Why audit your client’s account?
Let’s take a step back and cover why you should audit a client’s Klaviyo account and how you can approach these conversations with their team members. Hear from Klaviyo Partner, Jen Wallace, as she describes the importance of an audit and how she approaches this process with her own clients.
What exactly is an account audit?
Let’s set the scene: you're rounding out year 1 of working with a client. Now, it’s time to prove that your agency has played a pivotal role in their success.
Audit
What is it?
This is a high-level review of an account, in which you will go through each relevant tab of Klaviyo to take note of what tactics are being employed, what seems to be succeeding overall, and what gaps exist in the marketing content (e.g., channels not yet in use, automations or A/B tests to employ, etc.).
Where to focus?
You’ll explore the entire Klaviyo account to derive insights around:
- Overall product and feature usage.
- Any top wins or major blockers.
- Features not currently in use that are areas of opportunity.
Analysis
What is it?
This is a more in-depth look at individual marketing tactics, honing in on data trends and specific campaign and channel performance so that you can pinpoint exactly what is working and what is not.
Where to focus?
Focus primarily on Klaviyo’s analytics toolkit and the exclusive Klaviyo Partner growth review generator to dive into key performance metrics. We will run through how to use these tools later on in this course!
The 3 W’s of audits
We’ve already run through the why. Now, let’s run through the who, what, and when of audits, so you feel ready to review your client’s account effectively.
Who?
Who is the target audience for this audit?
Consider who your audience is in order to deliver insights they will actually care about. The roles of stakeholders, as well as the brand’s goals for the month, quarter, year, etc. should inform you of what to review in their Klaviyo account.
For instance, you will often be speaking with key decision makers who care about:
- Revenue: pinpoint areas of success that can be replicated to drive more ROI.
- Costs: what needs to change to increase ROI, or what is currently costing them more time or money that could easily be fixed?
- Competitive intel: What strategies are other successful brands in their industry doing that they are not?
- Areas of opportunity: A huge value-add of your agency is your ability to continue producing innovative solutions. What is a cutting-edge strategy or channel that you will take them to next?
What?
What exactly are you looking for in your audit?
Because an audit should look at the account holistically, explore each tab that is currently in use by your agency.
For instance, if ABC Agency is working with Bola’s Baked Goods on email and SMS specifically, they may hone in on: their current sign-up forms and acquisition strategies for each channel, overall campaign performance this month, overall flow performance for this month, how performance changes across channels (which outperform and which have performed better after taking a multi-channel approach).
What you audit depends on the structure of the client’s account.
- Are they new to Klaviyo or have they been using the tool for a long time?
- What marketing channels do they currently employ?
- Do they invest in customer reviews or Klaviyo Service tools?
- How do they currently monitor and review data?
In the next lesson, we will provide you with templates for what to look for based on a client’s “level,” i.e., whether their account is in the beginner, intermediate, or advanced stage for an audit. Use this as a guide for how to conduct each audit in Klaviyo.
When?
When to conduct your audit?
Audits should take place regularly, on a set cadence. How often you review performance will depend on your working relationship, so align with your client on this timeline immediately if you have not already.
Common timelines for an audit are:
- 1st audit with the client:
Scheduled during the sales process or right before onboarding to get a feel for their current strategy. If they do not use Klaviyo, audit their existing marketing that is live whether on their site (i.e., sign up for marketing and engage with their social channels) or in their existing account (i.e., the platform they are migrating from). If they are already using Klaviyo, then take a holistic look at their full tech stack of integrations: Is everything working as expected? Where is external data syncing from? - Growth review audit:
Scheduled to take place consistently throughout the year, say at the end of each quarter, as a look-back at recent progress and areas of opportunity. - Seasonal prep audit:
Scheduled ahead of peak sales seasons or busy times of year for the brand. For instance, many ecommerce brands conduct an audit leading up to Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) as site traffic, messages sent, and list growth will likely increase during this time. An audit helps you to uncover what is needed to ensure that the client’s site and marketing strategy is ready for this influx of traffic.
In closing
Audits are essential. In the next lesson, you will access a guide on how to audit your client's account. Be sure to bookmark that page so you have it handy the next time you conduct an account audit.