Launching a new wine delivery brand with marketing automation

Project assumptions

The client needed a specialist to implement email and SMS marketing for their newly established online store. The client's main goal at the beginning of the collaboration was to acquire potential customers before the store's opening, provide them with a voucher for a free gift upon subscription via email, and enable future email marketing activities.

After discussions with the client, we jointly determined the necessary actions for implementing email marketing, both before and after the store's opening. We discussed the action plan for the upcoming period, outlining the specific stages of cooperation.

Project Objective (Stage 1 and 2): Comprehensive implementation of email & SMS marketing for the online store.

Challenge: The client approached us with a project that required immediate action due to the short time remaining before the store's opening. Furthermore, they did not have a dedicated IT person to assist them, so they wanted the integration to be as fast, simple, and effective as possible.

Project (Stage 1 and 2)

Duration: The implementation of email marketing and execution of the initial email campaigns took approximately 30 hours. The project is still ongoing (Stage 3) for promotional campaigns, recipient database management, lead generation, and increasing efficiency.

Project Scope: Integration of the email marketing system with the Shopify online store and implementation of basic and advanced email marketing functionalities. The project included the following tasks:

1. Choosing an email marketing tool, integrating it with Shopify, and providing recommendations for actions.

This task involved selecting the best email marketing system for the client, considering easy and fast integration with Shopify. Klaviyo was chosen as it currently offers the most advanced email marketing functionalities for ecommerce and provides the best integration with Shopify. After connecting Klaviyo with Shopify, appropriate settings and recipient lists were selected, with parameters and properties adjusted (subscription model, confirmation message, confirmation action pages, subscriber information update page). The Terms and Privacy Policy were also verified for compliance with GDPR and email marketing plans.

Meanwhile, the client received recommendations for additional actions to implement alongside Klaviyo. Some of these actions were included in other points or subsequent stages of cooperation.

2. Welcome messages in Omnisend/Klaviyo.

Before the start of the project, the subscription form was connected to the Omnisend system by the agency that created the promotional landing page. Omnisend was randomly selected without input from an email marketing specialist. Due to technical issues with the subscription form, the initial welcome and subscription confirmation messages were sent from the Omnisend system.

Consequently, both Omnisend and Klaviyo systems needed to be integrated with Shopify to ensure that all subscriptions were transferred in the following order: Omnisend -> Shopify -> Klaviyo. Some technical problems arose, requiring us to manually resend the welcome message to a portion of subscribers at a later time.

Welcome messages were created in both Klaviyo and Omnisend to accommodate this situation. Confirmation messages were also created in both systems due to the double opt-in subscription model.

3. Mailing to customers of the previous store.

In the meantime, a mailing was sent to the customer base of a second, no longer active store, informing them about the opening of the new store. The mailing aimed to invite customers to take advantage of a promotion for a free bottle while encouraging them to subscribe to the newsletter of the new store. The message was fully compliant with GDPR (same company).

Shortly after the store's opening, another message was sent to the same customer base, excluding those who had already subscribed to the new store's newsletter. The message informed about the store's opening, the ongoing promotion for a free bottle of wine, and the opportunity to use a code in the open store.

4. Communication directed to customers after purchase.

Transaction message editing, outgoing to customers after making a purchase in a store, e.g., order confirmation, shipping confirmation. Content preparation, logo and color matching to the brand. Verification of message sequence and accuracy - quality testing.

5. Communication aimed at customers who opt for recurring subscriptions.

Creation of messages targeted at customers who choose to make purchases in a recurring subscription. The first message sent to the customer, shortly after the subscription starts, contains basic information about the subscription's operation, editing, cancellation, notifications, etc.

The next message is a reminder of orders processed within the subscription, sent 3 days before the next order's payment is due. The rest of the messages are related to specific actions, such as an error message during payment processing, subscription suspension, etc.

The next stage of work on subscriptions (stage 3 of collaboration) will involve marketing emails, including thank-you messages for subscription activation, benefits, additional content, and messages encouraging other customers to take advantage of the subscription (cyclic campaigns divided into segments with tailored communication for customers with 1 purchase, subscribers without purchases, customers with a higher number of purchases).

6. Abandoned cart.

Implementation of abandoned cart: automation scenario, templates for two email messages, settings customization, quality testing.

7. Managing the recipient database.

Comparison of addresses between Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Shopify due to subscription form issues (3). Then, verifying how many subscribers did not receive a welcome message with a gift. Creating a segment of people who did not receive the shipment. Setting up a campaign for the created segment in Klaviyo. Checking conversion rates and planning a second campaign reminding about the ongoing promotion.

Creating segments in Klaviyo necessary for dividing the welcome cycle. Checking the correctness of data transfer between systems, unsubscribe rates, forms, and message delivery.

8. New subscription form - quiz. Integration with Klaviyo.

The client has created a quiz aimed at acquiring customers. The quiz introduces gamification elements into the process, usually increasing the form's effectiveness. The reward for completing the quiz is also a free bottle of wine, different from the one offered during the initial promotional campaign related to store opening.

The quiz was created in the Presidio application. It was then connected to the subscriber list in Klaviyo.

In Klaviyo, a welcome message was created along with a code to redeem a free bottle. The message is sent to subscribers immediately after completing the quiz. The message contains a link that, when clicked, automatically adds the free bottle of wine to the customer's cart on the store's website.

9. Subscription form pop-up. Integration with Klaviyo.

Providing instructions to the designer regarding the appearance and content of the pop-up and confirmation page. Integration with the appropriate list in Klaviyo. Creating a dedicated welcome message and including it in the welcome cycle (editing the subscription source and dividing messages with a free bottle). Adding a tag to subscribers indicating the subscription source [source: popup, form, etc.].

10. Deliverability (this point is usually done at the beginning, but it was an exception here).

Providing the client with information on the settings to implement in the administrative panel to improve deliverability and, above all, to send emails on their behalf through the store's domain rather than Klaviyo. It was necessary to create a subdomain and create CNAME and TXT records in the subdomain's DNS area.

11. Campaign analysis and optimization (newsletters + automations). Regular newsletters and continued implementation of the established strategy (stage 3).

Implementing newsletters according to the established schedule. Implementing the remaining functionalities discussed after the initial recommendation, including expanding the welcome cycle, creating a sales funnel, new lead generation ideas, remarketing, upsell/cross-sell, SMS campaigns.

Tools/Technologies used: Shopify, Klaviyo, Email Marketing, Marketing Automation, SMS Marketing, Omnisend, Mailchimp, HTML

Summary

Project Results: Integration of Klaviyo with Shopify store. Set up welcome flows for new subscribers. Introduction of regular newsletters. Creation of abandoned cart scenario. Determination of action strategies. Acquisition of first subscribers and customers. Increased brand awareness.

Benefits for the client: Acquisition of first subscribers and customers. Functional processes, implementation of automation. Time savings. Obtaining advice on e-commerce operations (especially regarding emails and the purchase process). Identifying and preventing errors, support in UX/web design activities.

What should be focused on during such a project?

• Discussion with the client regarding plans, needs, overall marketing strategy
• Creating a road map for the project.
• Establishing a schedule of activities.
• Summary for the client.
• Verifying the purchase process and identifying elements for improvement (transactional emails, subscription checkboxes, data transfer between systems).
• Testing everything - from data transfer between systems to emails (quality tests and A/B tests).
• Ensuring proper email appearance, appropriate CTAs, design consistency, links, ALT tags, subject lines + preheaders, email size, image quality, logo, template division.
• Monitoring processes and responding to issues as quickly as possible.
• Preparing project documentation.

Statistics or numerical data regarding project-related benefits:

Time savings for the client: 30 hours of specialist work + knowledge.

Approximately 250 subscribers acquired within the first month of activities (taking into account form and message issues and limited marketing efforts).