In the wake of the Shopify + Klaviyo investment announcement, I have a fun and impactful anecdote to share about Klaviyo.
As context: my previous company (Conversio, now @_cmcommerce) was a direct competitor/alternative.
We would often have merchants switching to us from Klaviyo or switching away from us to Klaviyo.
Different strokes, different folks.
But we had this one significant watch brand that we lost to Klaviyo that really irked me.
They had been a customer of ours for 18-odd months. Positive ROI, good NPS etc.
Then they switch to Klaviyo, because they heard it was better.
Checked in 90 days later & did a full audit of their Klaviyo account. They copied all workflows/campaigns and had near-similar metrics.
Both products were similar (at the time and for this brand).
Outcome across many metrics were similar.
We were cheaper.
Yet they went with Klaviyo and we could not win them back.
Why did Klaviyo win that account?
Brand & value perception matters.
Customers aren’t 100% rational with buying decisions. x% of the decision is subjective.
To this day, I think parts of Conversio was better than what Klaviyo is today.
Yet they will IPO soon.
How you make customers feel & think matters.
adii
@adii
Family man, seeker and learner. 3X Founder. Now building @cogsyapp. Prev: @_cmcommerce (acq. by @CampaignMonitor) + @WooThemes (acq. by @Automattic).
