Klaviyo vs Mailchimp vs Omnisend – The Ultimate Email Marketing Showdown
Effective email marketing strategy is critical in driving revenue, nurturing leads, and establishing customer connections in the fast-paced world of e-commerce. With so many email marketing systems available, store owners may find choosing which best meets their objectives challenging.
Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend are among the leading rivals in this market, each with its features and benefits geared to e-commerce enterprises.
In this post, we aim to present an in-depth comparison of Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend to assist e-commerce store owners in making an informed decision on the best software for their business.
By reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of each platform, we hope to equip you with the information to select a tool that coincides with your digital marketing and objectives.
Tips for Choosing the Right Email Marketing Tool
Choosing the correct email marketing solution for your e-commerce company is critical to the success of most companies marketing activities, so before we dig into the specifics of each email marketing tool, let’s examine the criteria you should consider in making your decision.
Here are some pointers to help you choose the best platform for your company:
Assess the size and budget of your company.
First and foremost, you must consider the size of your company and its accessible budget. Some systems provide more reasonable price alternatives for small enterprises, but others may provide more complex capabilities at a higher cost. It’s critical to find a happy medium between the features you require and the price you can afford.
Evaluate your present and future marketing requirements.
Examine your present email marketing approach and any future plans or goals you may have. Because different platforms cater to different demands, selecting a tool that will assist your marketing goals today and in the future is critical. Consider the level of personalization, segmentation, and automation required to execute your campaigns effectively.
Consider the simplicity of use and learning curve.
The user experience and learning curve of an email marketing platform can significantly impact your ability to build and manage campaigns effectively. Decide whether you prefer a platform with a more user-friendly design and less complex features or one with a steeper learning curve but more customization possibilities and advanced capability.
Investigate integration possibilities right tools and compatibility with existing tools.
Examine each platform’s integration possibilities to ensure they are compatible with your existing e-commerce and marketing solutions. It will be easier to sync consumer data, track performance, and design coherent marketing campaigns if your current setup is seamless.
Investigate available assistance and resources.
Next, assess each platform’s quality of customer service and accessible resources. When troubleshooting problems or learning how to utilize new technology, adequate help can make all the difference. Furthermore, platforms that include detailed guides, tutorials, and best practices will assist you in making the most of your email marketing efforts and positioning your e-commerce company for success.
Now that we’ve discussed the considerations let’s look at each platform’s pros and cons.
Klaviyo Overview and Key Features
Klaviyo is well-known as the gold standard in e-commerce email automation. It is a sophisticated email marketing platform created exclusively for e-commerce enterprises, with various features catering to online stores’ unique demands.
Klaviyo helps store owners to build highly targeted emails to promote sales and customer engagement by focusing on personalization and customer data.
Among the key features are deep connection with prominent e-commerce platforms, powerful segmentation capabilities, built-in automation workflows, and comprehensive analytics and reporting tools.
Klaviyo Pros
Deep Integration with E-commerce Platforms
Klaviyo offers robust and built-in integrations with all the major e-commerce platforms like BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. This powerful connection allows store owners to sync customer and prospect data, purchase history, pages visited, products seen, and much more to enable highly personalized and targeted email campaigns.
Advanced Segmentation Capabilities
The powerful segmentation engine in Klaviyo enables users to construct very specific client groupings based on a variety of variables such as purchase history, browsing behavior, location, and more. This allows business owners to provide their subscribers with relevant and timely material, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
Workflow Automation is Built In
Klaviyo offers a variety of pre-built e-commerce automation workflows, such as to recover abandoned carts, cart recovery, welcome series, post-purchase follow-ups, and more. These workflows can be tailored to the store’s branding and strategy, saving time and effort while guaranteeing consistent customer communication. Beyond this, almost any workflow you can think of can be easily custom-built.
A/B Testing is Easy
You can A/B test almost anything from campaigns to landing pages to email automations. You can test content, images, subject lines, and more. Testing is so easy that you should constantly be testing and learning what works best to grow your results as you go scientifically.
Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics
Klaviyo provides comprehensive analytics and reporting solutions that provide valuable insights into email marketing campaign performance, consumer behavior, and revenue attribution. This data-driven strategy enables business owners to make more informed decisions so they may optimize their email marketing strategies and boost their sales.
Klaviyo Cons
Pricing Can Seem More Expensive
The feature set Klaviyo delivers is impressive, and comparing it to less robust competitors, it can seem expensive on a “per subscriber” basis. Klaviyo charges per subscriber, so your costs grow as total number on your list grows, and many business owners look at this as a reason to look for a cheaper solution.
Steep Learning Curve for Beginners
Advanced features and customizability come with a price, as it does take an investment in time to learn, compared to competitors with fewer features. Between email campaigns, email automation, and SMS, be prepared to save time and to learn a lot.
Limited Template Library
Klaviyo offers a library of starter email templates, as do others, but this is a weak spot compared to others. Store owners will need to invest some time in building a template system for their business to deliver the highest quality campaigns. The customization system in Klaviyo will allow for unique and tailored email designs to reflect any brand’s style.
Omnisend Overview and Key Features
Omnisend is a free and comprehensive marketing automation tool designed primarily for e-commerce companies. Omnisend, as the name implies, provides omnichannel marketing capabilities, allowing store owners to reach out to customers across numerous channels such as email, SMS, web push notifications, and more.
E-commerce-focused automation workflows, advanced segmentation possibilities, interfaces with popular e-commerce platforms and tools, and a user-friendly interface are among the key features.
Omnisend Pros
Omnichannel Marketing Capabilities
Omnisend’s main advantage is its ability to support numerous marketing channels, such as email, SMS, web push notifications, and others. This enables e-commerce store owners to reach out to their customers via the channels they choose, ensuring a consistent and personalized experience across all touchpoints.
E-commerce Focused Automation Workflows
Omnisend provides several pre-built automation workflows for e-commerce, including welcome series, cart abandonment, post-purchase follow-ups, and more. These workflows are easily customizable to match the store’s branding and marketing plan, allowing for more efficient and streamlined customer communication.
Advanced Segmentation
Omnisend, like Klaviyo, provides powerful audience segmentation tools that allow business owners to target customers based on a variety of variables, including purchase history, browsing behavior, geography, and more. This enables subscribers to receive relevant and timely material, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates.
Integrations with Popular E-Commerce Platforms
Omnisend seamlessly interacts with major e-commerce systems, including BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, as well as other popular technologies like Google Analytics and Facebook. This makes it simple for business owners to sync client data and use existing tools to develop highly focused marketing campaigns.
Omnisend Cons
More Expensive in the Higher Tiered Plans
While Omnisend’s base plan is reasonably priced, higher-tier plans with extra features and capabilities cost substantially more. This may worry larger enterprises or those wanting more extensive functions.
Less Built-in Email Templates
While sufficient for most use situations, Omnisend’s own email design template collection is not as broad as Mailchimp’s. Omnisend’s offers may be limited for store owners searching for a wide variety of pre-designed layouts.
Difficult for Beginners and Small Businesses
For small organizations or those new to email marketing, Omnisend’s broad feature set and omnichannel possibilities can be bewildering. The learning curve may be greater than that of other user-friendly platforms, such as Mailchimp, necessitating more time and effort to utilize its features fully. But, for individuals willing to invest in understanding the platform, Omnisend’s user-friendly interface and associated materials can assist in easing the transition.
Mailchimp Overview and Key Features
Mailchimp is a well-known email marketing platform noted for its ease of use and diverse feature set. While not specially developed for e-commerce, Mailchimp provides several useful features and connectors for online retailers. A user-friendly interface, an extensive library of pre-built templates, reasonable pricing choices for smaller enterprises, and integrations with leading e-commerce platforms and other tools are among the key features.
Mailchimp Pros
User-Friendly Interface
One of Mailchimp’s most significant advantages is its user-friendly interface, which makes it simple for novice and expert email marketers to develop and manage campaigns and automations. This simplicity decreases the learning curve and allows store owners to start email marketing activities immediately.
Large Library of Pre-built Templates
Mailchimp has an extensive library of pre-designed email templates for various industries and use cases. With such an extensive range, store owners can discover a template that meets their needs and then tweak it to match their identity and messaging.
Affordable Pricing Options for Smaller Businesses and Larger Lists Alike
The pricing structure of Mailchimp is designed to accommodate organizations of all sizes, with a free plan accessible for those just getting started. Mailchimp offers scalable pricing choices as your subscriber list grows, making it an appealing solution for smaller enterprises or those on a tight budget.
Integrations with E-commerce Platforms
Though not as in-depth, Mailchimp interacts with major e-commerce systems like BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, as well as other popular tools like Google Analytics and Facebook. This enables store owners to sync client data and build customized marketing campaigns using existing technologies.
Mailchimp Cons
Limited Data Sync with E-commerce Platforms
While Mailchimp integrates with major e-commerce platforms to import user data, the integration is not as deep and comprehensive as that of Klaviyo or Omnisend. This constraint may impact the amount of data available for producing highly targeted and personalized email messages. As a result, store owners may find their campaign intricacy and efficacy limited, thus limiting the full potential of their email marketing efforts.
Less Advanced Segmentation
While Mailchimp provides basic segmentation possibilities, it lacks the extensive features of Klaviyo. This may limit the extent of personalization and targeting possible with Mailchimp, which may impact engagement and conversion rates for some e-commerce enterprises.
Limited Workflows and Email Automation
Mailchimp does provide various e-commerce automation workflows, such as abandoned cart recovery and welcome series. Nevertheless, the platform’s e-commerce procedures aren’t as extensive as those found in Klaviyo or Omnisend, which could limit the efficiency of automated campaigns.
Limited Analytics and Reporting
Mailchimp offers simple analytics and reporting tools for tracking campaign performance and interaction. Store owners may need to rely on additional tools or integrations for more advanced insights and data-driven decision-making, increasing the total complexity of their marketing stack.
Conclusion
Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend each have their own capabilities and benefits for e-commerce enterprises trying to improve their email marketing operations.
After a thorough comparison, Klaviyo emerges as our top pick for the best overall email marketing tool.
Due to its extensive connection with e-commerce platforms, advanced segmentation capabilities, and comprehensive analytics, it is a very successful solution for businesses of all sizes.
While Mailchimp’s user-friendly interface and low pricing options make it an excellent choice for smaller businesses or those new to email marketing, and Omnisend’s omnichannel marketing capabilities cater to businesses looking to engage customers across multiple touchpoints, Klaviyo’s robust feature set and focus on e-commerce give it a competitive advantage.
Klaviyo’s built-in automation workflows and ability to develop highly targeted and personalized campaigns can greatly improve your store’s performance and customer engagement.
While selecting the best email marketing solution for your e-commerce site, you must examine your company’s size, budget, marketing requirements, usability, and available support.
One important thing to note about Klaviyo is the cost per subscriber. We frequently hear this cited as the reason businesses embrace cheaper solutions first. What we find, though, is that less expensive cost per subscriber usually results in lists with much higher subscriber counts as those lists are not regularly scrubbed from inactive and new subscribers either. Mailing to inactive repeatedly will lower your open rate as you get automatically filtered out of many more customers’ inboxes and into the spam folder. So while your list is bigger and your cost per subscriber is lower, your overall cost is much higher when you look at “cost per opens,” which is really what you want.
Klaviyo is a free and standout alternative for businesses looking to optimize their email marketing efforts and promote development and success because of its extensive features and e-commerce-centric strategy.
If you need help with your e-commerce email marketing, contact us today.
FAQs
What are some questions I should ask to pick the right email platform?
How easy is it to set up and use each platform?
What is the pricing structure for each email marketing tool?
How do the platforms handle subscriber list management?
What level of segmentation and targeting capabilities does each tool offer?
Are there pre-built automation workflows available for e-commerce campaigns?
How customizable are the email templates in each platform?
What type of analytics and reporting features are available for tracking campaign performance?
How do the platforms integrate with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento?
Are there any additional integrations with other marketing tools and services?
What level of customer support is provided by each email marketing tool?
Can I import my existing subscriber list into each platform?
How do the platforms handle email deliverability and spam prevention?
Are there any restrictions on the number of emails I can send per month?
Can I create A/B tests for my email campaigns on each platform?
How do the platforms handle GDPR compliance and other data privacy regulations?
Are there any built-in features for creating signup forms and pop-ups?
Can I create automated email sequences for abandoned cart recovery and post-purchase follow-ups?
Do the platforms offer SMS marketing and other omnichannel marketing options?
How easy is it to migrate from one platform to another?
Are there any additional fees for using premium features or add-ons?
How does each platform handle unsubscribe requests and email bounces?
Can I manage multiple stores or brands within a single account?
What kind of training materials and resources are available for each platform?
How do the platforms handle email personalization and dynamic content?
Are there any limitations on the size of the subscriber list for each pricing tier?
What is the difference in pricing between monthly and annual billing options?
How do the platforms support email campaigns for international audiences and multiple languages?
Can I create automated product recommendation emails with each platform?
Are there any affiliate or referral programs available with each email marketing tool?
How do the platforms handle email scheduling and time-sensitive campaigns?
Why is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp?
Because of its strong interaction with e-commerce platforms, advanced segmentation features, and built-in automation workflows, Klaviyo is regarded as superior to Mailchimp for e-commerce enterprises.
While Mailchimp is more user-friendly and cost-effective, Klaviyo has a more extensive feature set geared to the needs of e-commerce, enabling firms to design highly targeted and personalized campaigns that can greatly increase customer engagement and conversion rates.
Is email marketing good for eCommerce?
E-commerce businesses benefit greatly from email marketing since it allows them to engage directly with customers, establish customer loyalty, and improve sales.
Businesses may use email marketing services to establish targeted campaigns, deliver personalized offers, and automate workflows for abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and product suggestions.
As a result, consumer engagement increases, conversion rates rise, and revenue rises.
Why is Klaviyo so popular?
Klaviyo is well-known for its robust features and e-commerce-focused strategy. Its strong interaction with e-commerce systems, advanced segmentation features, and comprehensive analytics make it an appealing option for companies trying to maximize their email marketing strategy.
Furthermore, Klaviyo’s built-in automation workflows and customizable templates enable highly targeted and individualized campaigns, contributing to the platform’s popularity among e-commerce enterprises.
Is Klaviyo hard to use?
Due to its vast functionality and customization choices, Klaviyo has a steeper learning curve than other email marketing tools.
Users may quickly become adept in utilizing Klaviyo to produce efficient email marketing campaigns if they have access to comprehensive guidelines, tutorials, and support resources.
What is email deliverability?
Email deliverability refers to an email’s ability to reach a receiver’s inbox without being labeled as spam, bouncing, or being banned by email service providers.
Sender reputation, email content, and list quality are all factors that influence deliverability.
Is Klaviyo B2B or B2C?
Klaviyo is primarily intended for B2C firms, particularly those in the e-commerce industry.
Its features suit the needs of B2C organizations, such as extensive connection with e-commerce platforms, smart segmentation, and automated emails.
B2B organizations can still use Klaviyo’s capabilities for email marketing, but some functionalities may be less relevant to their specific use cases.
What are the 4 types of email marketing?
Promotional marketing emails: Designed to increase sales by promoting products, special deals, or discounts.
Transactional Emails: Examples include order confirmations, shipping updates, and password resets.
Instructional emails: Provide useful information or content about your industry or product, assisting subscribers to learn more or solve difficulties.
Lifecycle emails: Messages delivered to customers based on their stage in the lifecycle, such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, or post-purchase follow-ups.
What is the best email sequence for eCommerce?
The best email sequence for e-commerce typically includes the following:
Welcome email: Introduce your brand and set expectations for future communication.
Onboarding emails: Provide tips, resources, or educational content to help customers make the most of their purchases.
Promotional marketing emails: Share exclusive offers, product launches, or sales events.
Abandoned cart recovery: Remind customers of items left in their cart and encourage them to complete their purchases.
Post-purchase follow-up: Thank customers for their purchase and offer personalized product recommendations or upsell opportunities.
Re-engagement campaigns: Target inactive subscribers with special offers or content to encourage them to re-engage with your brand.
What are 3 effective measures and best practices when using email marketing?
Segmentation: To send highly relevant and targeted content, divide your email list into smaller categories depending on characteristics such as consumer behavior, preferences, and demographics.
Personalization: To create a more engaging experience for your subscribers, personalize your email content, the email subject line, and offers.
A/B Testing: Experiment with a different subject line, formats, and content to see what works best for your audience and optimize open and click-through rates.
Is Klaviyo best for eCommerce?
We think so. Klaviyo is highly recommended for e-commerce enterprises because of its numerous industry-specific capabilities, such as deep integration with key e-commerce platforms, intelligent segmentation, comprehensive analytics, and e-commerce-focused automation workflows.
These capabilities make it easier for businesses to design highly targeted and personalized email automations, eventually driving e-commerce growth and profitability.
Is Klaviyo owned by Shopify?
Shopify does not “own” Klaviyo, although it is an investor. Klaviyo is a standalone email marketing system that works in tandem with Shopify and other major e-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento.
Which brands use Klaviyo?
Numerous well-known firms, like Chubbies, Brooklinen, Kopari Beauty, and Beardbrand, use Klaviyo for email marketing. These businesses use Klaviyo’s robust tools to produce highly targeted and personalized email campaigns that increase client engagement and revenue development.
What products are prohibited in Klaviyo?
Klaviyo does not allow the promotion of illicit or banned products, such as narcotics, drug paraphernalia, counterfeit goods, guns, ammunition, explosives, or adult content.
Go to Klaviyo’s Acceptable Usage Policy for a complete list of forbidden products.
How do I fix email deliverability issues?
Consider the following measures to avoid the spam filters:
Keep your subscriber list clean by deleting inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses.
To confirm that subscribers want to receive your emails, use double opt-in.
Deliver material that is relevant, valuable, and interesting.
Avoid using spammy language and excessive commercial stuff.
Check the sender’s reputation and address any issues as soon as possible.
To improve open and click-through rates, experiment with different email styles and the email subject line.
Is email marketing effective for eCommerce?
Certainly, email marketing is quite beneficial for e-commerce companies. It allows for direct engagement with customers, aids in brand loyalty, and increases sales.
Businesses can use email marketing to set up targeted email marketing campaigns, send out personalized offers, and set up automation workflows for abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and product suggestions. This leads to better customer engagement, higher conversion rates, and more revenue.
What is the rule of 7 in email marketing?
The Rule of 7 is a marketing guideline that states that a prospect must come into contact with a brand or message at least seven times before taking action, such as completing a purchase.
This rule underlines the necessity of frequent and engaging engagement with your subscribers in email marketing to create brand awareness, and trust, and eventually generate conversions.
