How to Audit Your Email & SMS Program
A framework for auditing your retention marketing. Identify gaps, benchmark performance, and prioritize improvements for maximum ROI.
Why Audit?
Before you can improve, you need to understand where you stand. An audit gives you clarity on what's working, priorities for maximum impact, and benchmarks to measure against.
The 5 Audit Areas
1. Revenue Attribution
Question: What percentage of total revenue comes from email and SMS?
| Metric | Needs Work | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email % of Revenue | Under 15% | 20-30% | 30-40% |
| SMS % of Revenue | Under 2% | 3-5% | 5-10% |
| Combined | Under 20% | 25-35% | 40%+ |
In Klaviyo: Analytics → Dashboard → Attributed Revenue (last 90 days) ÷ Shopify Revenue
2. Flow Performance
Flows You Should Have
Essential:
- Welcome Series
- Abandoned Cart
- Abandoned Checkout
- Post-Purchase
Growth:
- Browse Abandonment
- Winback
- VIP/Customer Thank You
Advanced:
- Replenishment
- Birthday
- Back in Stock
- Price Drop
Flow Benchmarks
| Flow | Conversion Rate | Rev/Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | 3-8% | $1-3 |
| Abandoned Cart | 5-10% | $3-8 |
| Abandoned Checkout | 8-15% | $5-12 |
| Post-Purchase | 2-5% | $1-4 |
| Browse Abandonment | 1-3% | $0.50-2 |
3. Campaign Performance
Review last 10-20 campaigns.
| Metric | Needs Work | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | Under 20% | 25-35% | 40%+ |
| Click Rate | Under 1.5% | 2-4% | 5%+ |
| Conversion | Under 0.5% | 1-2% | 3%+ |
| Unsubscribe | Over 0.5% | 0.2-0.4% | Under 0.2% |
Questions:
- How often are you sending? (Target: 3-4x/week for engaged)
- Are campaigns segmented or full list?
- Are you A/B testing?
4. List Health
| Segment | Healthy | Warning |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Day Engaged | 25%+ | Under 15% |
| 60-Day Engaged | 40%+ | Under 25% |
| 90-Day Engaged | 50%+ | Under 35% |
| Inactive (180+) | Under 20% | Over 40% |
Total list size is vanity. A 10,000 list with 30% engaged beats a 50,000 list with 5% engaged.
5. Technical Setup
Authentication:
- SPF configured
- DKIM configured
- DMARC configured
- Custom sending domain (if 50K+/mo)
Integrations:
- Shopify connected
- Product catalog syncing
- Events tracking (Browse, Add to Cart, etc.)
- Revenue attribution working
Compliance:
- Unsubscribe links work
- Physical address in footer
- SMS consent captured
Prioritization Framework
Score each fix by Impact (1-5) and Effort (1-5). Priority = Impact ÷ Effort.
| Opportunity | Impact | Effort | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add abandoned cart flow | 5 | 2 | 2.5 ⭐ |
| Segment campaigns | 4 | 2 | 2.0 ⭐ |
| Redesign welcome | 4 | 3 | 1.3 |
| Build replenishment flow | 3 | 4 | 0.75 |
Focus on high-impact, low-effort first.
Common Findings
Audit Template
| Area | Current | Benchmark | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email % of Revenue | ___ | 25-35% | |
| Welcome Conversion | ___ | 5-8% | |
| Cart Abandonment Conv. | ___ | 5-10% | |
| 30-Day Engaged % | ___ | 25%+ | |
| Campaign Open Rate | ___ | 25-35% | |
| SPF/DKIM/DMARC | ___ | Configured |
Get Expert Help
We provide comprehensive retention audits as part of onboarding. Full analysis, competitive benchmarks, prioritized roadmap, and revenue estimates.
Apply to work with us — Audit included with all packages.
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