What is a marketing audit?

A marketing audit is a comprehensive evaluation and interpretation of a company’s marketing environment, goals, and strategies. It enables companies to analyze everything, from plans and targets to individual marketing actions.

During the audit, it is crucial to provide an all-inclusive assessment of the tools and capabilities available to the company. Companies can achieve this by identifying all areas of weakness and putting strategies to improve future outcomes. For this reason, the audit should be conducted by an outside party and not a member of the organization.

How To Conduct a Marketing Audit

Here are the fundamental steps for conducting a marketing audit;

First, you have to identify the marketing channels, techniques, and activities you will use. This involves checking the feasibility of the business mission, marketing objectives and goals, and marketing strategies that directly impact the firm’s marketing performance. It is a measurable part of the audit where you can observe the plan you’ve attempted to implement and how effective they are.

The next step is to gather information about the market. This calls for a closer look at the competitors and all your products and services compared to theirs. You can look at all marketing assets, i.e., target users, broken links, engagement, page views, and return on investment.

Once you’ve assembled and documented all the data, it gives you a clear picture of where the company stands. Therefore, you can identify areas of strength and weakness as you analyze each section of your marketing audit. This will enable you to compare options and make choices that propel you forward.

It is challenging to solve problems without understanding the intensity of the situation. The next step should be to identify the issues to fix and all gaps to fill.

After identifying the areas that need refinement, you can make more informed decisions about how to move forward. An action plan should start by solving the problems that you identified.

The audit should be repeated to ensure that you don’t miss anything. Then you can give strategic marching orders to align with the company’s marketing goals and business needs.

How Does a Marketing Audit Differ From Other Audits

The four characteristics of a successful marketing audit that differentiates it from other audits are;

• A marketing audit should be comprehensive. This means that it covers all the areas of marketing, from identifying the customer’s needs and satisfying them, which may mean starting from a new product development process. It should cover all areas of the marketing process and ensure that nothing is left behind.
• It is also periodic, meaning that it should be carried out regularly and not just when a company is experiencing a marketing crisis.
• A marketing audit should be systematic. This is because it takes an orderly analysis of every operation to identify issues that could be derailing or slowing down the marketing process.
• It must be independent and not influenced by the auditor or the organization itself. Therefore, it is recommended that the audit be done by a third party and not by someone inside or close to the organization.