Home fragrance brand Valentte uses Klaviyo to increase revenue from email by 360% in one year

Justina and Luke started up in business in 2011 by making soaps at their kitchen table and selling them at London markets. Fast-forward a decade and their company Valentte has expanded into home fragrance and skincare and is now a wholly online business. Every product is still handmade, albeit on a larger scale, using the highest quality organic ingredients, essential oils, and nourishing botanicals. The brand adopted Klaviyo in 2018.

Learn how the natural fragrance company uses email to create a personal connection with buyers

Challenge

For several years Valentte flourished by selling its natural products at exhibitions and artisan markets all around the country. The face-to-face approach allowed the business to connect with its audience and create lasting relationships by immersing customers in the brand and its values. And then 2020 came along, forcing people to change the way they shop overnight. 

With events cancelled indefinitely, Valentte needed to rapidly scale its online marketing to replace lost revenue. At the same time, the brand wanted to ensure that its digital relationship with customers felt the same as a real life one.

Solution

Valentte had recently integrated Klaviyo into its WooCommerce site. The two platforms connect seamlessly so Klaviyo pulls in real-time data from the store to power email automations such as abandoned cart, customer win-back, and review requests. It means Valentte can communicate with its audience based on their interactions with the website, in much the same way as it did when people visited its stall at local markets.

It’s so easy to keep in touch with your customers so that they always feel valued. If we were still selling on the stand, we would say, “I remember you were here last week – thank you so much for coming back and making another purchase.” And that’s exactly what we do with Klaviyo – we make it feel like a personal conversation.

Grace Mitchell, Head of Marketing, Valentte

Strategy

Valentte uses Klaviyo to build a deep connection with its audience by recreating the experience of buying goods directly from the maker. The store collects subscribers via a pop-up form that offers a free candle with their first purchase – an incentive that has driven 100K new subscribers. Signing up triggers a welcome series of emails about Valentte’s story, ethos and products. 

The brand sends several highly-targeted campaigns each week based on customers’ purchase behaviour – for example, messaging those who frequently buy a lemongrass diffuser about a 50% discount on the fragrance. These small segments drive an order rate that’s twice the average for the sector. 

The thank-you flow is personalised so that a buyer making their first purchase receives a different message to someone who is placing their second order. It’s important to Valentte that the brand recognises and acknowledges a repeat customer, and thanks them for returning to the store. Buyers who’ve made three purchases are placed into a VIP segment that rewards their loyalty with exclusive discounts and early access to new products.

Email marketing became our main source of income very quickly. With Klaviyo we’ve discovered that we can still build our community even though it’s online, and reach even more customers in a meaningful way.

Grace Mitchell, Head of Marketing, Valentte