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Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control to the marketing audit and identified it as
something apart and more comprehensive than the other control efforts of the firm (2). Ten
years later the publication of “The Marketing Audit comes of Age” (Kotler, Gregor and
Rodgers 1977) was a turning point in the development of the marketing audit. It provided a
definition that after twenty years still remains current. It also suggested the process and the
organisation as well as the potential problems in conducting an audit (4). This work has
become a major source of reference for many authors who contributed to the further
development of the marketing audit. Consumers change of tastes and preferences, accelerating
technological breakthroughs, and the increasing intensity of competition in many and
especially growing industries necessitated a change of attitude and direction by some
companies to incorporate more attacking and defensive measures in the planning and
implementation of their marketing efforts.
Steps in a Marketing Audit
How is a marketing audit performed? Marketing auditing follows the simple three-step
procedure shown in Figure.
Fig. 1 Steps in a marketing audit (3)
Setting the Objectives and Scope
The first step calls for a meeting between the company officer(s) and a potential auditor to
explore the nature of the marketing operations and the potential value of a marketing audit. If
the company officers are convinced of the potential benefits of a marketing audit, they and the
auditor have to work out an agreement on the objectives, coverage, depth, data sources, report
format, and time period for the audit.
Gathering the Data
The bulk of an auditor's time is spent in gathering data. Although we talk of a single auditor,
an auditing team is usually involved when the project is large. A detailed plan as to who is to
be interviewed by whom, the questions to be asked, the time and place of contact, and so on,
has to be carefully prepared so that auditing time and cost are kept to a minimum. Daily
reports of the interviews are to be written up and reviewed so that the individual or team can
spot new areas requiring exploration while data is still being gathered.
Preparing and Presenting the Report
The marketing auditor will be developing tentative conclusions as the data comes in. It is a
sound procedure for him or her to meet once or twice with the company officer before the
data collection ends to outline some initial findings to see what reactions and suggestions they
Steps in a Marketing Audit
Agreement on
Objectives, scope and
approach
Data collection
Report preparation and
presentation