Features of a Marketing Audit
A marketing audit is something every business owner should be doing periodically. A marketing audit is a way to step back and analyze your entire marketing effort to see what is working, what isn’t and what can be improved upon. The problem is, there may be so much data, it may be difficult to know where to start. That is why we put together this Features of a Marketing Audit Made Simple list, to help break it down for you. Here it is.
The 3 essential features of a marketing audit include:
1) Marketing Environment
The sum total of all environmental factors that affect your business, both internal and external, micro and macro.
- The Macro Environment
This includes all the major variables that affect your business that exist beyond the walls of your company. So, the economy, your competitors, the customer, the political arena, popular culture, etc. There is a ton of data there, you have to decide what is most important to your business.
- Competitor Analysis
Who are my biggest competitors? What do their numbers look like? What adds are they running? How well is there SEO ranking. How are they doing compared to me? What ideas can I borrow from them?
- The Micro Environment
This includes things that exist within the walls of your company that affect your business. Your staff work performance, your industry tools, your data archives.
2) Marketing Strategy
Examine (or reexamine) your marketing strategy. What is your marketing strategy? Can you verbalize it, put it into words? Once you have verbalized it, is it feasible? Is it realistic? Have you been moving towards your goals at the pace you expected? Do you need to update your strategy or is it working perfectly?
3) Marketing Organization
Audit the team that is implementing your marketing; typically, this is an outside entity. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Do their core competencies align with your needs? Remember, marketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. They may do really well in one area, but not another.