A marketing audit is a thorough, systematic, independent and periodic review of a company’s marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities, as defined by Philip Kotler. It aims to find problems and opportunities and recommend a plan to improve marketing performance. The process reviews the marketing environment, then the marketing system and strategy, then examines marketing activities and productivity in detail.
The marketing audit is a systematic, independent and periodic examination of company’s or business units – marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance.
The advantage of a marketing audit is that whereas other control techniques aim at the total evaluation of the marketing various marketing functions, marketing audit aims at a total evaluation of the marketing process/system as a whole.
It also measures and evaluates the effectiveness of the Other marketing control techniques adopted by the firm. In this sense, a marketing audit can be described as control of controls.
Related: 11 Characteristics of Effective Marketing Control System (Explained).
Characteristics of Marketing Audit
Following are the major features of the marketing audit:
1. Periodic
Marketing audits should be conducted regularly and not just merely at the time of Crisis.
In all situations, marketing audit can benefit the companies to improve the situation.
2. Thorough
A marketing audit extends to all the marketing activities of the company.
If it confines to only a few marketing activities, it would be called a functional audit.
Although the functional audit is useful, sometimes it may mislead to management, as it may not be able to detect the root of the problem.
3. Systematic
The Marketing audit is a systematic examination of the organizations’ environments, strategies, and objectives.
The audit indicates the most needed improvements, which can be incorporated in the short and long-term improvement plans to improve marketing effectiveness.
Related: How to Choose Right Sales Promotion Programs (Explained).
4. Independent
Although marketing people from within the company can conduct a marketing audit.
However, there will be more credibility, and objectivity if it is conducted by an independent and experienced consultant.
Objectives of Marketing Audit
Marketing audit serves the following objectives:
- Evaluating all the marketing activities of the company.
- Assessing the company’s objectives, policies and strategies, and their basic assumptions.
- Exploring opportunities and resources to improve the performance company’s performance and profits.
- Identifying the marketing weakness and problems of the company and taking measures for improvement.
Related: 17 Powerful Consumer Sales Promotion Techniques (Explain).
Process of Marketing Audit
Marketing audit involves three main steps:
1. Review of Marketing Environment
This is the first step of marketing audit in which the efficiency of marketing programs is evaluated in the context of the marketing environment factors such as customers, competitors, markets, demography, social and culture.
2. Review of Marketing System
After studying the existing and future environment, at this step suitability of the internal marketing system such as objectives, plans, program, and organization for their implementation is assessed.
Related: 10 Objectives of Entrepreneurial Development Programmes – Explained.
3. Extensive Examination of Marketing Processes
Finally, all the marketing processes such as product, price, personal, sales, advertising, sales promotion is examined, and their weakness is identified and corrective measures are initiated.
