Prepare for your BFCM retrospective
We know it’s tempting to try and put BFCM behind you and forget about it until next year. But without a BFCM retrospective, it’s impossible to measure just how well your hard work paid off, and to spot opportunities to improve your strategy for next year. In this guide, we’ll walk you through simple strategies for conducting a full analysis of your marketing messages in Klaviyo.
The below video walks you through all the different data that’s available in your Klaviyo account. If you already feel comfortable with locating and using the different analytics tools in your account, feel free to skip the next section where we’ll show you how to use them specifically to measure BFCM success.
Analyze your BFCM data
Now that you know where to find your data, let’s find out how to interpret it for each key performance area.
Setting goals for improvement
Well done! You’ve dug into your data and have a solid sense of where you went right and wrong this BFCM - and how you can improve next year. Remember, the most important part of your BFCM retrospective is the goals you’ll set for next year.
Wondering how to set goals? Head back to your benchmarks and toggle on the ‘Detailed View’ toggle. It further breaks down your peer group so you can see the values for the 25th, median, and 75th percentile in each metric. Depending on how you fared this year, set a realistic goal for improvement, and be ambitious! If you believe you can hit that 75th percentile next year, then start working on the improvement strategies below to make it happen.
Improve list growth
- Clean your lists heading into the new year to remove disengaged or fake profiles.
- A/B test sign-up forms to find what call-to-action (CTA) or incentive leads to the most subscriptions.
- A/B test a pop-up vs a flyout as your main form.
- Use form teasers to allow site visitors to reopen a form and sign up once they’ve had time to browse.
- Encourage your email subscribers to subscribe to your SMS program with a targeted form.
- Use Klaviyo’s integrations with major ad platforms like Meta to acquire new leads.
Improve deliverability
- Complete your deliverability hub Action Center recommendations.
- Improve your subject lines (e.g., include active voice verbs, avoid ‘spammy’ keywords like ‘free money’, remove excess capitalization or symbols).
- Check that your emails do not have any broken links or rendering issues.
- Ensure the CTA is attractively placed above the fold.
- Include engagement conditions in every segment and always exclude your unengaged audiences.
- Aim for a 60:40 text:image ratio with every campaign.
Improve campaign performance
- A/B test different email designs.
- Make your emails shorter.
- Use personalized product recommendation blocks at the end of your campaigns.
- Use dynamic content to personalize blocks in line with your subscribers’ known preferences.
- Add reviews, testimonials or other user-generated content (UGC) to your campaigns to maximize social proof.
- Use segmentation to target recipients based on behavior or profile properties, and personalize your messaging based on these attributes.
SMS
- Always exclude unengaged and error segments from your sends.
- Reduce the number of characters.
- Use quiet hours.
- Add an element of intrigue or suspense to your texts, making recipients click to find out more!
Improve flows performance
- Decrease time delays for abandoned cart and browse abandonment flows (during BFCM).
- Turn off smart sending (during BFCM).
- Update subject lines to align with BFCM deals (during BFCM).
- Personalize your flow messages with dynamic content like recipient name, product name, checkout URL, etc.
- Add an SMS branch to time-sensitive or revenue-driving flows like abandoned cart, price drop, or low inventory flows.