If you're only running one-off email campaigns and skipping automated flows, you're leaving revenue on the table every single day. Flows are triggered automatically by customer behavior — someone joins your list, abandons a cart, or makes a purchase — and they run in the background, 24/7, without you lifting a finger once they're built.
Across the hundreds of accounts we've managed in Klaviyo and Omnisend, these five flows consistently deliver the highest return relative to effort.
1. Welcome Series
The moment someone joins your email or SMS list is the moment they're most engaged with your brand. A strong welcome series (typically 3-4 messages over 5-7 days) should introduce your story, highlight bestsellers, and include an incentive to make a first purchase. This single flow often becomes one of the top revenue-generating flows in an account, purely because timing and intent are perfectly aligned.
2. Abandoned Cart
This is the classic for a reason. Someone added a product to their cart and left — they were close. A well-timed 2-3 message abandoned cart flow (starting within an hour of abandonment) recovers a meaningful percentage of that lost revenue. The key is urgency without desperation: remind them what they left, show the product, and make checkout effortless.
3. Browse Abandonment
Different from cart abandonment — this flow triggers when someone views a product (or category) but never adds to cart. It's a softer touch than cart recovery, usually just one or two messages, but it catches a much larger pool of visitors who showed real interest and then disappeared.
4. Post-Purchase / Thank You
The sale isn't the finish line — it's the start of the retention relationship. A post-purchase flow should confirm the order, set shipping expectations, and (a few days after expected delivery) ask for a review or share usage tips. This is also where you plant the seed for the next flow: winning them back.
5. Win-Back / VIP Re-engagement
Once you have purchase history, you can segment customers who haven't bought in 60, 90, or 120 days and target them with a dedicated win-back sequence — often paired with a stronger incentive than your standard campaigns. On the flip side, your best customers deserve a VIP flow that rewards loyalty and keeps them engaged before they ever have a reason to lapse.
Why most stores get this wrong
The most common mistake we see isn't a missing flow — it's a flow that was set up once, years ago, and never touched again. Segmentation, copy, and incentives all need to evolve as your business and customer base change. A flow that converted well in year one can quietly decay if nobody's watching the data.
How we approach it
Every Growth Plan and our standalone Email & SMS Marketing package includes full flow builds and ongoing optimization — not a "set it and forget it" install. We review flow performance monthly and adjust segmentation, timing, and offers based on what's actually converting.
Curious what your current flows are (or aren't) doing for you? Book a call and we'll take a look at your account together.
Want results like this for your store?
Book a free strategy call with Trevor and Kristin — no scripts, no sales reps.
Book a Call