Our Klaviyo Framework for an Integrated Email and SMS Strategy

26 May

Most brands treat email and SMS as separate channels. They run them in silos, often managed by different people with different goals. This is a mistake. It creates a disjointed experience for the customer and leaves a lot of money on the table.

When I was scaling my own eCommerce store, Gearbunch, I learned this the hard way. We had our email flows and our SMS campaigns, but they didn’t talk to each other. We were either annoying customers by hitting them on both channels at once, or missing opportunities by using the wrong channel at the wrong time.

After auditing hundreds of Klaviyo accounts at Elite Brands, I see the same pattern everywhere. A clear, integrated email vs SMS strategy is the exception, not the rule. That’s why we developed a framework to fix it. It’s the system I wish I had back then, and it’s the one we use to grow our clients’ revenue today.

The ‘Connect, Convert, Consolidate’ framework for an integrated email vs sms strategy

The old way of thinking about marketing funnels is too linear for modern eCommerce. Customers don’t move neatly from awareness to purchase. They bounce between channels, get distracted, and come back later. A rigid strategy can’t keep up.

Our framework is built for this reality. It’s not a funnel, it’s a cycle. We call it ‘Connect, Convert, Consolidate’.

Connect: This is the first touchpoint. It’s about acquiring new subscribers for both email and SMS and making a strong first impression. The goal is to build an initial relationship and gather data on their preferences.

Convert: This is where we turn interest into action. We use a coordinated sequence of email and SMS messages to guide prospects through consideration and purchase. This includes abandoned cart flows, browse abandonment, and targeted promotions.

Consolidate: This is about the post-purchase experience. The goal is to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers and brand advocates. We use this phase for loyalty, feedback, and building long-term value.

This isn’t just theory. It’s a practical system for organising your entire retention marketing effort inside Klaviyo. By thinking in these three stages, you can ensure every message has a purpose and that email and SMS are working together, not against each other. It’s a core part of our process and it consistently helps brands increase customer lifetime value. It stops you from just sending random campaigns and forces you to build a machine.

Connect: Building initial engagement with email and SMS together

The ‘Connect’ phase is your brand’s first handshake. Get it wrong, and you might not get a second chance. The goal here is simple: capture contact information and start a conversation on the right channel.

Most brands use a single pop-up form asking for an email address. A better approach is a two-step form. First, ask for the email. On the next screen, ask for the phone number for SMS alerts and an exclusive offer. We typically see a 15-20% opt-in rate on that second step, immediately giving us two ways to communicate.

Once you have the opt-in, the welcome flow begins. This is a critical moment. The subscriber is highly engaged and expecting to hear from you. You need to deliver value, not just a discount code. This is where channel differentiation starts.

Email is for storytelling. SMS is for immediacy.

Your first welcome email should introduce the brand. Tell your founder story. Explain what makes your products different. Use strong visuals. This is your chance to build an emotional connection. The discount can be in this email, but it’s not the primary focus.

The first SMS message should be short and direct. It should deliver the promised offer or discount code. It feels personal and urgent, which is perfect for encouraging that first purchase.

Optimising Klaviyo welcome flows for dual-channel engagement

At Elite Brands, we build welcome flows that use both channels intelligently. Here’s a common sequence we implement for new subscribers.

Immediate: Send the first welcome email. This introduces the brand story and includes the sign-up offer.
10 Minutes Later: Send the first SMS. “Welcome to [Brand]. Your 15% off code is WELCOME15. Happy shopping.” This delivers the code directly for mobile shoppers.
24 Hours Later (Conditional Split): Has the subscriber purchased? If yes, they exit this flow and enter the post-purchase flow. If no, we check if they’ve engaged with the first email.
24 Hours Later (Email Path): If they opened or clicked the first email, send a second email. This one can focus on best-selling products or category benefits. It reinforces the brand value.
24 Hours Later (SMS Path): If they did not engage with the email but we have their SMS consent, we can send a follow-up text. “Still thinking it over? See what’s new at [Brand]: [shortlink]”.

This logic ensures we aren’t spamming them. We’re responding to their behaviour. Personalisation at this stage is about acknowledging their interest and guiding them, not just blasting offers. You can find more detail in our post on The Elite Brands Framework for Your Klaviyo Welcome Flow. This strategic approach makes the difference between a 2% and a 5% conversion rate from your welcome series.

Convert: Driving purchases through a unified email and sms strategy

Once a subscriber is engaged, the ‘Convert’ phase begins. The goal is to move them from consideration to purchase. This is where your abandoned cart and browse abandonment flows do the heavy lifting. Integrating email and SMS here can dramatically increase your recovery rates.

I’ve seen brands recover an extra 10-15% on abandoned carts just by adding a single, well-timed SMS message to their existing email flow.

The key is orchestration. You can’t just turn on email and SMS flows and hope for the best. You need to set up rules in Klaviyo to make them work together. For example, a customer should exit the flow as soon as they purchase. They shouldn’t receive an SMS if they’ve already clicked the link in the abandoned cart email.

Abandoned cart flows are the most obvious place to start. A standard email-only flow might recover 10% of carts. A combined flow can push that to 20% or more.

Browse abandonment is similar. Someone viewed a product but didn’t add it to their cart. Email is great for showing them that product again, maybe alongside some related items. SMS is effective for a simple, direct reminder an hour later. “Saw you checking out the [Product Name]. It’s one of our best-sellers.”

Flash sales are another area where a combined email vs SMS strategy shines. Email is for the announcement. It provides the details, the context, and the visuals. SMS is for urgency. Send one text when the sale starts and another a few hours before it ends. The open rate on SMS is over 90%, making it perfect for time-sensitive messages.

Orchestrating Klaviyo flows for maximum conversion

Here is a blueprint for a high-performing abandoned cart flow that we often implement.

Trigger: Customer adds item to cart but does not start checkout.
Wait 1 Hour: Send Email #1. This is a simple reminder. “Did you forget something?” Include a large image of the product and a clear call-to-action button.
Wait 3 Hours (Conditional Split): Has the customer purchased? If yes, exit. If no, do we have SMS consent?
SMS Path: If we have consent, send SMS #1. “Hi [FirstName], looks like you left something behind at [Brand]. Your cart is saved here: [shortlink]”. This message often converts customers who are on their phone and away from their computer.
Wait 20 Hours (Conditional Split): Has the customer purchased? If yes, exit.
Send Email #2: This email can address common objections. Include customer reviews, mention your return policy, or offer a small discount (e.g., free shipping) to nudge them over the line. You can read more about our specific tactics in our guide to Integrating SMS with Your Klaviyo Abandoned Cart Flow for Better Recovery.

This structured approach respects the customer’s inbox and uses the unique strengths of each channel. Email provides detail and persuasion. SMS provides a timely, direct nudge. Together, they recover revenue that would otherwise be lost.

Consolidate: Nurturing loyalty and advocacy with email and SMS together

The purchase is not the end of the journey. It’s the beginning of the most profitable phase: retention. The ‘Consolidate’ stage is about turning a first-time buyer into a lifelong customer and advocate for your brand. Too many brands neglect this, focusing all their energy on acquisition.

This is where you build your brand’s community and long-term value. An integrated email and SMS strategy is crucial for a smooth post-purchase experience.

Immediately after purchase, the customer is looking for reassurance. Did my order go through? When will it ship? SMS is the perfect channel for these transactional updates. Order confirmations and shipping notifications sent via SMS have near-perfect open rates and provide immediate peace of mind.

Email plays a different role here. A few days after the order is placed, you can send an email with content related to their purchase. If they bought a skincare product, send them a guide on how to use it. If they bought a piece of apparel, show them how to style it. This adds value beyond the transaction itself.

Loyalty programs and VIP offers are another key part of this phase. Email is the best place to explain the benefits of your loyalty program. You have the space to detail the points system, the rewards, and the exclusive perks. But when it’s time to announce double-points weekend or a VIP-only flash sale, an SMS message creates the urgency and exclusivity that drives action.

Win-back campaigns are also part of consolidation. When a customer hasn’t purchased in a while (say, 90 or 120 days), a strategic sequence can bring them back. We often start with an email that says “We miss you” and offers a compelling reason to return, like a sneak peek at a new collection. If that doesn’t work, a follow-up SMS with a strong, time-sensitive offer can be very effective. “It’s been a while. Here’s 20% off your next order, just for you. Expires in 48 hours.”

Finally, use this phase to generate social proof. A week or two after the product is delivered, trigger a review request. You can A/B test sending this via email versus SMS to see which channel generates more reviews for your specific audience. Many of our clients see higher response rates from a simple SMS request. These efforts show our results and build a powerful feedback loop.

Measuring combined channel performance for your email vs sms strategy

You can’t optimise what you don’t measure. A common mistake I see is looking at email and SMS performance in separate dashboards. This gives you a misleading picture. You need a unified view to understand how your integrated strategy is actually performing.

Klaviyo is a powerful tool for this, but you need to know which reports to look at.

First, establish your key metrics for each channel. For email, we track open rate, click-through rate (CTR), and conversion rate. For SMS, we focus more on CTR and conversion rate, as open rates are consistently high but harder to track perfectly. For both, the ultimate metric is revenue per recipient.

The biggest challenge is attribution. If a customer gets an abandoned cart email and an SMS, which one gets the credit for the sale? Klaviyo’s default attribution settings can be customised. We typically use a 5-day email window and a 24-hour SMS window. It’s important to understand how these settings work, as explained in their help documentation on conversion tracking.

But don’t get lost in last-touch attribution. The real goal is to measure the overall lift. Before implementing an integrated flow, what was your total abandoned cart recovery rate? After implementation, what is it now? If the total rate increased by 8%, the strategy is working, regardless of how Klaviyo divides the credit between the two channels.

A/B testing is essential. Don’t just test subject lines. Test the channels themselves. - Timing: Does an SMS work better 1 hour after cart abandonment or 4 hours after? - Content: Does a direct offer outperform a simple reminder text? - Channel Preference: For a specific campaign, split your audience. Send half an email and half an SMS. Which segment generates more revenue?

Finally, use segmentation to refine your approach. Create segments for “email-only subscribers,” “SMS-only subscribers,” and “dual-channel subscribers.” You can also create segments for “engaged with email” and “engaged with SMS.” This allows you to tailor your campaigns to your audience’s preferred method of communication. For some brands, we find that their VIP customers prefer the directness of SMS, while new customers respond better to the rich content in emails. The data will tell you what works. If you’re unsure where to start, a free Klaviyo audit can often uncover these insights.

Implementing Elite Brands’ framework for your eCommerce store

Putting this all together creates a powerful system. The ‘Connect, Convert, Consolidate’ framework ensures you’re using the right channel, with the right message, at every stage of the customer journey. It stops you from thinking about an email vs SMS strategy and starts you thinking about a unified customer strategy.

The benefits are clear. You’ll see higher conversion rates from your automated flows. You’ll build stronger customer relationships through a more relevant and less intrusive post-purchase experience. Your marketing spend will be more efficient because you’re not wasting messages on the wrong channels. Ultimately, this leads to a higher customer lifetime value, which is the key to sustainable eCommerce growth.

This framework works. We’ve proven it across dozens of eCommerce brands in different niches.

However, setting it up correctly requires expertise. The logic inside Klaviyo can get complex, with multiple conditional splits and filters needed to create a frictionless experience. It’s not a “set it and forget it” system. It requires ongoing monitoring, testing, and optimisation to perform at its best. This is where our Klaviyo management comes in.

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