Push Customer data to Klaviyo

This article covers pushing Customer data from Distil into Klaviyo.

Before pushing data to Klaviyo, make sure you have read and understood the Key Distil Concepts and Key Klaviyo Concepts sections within our introduction article. You will also need to have created a connection to Klaviyo as described in our article Create a Connection to Klaviyo.

Important: both Distil and Klaviyo use the concept and term Segment. While the Segment concept is similar in both platforms, whenever we refer to Segments in this article, we mean Distil Segments (and not Klaviyo Segments). If we are referring to Segments in Klaviyo, then we will call these Klaviyo Segments.

How It Works

First create a connection to Klaviyo. Then select a Distil Segment to sync with Klaviyo.

Distil automatically keeps Segments up to date by applying the rules defined for the Segment to select Customers. So if new data comes in that changes the Customers in a Segment (for example a Customer makes a purchase), Distil will automatically update your Segments.

Next create a new Destination, and select the Attributes from Distil that you want to push to Klaviyo. Distil will create a new List in Klaviyo, and keep this up to date as the Distil Segment changes. Distil pushes data automatically every six hours, so any updates to the Segment you have selected for a Destination will be applied in Klaviyo within six hours.

In addition to pushing Customer data, Distil also pushes engagement data into Klaviyo. You can read more about this in the section below. 

Create a Customer Segment to Send to Klaviyo

Before you can push Customer data into Klaviyo, first you need to create or select a Distil Customer Segment that contains the Customers you want to push. You can create a Segment using any of the standard or custom Attributes available in Distil.

Important: both Distil and Klaviyo use the concept and term Segment. While the Segment concept is similar in both platforms, whenever we refer to Segments in this article, we mean Distil Segments (and not Klaviyo Segments). If we are referring to Segments in Klaviyo, then we will call these Klaviyo Segments.

Distil automatically keeps Segments up to date, meaning that any new customers added to a Distil Segment will get automatically added to the corresponding List in Klaviyo (this is explained in more detail in the section below). Equally, customers removed from a Distil Segment will get automatically removed from the corresponding Klaviyo List.

If you want to use a Segment in a Destination, make sure that the Segment is Shared. This is because Destinations are visible to all users of your Distil Account, and therefore any Segments used in a Destination must also be shared. To validate this, navigate to Customer Data Studio > Segments, select the Segment from the left menu panel, and then click Edit Segment on the top right. For a Segment to be shared, the check-box under the heading Private Segment must be clear (not checked). 

Also, if a Segment is used in a Destination that is set to Auto-sync, that Segment will be locked and cannot be edited (Auto-Sync is explained in this article below). This is because if the Segment rules change, this may trigger multiple updates to Klaviyo, which in turn could cause issues with your campaigns. If you need to edit the Segment, first turn Auto-Sync off, then edit the Segment and verify that you are happy with the changes, and then turn Auto-Sync back on. 

Set up a Klaviyo Destination

Once you have created a Segment to sync, create a new Destination by selecting Destinations from the left menu bar, and then click to Create Multi-Channel Audience.

Select Segment

On the next screen enter a Title and a brief Description for the new Destination. On the first push of data into Klaviyo, Distil will create a new List in Klaviyo with the same name as the Destination Title. 

Select a Segment to use in the new Destination, by selecting an available Segment from the list at the bottom of the page.

Click the filter icon to sort the list of Segments by date created or Segment name. You can also search for a specific Segment by entering search terms in the search bar.

You can only select Segments that are Shared. You can easily identify Shared Segments as they have an icon with two people. This is explained in the section above on Creating a Segment.

When you've selected a Segment, click the Next button on the top right.

Select a Connection and Attributes

On the next page you will see a list of available connections. In the example below there are two connections: Shopify and Klaviyo.

If you haven't already set up a connection, then follow the instructions in our article on creating a connection with Klaviyo.

Click to select a connection, and then click Choose Attributes to sync... These are the Attributes that will be sent to Klaviyo.

Select one or more Attributes from the pop-up. You can bulk select all Attributes in a category, or search for a specific Attribute by entering search terms in the search bar.

We highly recommend that you sync the Distil Customer Tracking ID, as explained in the Key Distil Concepts section of our introductory article.

Click Save Changes to continue.

Finalise and Activate

Nearly finished!

You can click Previous on the top right to check the selections made in previous steps.

Once you are happy with your selections, click Create Campaign to finalise and activate the Destination.

Distil will immediately sync the selected Attributes to the Destination. Distil will repeat this sync every six hours.

Engagement Data

Along with the Customer data that is covered in the sections above, Distil will also push engagement data to Klaviyo. This engagement data includes the following events:

• Placed Order - where the Customer places an Order (this is Track Order within Distil)
• Ordered Product - the products that are contained within the Order (this is Track Order within Distil)
• Product Viewed - where the Customer views a Product (this is Track Product within Distil)
• Added to cart - where the Customer adds a Product to their cart
• Started Checkout - where the Customer initiates checkout (useful for identifying abandoned carts)

You will need to have set up Tracking within Distil in order to have data to send to Klaviyo.

You can use this information within your Klaviyo email templates, Campaigns and Flows. You can see this information within Klaviyo for a particular profile by navigating to the profile, and then viewing the list of Events in the pane to the right of the profile properties.  

Manage an Existing Destination

To view your existing Destinations, click Destinations in the left menu panel. Your existing Destinations are listed underneath Create Multi-Channel Audience. Click on an existing Destination to manage it.

After choosing a Destination to edit, you can edit the Destination's source Segment and Attributes by selecting either of the Click to Edit buttons on the right of the page.

At the top of the page you have four options, including Sync Now (run the sync now) and Delete (delete this Destination).

You can also turn this Destination on and off by toggling Enable/Disable Campaign. Use this when you want to pause the Destination without deleting it. Setting this to Disable Campaign will keep the Segment and Attributes configured for this Destination.

By default, Distil will set a newly created Destination to Auto-Sync: this means that Distil will automatically sync with Klaviyo every six hours. When this option is set to Auto-Sync, you will not be able to edit the linked Segment - this is explained in more detail in the section above Select a Customer Segment.