From Audit to Advantage: Rethinking Marketing Cloud at Scale

You don’t need a broken system to need an audit. Sometimes, the most valuable insights come when things are working, but not as well as they could. At FLO CX, we were asked by a fast-scaling e-commerce business to take a closer look at their Salesforce Marketing Cloud setup. And that’s where the story begins.

I, Kristyna Turner, the Engagement Lead, teamed up with my colleague, Hanna Nimchuk, a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Developer, to lead the audit and deliver practical, actionable recommendations. This wasn’t about starting from scratch. It was about removing friction, simplifying the stack, and helping the team feel more in control of their marketing operations. In this article, I’ll share how we approached the audit, what we uncovered, and why I believe these kinds of interventions can turn a “good enough” stack into a long-term advantage.

Why It Matters: When Technology Needs a Tune-Up (Not a Replacement)

The client’s Salesforce Marketing Cloud instance was already doing its job—powering personalised customer journeys, automation workflows, and campaign delivery across multiple business units. From the outside, it looked solid. But internally? There was noise.

Journeys were overlapping. Automations were stacking up. Reporting wasn’t telling a clear story. They didn't fight any critical tech failures, but they wanted to bring more clarity, scalability, and, most importantly, future-proofing.

That’s where our audit came in: not to fix what was broken, but to surface what was slowing them down.

What We Found? Growth Creates Clutter

We audited the platform across five core areas. Here’s a breakdown of how we approached it and the kind of value this kind of work can bring:

1. Journeys & Automations: When Momentum Becomes Messy

Over time, the platform had accumulated dozens of journeys, many of which were no longer active or no longer aligned with a clear goal. Others lacked proper exit criteria, creating overlaps or dead ends. In automation workflows, we found scripts running with zero-duration cycles and multiple redundant triggers. It was functional, but noisy.

We helped the team identify what could be cleaned up, streamlined, or simply turned off, so they could focus their energy on what drives value.

2. Data Management: Structured, but Not Yet Scalable

The foundation was there: well-formed data extensions and generally clean folder structures. But naming conventions varied widely between teams, and there were no standardised retention policies, leading to bloated datasets that could drag on performance. We recommended clearer data lifecycle rules and better upstream deduplication practices to keep the system clean.

3. Security & Permissions: Too Much Trust in Too Few Hands

Admin roles were assigned too broadly across teams, leading to potential gaps in control and accountability. We advised moving towards role-based access and strengthening audit trail visibility by enabling system logging. Encryption in transit was solid, but at-rest encryption could be extended for added assurance.

4. Performance & Optimisation: Simplify to Scale

Performance tuning was a clear opportunity. We proposed consolidating long-running automations, optimising folder structures, and implementing proactive alerting to detect failed workflows early. We also proposed better AMPscript usage, making email content smarter, faster to build, and easier to maintain.

Simple changes, big difference.

5. Reporting & Analytics: More Data, Better Decisions

Tools like Einstein Engagement Scoring and Datorama were available, but barely used. We worked with the client to define practical campaign KPIs, such as journey completion rates and subscriber engagement by cohort. This wasn’t just about analytics—it was about building confidence in the impact of every marketing action.

What We Delivered: A Roadmap, Not Just a Report

This wasn’t a list of bugs—it was a strategy. We delivered:

A clean-up plan for outdated journeys and automations
A redefined approach to roles and permissions
Data retention and naming guidelines for consistent data management
A refreshed view on reporting, tied to real marketing goals
A set of immediate wins alongside a scalable vision for the future

The client’s feedback was clear: the audit gave them a way forward and a renewed sense of control over their marketing operations. They’ve already begun implementing several of our recommendations, and we continue to support them through that transformation.

Why You Shouldn't Skip These Audits (Even When Things Look Good)

Marketing Cloud audits aren’t just for fixing what’s broken. They’re for clearing the fog before it becomes a storm. In high-growth organisations, small inefficiencies compound quickly, and the cost isn’t just a matter of performance. It's a missed opportunity.

From my perspective, this kind of audit gives teams the one thing they often lack: a moment to pause, reflect, and realign the tech with the strategy.

So if your Salesforce Marketing Cloud setup feels a little “cluttered but fine,” it might be time to step back and give it a proper look.

This article was written by Kristýna Turner, Engagement Lead & Salesforce Marketing Consultant, and Hanna Nimchuk, contract Salesforce Marketing Developer & Consultant at FLO CX.