jump from 2022. Yet, engagement has dropped by 10%, and loyalty has slipped by 20% since last year. Adding to the challenge, more than 35% of consumers plan to cancel some memberships in the coming year, and this number spikes to over 50% for those aged 18 to 34. Clearly, standing out in this crowded landscape requires a smarter, more focused approach.
To tackle these challenges, adaptability is key. As Adil Wali, Chief Product Officer at Klaviyo, puts it:
"With our expanded analytics capabilities, Klaviyo eliminates these challenges by unifying data, simplifying analysis, and delivering AI-driven insights that power smarter, faster decisions. Marketers can now focus on building deeper relationships with customers, driving brand loyalty, and achieving outsized growth – all without guesswork."
Consider strategies like awarding points for social media engagement, reviews, or account creation. Tiered rewards can also be a game-changer, offering bigger savings as customers spend more.
Don’t overlook the power of SMS – it’s a direct line to your customers, boasting an impressive 98% open rate. Savannah Mazola, SMS implementation specialist at Klaviyo, highlights its potential:
"Any customer who subscribes to SMS could be considered a VIP customer because they’re giving your brand direct access to such a personal space: their cell phones."
Real-world examples show just how effective VIP programs can be. E.L.F. Beauty Squad, for instance, has 4.5 million loyalty members who drive nearly 80% of the brand’s website sales and 95% of app transactions. These members also have a lifetime value that’s 166% higher than non-members. Similarly, Sephora’s Beauty Insider program boasts over 34 million members worldwide, with members accounting for 80% of the company’s total sales.
FAQs
How can I track the success of my VIP flow in Klaviyo?
To measure how well your VIP flow is performing in Klaviyo, keep an eye on key performance indicators (KPIs) like Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV), repeat purchase rates, and engagement stats such as open and click-through rates. These metrics give you a clear picture of how your flow is driving loyalty and repeat business.
Take advantage of Klaviyo’s built-in analytics to track these numbers over time. For instance, by monitoring the percentage of VIP customers making additional purchases, you can gauge how effective your rewards and messaging are. Make it a habit to review this data regularly so you can tweak your flow and keep it aligned with the needs of your most valuable customers.
What are some personalized rewards to make VIP customers feel valued?
To craft an unforgettable VIP experience, focus on offering rewards that genuinely show your appreciation for your most loyal customers. Here are some ideas to consider:
- Exclusive discounts: Treat your VIP members to special pricing or offers that are reserved just for them. It’s a simple yet effective way to make them feel valued.
- Early access perks: Give VIPs the privilege of shopping new product launches or sales before the general public. This added exclusivity makes them feel like insiders.
- Personalized gifts: Surprise them with thoughtful touches, like a birthday coupon or a product tailored to their preferences based on past purchases.
- Special experiences: Invite them to private events, sneak peeks, or behind-the-scenes opportunities. These unique moments can strengthen their bond with your brand.
These thoughtful gestures go beyond standard rewards, creating a sense of connection and loyalty that keeps your VIP customers coming back.
How can Klaviyo’s dynamic content feature improve personalization in VIP customer flows?
Klaviyo’s dynamic content feature lets you create highly personalized email experiences for your VIP customers. By using data like purchase history, preferences, or behavior, you can craft messages that feel tailored to each individual, making them more engaging and relevant.
With dynamic content, you can do things like showcase specific product recommendations, highlight exclusive VIP offers, or even hide sections of an email that don’t apply to certain recipients. This kind of customization not only makes your emails more meaningful but also helps boost the effectiveness of your loyalty programs. And the best part? It automates the personalization process, saving you time while delivering a polished, targeted experience to your most valued customers.
