How to audit your segmentation fields for reliability?

A segmentation audit examines data quality across key dimensions: completeness (what percentage of subscribers have this field populated?), recency (how fresh is the data?), accuracy (does it reflect reality?), and consistency (are values formatted uniformly?).

Start by listing every field used for segmentation. For each field, calculate: percentage with values, age of newest/oldest data, distribution of values (any anomalies?), and source of the data. Fields with less than 70% completeness may not support reliable segmentation. Fields not updated in 12+ months need recency review. Fields with suspicious distributions (99% one value) may have collection issues.

Audit quarterly at minimum, monthly if you segment aggressively. Compare segment membership over time—dramatic unexplained shifts suggest data problems. Test segments by sending and measuring response—if "engaged" segments perform poorly, your engagement data may be stale. The best segmentation strategy fails with bad data. Treat data quality as foundational infrastructure, not an afterthought.