Klaviyo or MailChimp? How to choose between the two email marketing platforms the most suitable for an e-commerce site? May the target audience also need to be assessed? What are the pros and cons of these tools? In the field of marketing automation certainly these are two of the best and most popular software in the world. However, Klaviyo and MailChimp differ substantially from each other, starting with the year of their debut.
Klaviyo VS MailChimp: pros and cons
If the first platform was born in 2012, the second one anticipated it by 11 years (2001). The former, moreover, was created specifically for online stores, unlike the latter, which, on the other hand, was designed primarily to provide an email marketing service, so as to use email to send messages, information and commercial communications to its target audience.
…These are just the first obvious differences between Klaviyo and MailChimp, but of course they are not the only ones!
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: cost
The two tools present various pricing plans, some of which are free (albeit quite limited), varying in number of contacts entered, emails sent, and customer support, among other things. As much as the pricing is quite elaborate on both software, Klaviyo’s proposals overall are less economical than MailChimp’s, so much so that for specific plans one can go as far as spending more than a thousand euros per month. The plans proposed by MailChimp, on the other hand, are more affordable in the startup phase, although they too can become quite expensive.
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: segmentation
In addition to the budget issue, one must also address the multiple segmentations that can be applied depending on the platform selected. In this case, how do Klaviyo and MailChimp help manage and track contacts?
Klaviyo relies heavily on contact segmentation: right from user registration, in fact, it is possible to select different characteristics and options (such as customer behavior or relevant events), being able to obtain information from platforms such as Shopify, Magento or from the Facebook audience through further integrations. In contrast, on MailChimp segmentation is less automated and rather tied to lists and tags created by the users themselves. While it may be a more ‘rough’ subdivision it certainly is very intuitive for anyone who has to manage fairly general membership groups.
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: automation
The ‘challenge’ continues for a not insignificant detail in the email marketing industry:automation, the technology that enables smooth, continuous and optimal management and scheduling of mailings based on specific workflows. For those who need comprehensive support in creating automation workflows, Klaviyo, without a shadow of a doubt, proves to be more complex and advanced than its competitor, allowing highly customized workflows to be created by experts in the field, but not only, thanks to a large catalog of predefined templates that can be customized and from which to draw inspiration.
For its part, MailChimp also provides the user with a wide variety of options for automation, and as a result, it is easy to set up workflows according to different marketing goals. Although much more limited than Klaviyo, it turns out to be an excellent platform for marketing automation, especially for those who are new to marketing and need an intuitive and easy-to-understand interface.
Both platforms integrate with major e-commerce CMSs, so each automation is structured according to online customer behavior and from data provided by sales.
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: reporting
…But what would email marketing be without careful and accurate reporting? Metrics and data on email opens/unsubscribes, link clicks, bounce rates, and unsubscribes are critical to evaluating the work done and deciding how to plan future campaigns. With both Klaviyo and MailChimp, it is possible to analyze the report following the sending of each email thanks to the charts and graphs provided by the system, precisely to direct and optimize the workflow.
Analyzing the two platforms in more detail:
Klaviyo: thanks to the proposed system, it is very easy to monitor the most important metrics – such as, precisely, the unsubscribe rate – and, at the same time, you have a fully customizable analysis dashboard. Since Klaviyo is able to integrate seamlessly with both an e-commerce platform and other ad hoc programs, it is possible to understand when and what users click on and even which emails drive customer purchases the most. Another relevant detail and strong point of this platform is predictive analytics, monitoring the audience to be able to make an estimate of how many upcoming purchases they might make.
MailChimp: provides decidedly useful and intuitive baselines regarding the engagement of mailing list contacts. In addition, the software provides a practical and strategic feature especially for e-commerce site campaigns, namely “A/B tests,” with which-through a similar basic structure, but with previously established variables, e.g., images or copy-you can clearly determine which of two emails was more effective and performs better.
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: user interface and usability
From informational to commercial, regardless of the purpose of the email, usability and user interface are two key words for the overall structure and successful design of a platform suitable for diverse audiences.
Klaviyo certainly presents one of the most comprehensive software solutions on the market, more technical, with lots of scientific data and opportunities to experiment and explore. A minimal but functional interface for those who want to delve deeply into the world of email marketing.
However, MailChimp is no different, and this platform also offers an exceptional usability experience, with adaptable, versatile and easy-to-manage templates and a wide range of graphics and designs to choose from. A more graphically appealing and distinctive interface that is intended to make work easy and understandable even for novices. Adding or deleting CTA buttons-often a last-minute nightmare before sending-has never been easier, since you can trash or ‘drag’ referenced graphics within the body of the email in just a few clicks.
Klaviyo VS Mailchimp: and the winner is…
Who then wins between the two American companies? Probably the result can only be a tie, and it is mainly the player, i.e., the user, who makes the difference based on the goals and resources invested.
If one has enough experience to manage and understand how to exploit the potential of a platform such as Klaviyo then performance will have a positive increase, facilitating more and more of the following work. On the other hand, software as fast and intuitive as MailChimp’s certainly allows for optimal results in a fairly short time.
