Manly Bands drives 58% of total email revenue with Klaviyo automations

Manly Bands handcrafts rings for men who think outside the box. Co-CEOs and co-founders Johnathan Ruggiero and Michelle Luchese saw the glut of uninspiring mens’ wedding bands when they got married, and they founded Manly Bands in their garage to invigorate the space. A Manly Bands wedding ring can be gold—but maybe it’s lined with deer antler. Maybe it’s made from a whiskey barrel. It can even be forged from literal meteorite.

Learn why Manly Bands left Listrak for Klaviyo’s “totally self-serve” platform

Challenge

Listrak and its robust customer support might have been great for an enterprise-scale company, but not for Manly Bands. The fast-growing DTC jewellery retailer needed an agile, self-serve marketing automation platform, and with Listrak, even editing a list or segment could require a support call. To edit a flow, they had to navigate an intimidating, node-based layout that “looked like a spiderweb,” Ruggiero says—or call support.

“The nice thing about Klaviyo is it’s totally self-serve,” Ruggiero says. “Everything’s very clearly laid out and explained, and on the off chance we do need help, there’s always somebody there to help us. It’s just a much better experience.”

The nice thing about Klaviyo is it’s totally self-serve. Everything’s very clearly laid out and explained, and on the off chance we do need help, there’s always somebody there to help us. It’s just a much better experience.

Solution

Ruggiero had seen Klaviyo at trade shows, and he understood it as the go-to DTC email platform, with a robust Shopify integration and a thriving ecosystem with more than 240 data sources. When Manly Bands’ Listrak contract expired, “it was a no-brainer” to move to Klaviyo, Ruggiero says. Migrating Manly Band’s roughly half a million email contacts into the new platform was easy, thanks to hands-on Klaviyo support. Including IP warming, the migration took 6 weeks.

Strategy

Manly Bands automates more email with Klaviyo, integrating the channel more fully into their tech stack—and their business.

Two particularly impactful use cases:

• An abandon cart survey flow: This high-converting flow has no purchase CTA. It’s a one-question survey, sent with Klaviyo’s Typeform integration: Why didn’t you want to buy? Customers who respond get a personalized follow-up with a coupon. In January 2023, the placed order rate for this flow was 4.8x the median for Manly Bands’ peer group, according to Klaviyo benchmarks.
• Post-purchase flows: When Manly Bands’ manufacturers scan a ring at a new stage of production, it automatically updates a Google Sheet that Klaviyo’s API checks hourly. Status changes trigger update emails, which give customers insight into the 3- to 5-week production process.

“I really couldn’t imagine using a different ESP,” Ruggiero says. “I’d have to buy 2-3 additional tools to replace everything Klaviyo offers, between SMS, email, all the automations, and the API updates. It’s nice that it’s all under one roof with Klaviyo, and everything’s working together. It helps us make better business decisions.”

I really couldn’t imagine using a different ESP. I’d have to buy 2-3 additional tools to replace everything Klaviyo offers, between SMS, email, all the automations, and the API updates. It’s nice that it’s all under one roof with Klaviyo, and everything’s working together. It helps us make better business decisions.