THE MARKETING AUDIT

THE MARKETING AUDIT:-


 The average U.S. corporation loses half its customers in five years, half its employees in four years, and half its investors in less than one year. Clearly, this points to some weaknesses. Companies that discover weaknesses should undertake a thorough study known as a marketing audit.77 A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company’s or business unit’s 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. Let’s examine the marketing audit’s four characteristics: 1. Comprehensive—The marketing audit covers all the major marketing activities of a business, not just a few trouble spots as in a functional audit. Although functional audits are useful, they sometimes mislead management. Excessive sales force turnover, for example, could be a symptom not of poor sales-force training or compensation but of weak company products and promotion. A comprehensive marketing audit usually is more effective in locating the real source of problems. 2. Systematic—The marketing audit is an orderly examination of the organization’s macro- and micromarketing environments, marketing objectives and strategies, marketing systems, and specific activities. It identifies the most-needed improvements and incorporates them into a corrective-action plan with short- and longrun steps. 3. Independent— Self-audits, in which managers rate their own operations, lack objectivity and independence.The 3M Company has made good use of a corporate auditing office, which provides marketing audit services to divisions on request.Usually, however, outside consultants bring the necessary objectivity, broad experience in a number of industries, familiarity with the industry being audited, and undivided time and attention. 4. Periodic—Firms typically initiate marketing audits only after failing to review their marketing operations during good times, with resulting problems. A periodic marketing audit can benefit companies in good health as well as those in trouble. A marketing audit starts with agreement between the company officer(s) and the marketing auditor(s) on the audit’s objectives and time frame, and a detailed plan of who is to be asked what questions. The cardinal rule for marketing auditors is: Don’t rely solely on company managers for data and opinions. Ask customers, dealers, and other outside groups. Many companies don’t really know how their customers and dealers see them, nor do they fully understand customer needs

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