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Learn how to create segments that will level up your SMS marketing strategy. Segmentation allows you to better understand your audience and send targeted messages in Klaviyo.
Why are these SMS segments recommended?Why are these SMS segments recommended?
Just like any other channel, research shows that when you personalize and target your SMS messages to your recipient, it leads to higher engagement rates. And with higher engagement rates, there are more opportunities to generate revenue.
The following segments help you better understand your audience and message those most likely to engage with you. Depending on the segment, you may want to send only to this group or exclude it from a specific campaign.
All SMS subscribersAll SMS subscribers
Creating an SMS subscribers segment gives you a high-level look at everyone currently opted in to text message marketing. Your subscribers may be spread across several lists or in multiple lists at once. A segment is the most accurate way to see everyone who is actively consented to SMS.
Highly engaged SMS segment
Similar to an engaged email segment, an engaged SMS segment allows you to target those who regularly interact with your content.
In your segment definition, include anyone who has recently subscribed (last 30 days) or interacted with your SMS content (last 90 days). This ensures that you only message those who want to receive your content.
You can also use engagement tracks to create a sending schedule for your SMS content. For more information around measuring engagement and sending to different tiers, read our article on how to create a sending schedule based on SMS engagement.
Prefers SMS segmentPrefers SMS segment
If you employ both SMS and email in Klaviyo, you may have subscribers who prefer one communication channel over the other. Create a segment using their direct behavior as conditions. In the example below, any profile who interacts with your SMS messaging often and has not recently interacted with your emails will be included. In your text messages, consider including copy that prompts these subscribers to re-engage with your email content with deals or special offers. Moreover, communicate any major updates via text (and potentially email as well) to ensure that these subscribers get that message.
SMS VIP segment
An SMS VIP segment allows you to hone in on your most valuable customers who have opted into SMS marketing. Send this group exclusive deals and promotions, and let them know that you appreciate their ongoing support. You can either build this from scratch or clone an existing email VIP segment and add new conditions around SMS.
VIP criteria will look different in each account. Create a definition that best fits your business with regard to your product prices and customer buying cycle.
For more information on how to segment and target VIP customers, head to our Guide to running a VIP program.
High-intent SMS shoppersHigh-intent SMS shoppers
This groups anyone who has viewed products twice, has started to check out, but did not complete an order in the last 5 days.
Send this group an extra incentive to complete their purchase (remember that it should be different from the offer in your abandoned cart flow), show them customers reviews to build trust, or create a sense of urgency to encourage them to buy.
SMS location-based segment
A location-based segment allows you to focus your SMS marketing efforts on those within a designated geographic area. For example, if you are running an SMS campaign for an event at your brick-and-mortar location, you may only want to send a text to those who are within driving distance to that location.
You can also segment your SMS subscribers based on their phone numbers's country code. For details, check out this article on segmenting SMS subscribers by country.
SMS budget shoppersSMS budget shoppers
An SMS Budget Shoppers segment includes those who engage with your SMS messaging and have purchased from your store. However, their shopping behavior shows that they are either thrifty or frequently purchase during sales. You can create a segment around this behavior using customer lifetime value (CLV) or previous purchase history. Then target these segments primarily with sale messages to encourage another conversion. The example below targets any SMS subscriber whose predicted CLV is at most $10; however, the amount you deem as a low CLV will vary depending on your business and pricing.
SMS marketing preference segment
In some cases, you may ask SMS subscribers for the exact content that they want to receive from you. They may opt-in to get messaging around events, flash sales, or new products. You can make each of these a profile property and then create segments for subscribers who only want to hear about specific announcements via SMS. In the example below, this segment will include those who want to hear about product launches via SMS.
Sent SMS
You can create segments based on any word a subscriber sent in. The word could be an opt-in keyword (e.g., JOIN) that tells you how subscribers found out about your SMS program. It can also be any other word they texted your number, perhaps indicating their style preference or interest.
You can use flows to trigger when someone sends a certain word and add profile properties, or use a segment similar to the one shown below.
When using this type of segment, please note the following:
- This segment is not available with branded sender IDs, as these numbers cannot receive SMS messages.
- The message body must exactly match the word you add in.
- The segment will not include those who text in a longer message (e.g., "I want to join") or when the word is part of another word (e.g., "rejoin")
- You may want to include alternate or misspelling of the word you want for the segment (as shown below).
SMS language-based segment
Knowing someone's preferred language means you can talk to them in the language they're most comfortable with. This means a better experience for the customer, which usually leads to more engagement for your SMS program.
There are a few ways you may know someone's language, including by:
- Collecting it as a profile property (via a form or from a flow)
- Basing it on the opt-in keyword someone used
- This includes both custom subscribe keywords and the opt-in compliance keyword
| Using a profile property | |
| Using the opt-in keyword |
Received virtual contact card
You can create a segment of people who received a virtual contact card:
- 1.0 means you sent this profile a virtual contact card.
- 0.0 means you have not sent this profile a virtual contact card.
Note that this segment should only include those in the US or Canada. Since virtual contact cards are MMS messages, anyone in the UK, Australia, or New Zealand will not be able to receive them.
We also recommend adding a condition to say someone opted into SMS more than 30 days ago, to avoid messaging those who are in your welcome flow.
The example below shows how to set up a segment for those who didn't receive a virtual contact card.