HTML Preview Marketing Audit Evaluation Marketing Plan page number 3.
133
produce. When the data-gathering phase is over, the marketing auditor prepares notes for a
visual and verbal presentation to the company officer or small group who hired him or her.
The presentation consists of restating the objectives, showing the main findings, and
presenting the major recommendations. Then the auditor is ready to write the final report,
which is largely a matter of putting the visual and verbal material into a good written
communication. The company officer(s) will usually ask the auditor to present the report to
other groups in the company. If the report calls for deep debate and action, the various groups
hearing the report should organize into subcommittees to do follow up work, with another
meeting to take place some weeks later. The most valuable part of the marketing audit often
lies not so much in the auditor's specific recommendations but in the process that managers
begin to go through to assimilate, debate, and develop their own concept of the needed
marketing action.
Components of a Marketing Audit
A major principle in marketing audits is to start with the marketplace first and explore the
changes that are taking place and what they imply in the way of problems and opportunities.
Then the auditor moves on to examine the company's marketing objectives and strategies,
organization, and systems. Finally the auditor may move to examine one or two key functions
that are central to the marketing performance of that company in more detail. However, some
companies ask for less than the full range of auditing steps in order to obtain initial results
before commissioning further work. The company may ask for a marketing environment audit
and, if satisfied, then ask for a marketing strategy audit. Or it might ask for a marketing
organization audit first, and later ask for a marketing environment audit. We view a full
marketing audit as having six major components (7). Each can be semi-autonomous if a
company wants less than a full marketing audit.
Six major components of a marketing audit:
Marketing Environment Audit
Marketing Strategy Audit
Marketing Organization Audit
Marketing Systems Audit
Marketing Productivity Audit
Marketing Function Audit
External and internal Marketing Audit
A marketing audit should be done at the beginning of the marketing planning
process. It takes a close look at the current business landscape internally and
externally. The managers have to decide on which environment they want to focused. But if
they want to reach overall feedback and picture of the marketing environment is necessary to
do both of the audits.