The best email marketing software for ecommerce by growth stage

Suppose you need to secure two sheets of paper together, and your options are an office stapler and a nail gun. 

Simple choice, right? A stapler is the most appropriate tool for the job. 

The same logic applies when choosing the right email marketing solution for your business. A brand on Shopify Plus that’s pushing to expand has different pursuits — and hence different needs — than someone launching a side hustle.

Following is our guide to the best email marketing software for ecommerce per each growth stage. But before you evaluate our picks, ensure you firmly grasp your business phase and priorities. 
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The three business stages of ecommerce 

Self-identification is the critical first step to supporting your marketing roadmap. How do you categorize your brand? Let’s lean on a bike analogy to help. 

Finding your product-market fit: riding the neighborhood solo 

You’ve developed your core products, prepped the back-end ecommerce essentials, and launched your brand. Now, the goal is to find a product-market fit. 

You’re trying to answer, “Is there a market for my solution?” and “Do people like it?” Focus should go toward establishing your product and beginning to build an audience.

Think of it as a child growing in confidence as they master their balance and ride up and down the sidewalk, then around the block. 

Getting the green light to bike the neighborhood independently is like achieving product-market fit. You’ve proven your viability with steady sales and market demand.    
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Go-to-market phase: venturing out 

When it’s time to leave the familiarity of your neighborhood and explore the paths your bike can take you, you’re ready to chart a course to go somewhere.

For many, the go-to-market junction is when a side hustle or hobby becomes a full-time business, sometimes with new hires brought aboard. 

It could involve attracting and building new audiences, refining your target audience, introducing new products, or broadening your marketing channels. Attention goes to expanding the customer base, cultivating customer retention, building authority, and dipping into email metrics for more intelligent marketing.  
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Scaling: going faster and farther 

Merchants that flourish in the go-to-market phase have reached a certain level of scale and continue to grow rapidly. We’ll compare it to elevating your cycling game to cover more ground quicker. You invest in a road bike and gear for better performance and endurance. 

Businesses that reach this caliber have experienced extensive growth, from customers and consumer recognition to the tech stack. Priorities revolve around growing distribution channels with a dedicated marketing team, boosting key performance indicators, and using data to unlock sustainable, continued growth.
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The best email marketing software for product-market fit: Shopify Email 

Top-of-the-line email marketing software is the last thing you need during the early startup stages. You’ll pay for too many features you won’t use. A too-complex platform could also discourage you from using email marketing — an integral channel for ecommerce shops of all stages.  

‍Shopify Email is a simpler app that’s best for helping new shops and email novices cement their marketing email footing.  

Shopify Email is the perfect beginner tool for creating your brand’s first email newsletters to engage. Since the email editor is simple, it’s great for brands new to developing content and finding their voice.     

It also includes basic email automations to begin nurturing subscribers at critical touchpoints, like a welcome email for greeting newcomers.  
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What makes Shopify Email stand out?

Shopify Email is a highly cost-effective app when you have a small subscriber list. 

What do people think about Shopify Email?

Shopify Email users appreciate that the app is easy to use and can automatically pull branding and shop elements. Many reviews mention that the app does not require users to be tech-savvy. 

Alternative tool: Mailchimp 
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The best email marketing software for go-to-market: Seguno Email Marketing

Yes, we’re biased. But we firmly believe that Seguno Email Marketing is the top choice for Shopify stores needing a more robust platform as they go to market.

Others agree: We have a 4.8 of 5-star rating on the Shopify App Store. 

Seguno supports various priorities common during this stage: 

• List growth: Seguno includes its popups & forms app for free to assist in the continual effort to capture email and SMS subscribers
• Experimenting with discounts: create unique discount codes so you can try different promotional pricing strategies without worrying about coupon abuse 
• Establishing authority: solid branding plays a role in attracting and maintaining a larger audience; elevate your design with the Canva and Instagram integrations
• Capturing as much revenue as possible: a range of pre-built, customizable email automations and advanced workflow options help you automate core processes and the customer journey
• Increasing personalization: Seguno leverages Shopify’s customer segments, enabling you to jump into behavioral targeting without having to start from scratch 
• Using data to inform strategy: there’s no need to tamper with data extraction, as Shopify and Seguno reports provide the insights you need; Seguno also sends customer event data to Shopify for improved marketing attribution 

Built exclusively for Shopify merchants, Seguno is seamlessly embedded within your Shopify Admin to keep you and your data where they should be. It’s easy to navigate, leverages Shopify assets directly, and feels like an extension of Shopify. 
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What makes Seguno Email Marketing stand out?

Seguno is the only comprehensive email marketing platform to earn the Built for Shopify badge, recognized as meeting “Shopify’s highest standards for quality, design, and performance.” 

It includes unlimited sending  — plus free access to Seguno’s Popups & Forms, Product Reviews, and Dynamic Banners apps — with paid plans billed through Shopify.  

What do people think about Seguno Email Marketing?

Shopify App Store reviews rave about Seguno’s ease of use. Merchants appreciate its seamless and time-saving integrations with Shopify and Canva, options for customizing starter and professionally designed newsletter templates, and streamlined email automations such as back-in-stock alerts and product review requests. Reviews repeatedly mention prompt, stellar customer support for navigating growth challenges.

Alternative tool: ActiveCampaign 
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The best email marketing software for scaling: Klaviyo

Klaviyo is the power player on every “best email marketing platform for ecommerce” list. It’s ideal for scaling companies that operate on a headless commerce model with many tech tools, troves of data, and the need to understand store performance deeply.

While large brands with seasoned marketing teams gravitate to Klaviyo for expansive email capabilities, more critical is its data analysis horsepower. The app suits advanced practitioners and teams working with massive amounts of data and tasked with deciphering detailed performance reports and predictive analytics. 

Klaviyo’s robust reporting capabilities help brands: 

• Maximize personalization through heightened segmentation, dynamic content, and extensive workflows
• Dig through troves of data and detailed reports to expose opportunities 

• Experiment with A/B email testing 

What makes Klaviyo stand out?

Klaviyo’s 300+ integrations and corresponding data management are the icing on the cake. It integrates with the third-party marketing tools and business systems favored by enterprise-level brands — whether part of the Shopify ecosystem or not — and consolidates all data within Klaviyo.      

What do people think about Klaviyo?

Marketing teams praise the app for its segmentation and hyper-targeting capabilities, in-depth behavioral reporting, and centralized customer data. 

However, many say they need help learning its complicated interface, resulting in a lengthy onboarding process. It is pricey compared to other providers, and reviews mention slow customer support and real-time support limited to paid plans. 

Alternative tool: Twilio Segment as a complementary customer data platform 
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While your business stage plays a significant factor, finding the best email marketing app involves other considerations, too.

Pick the right email marketing software for your ecommerce phase

Rarely does one size fit all. 

What suffices for a young brand trying to find its place in ecommerce will suppress a company on the path of global expansion. Apps made for the go-to-market phase empower brands to move faster and accomplish more, as they avoid the complexities only those operating at the enterprise level need.   

Choose the best email marketing solution for your ecommerce growth cycle stage:

• Shopify Email for finding product-market fit
• Seguno Email Marketing for the go-to-market phase
• Klaviyo for scaling

The right choice is paramount to achieving your growth goals.