Marketing audit is one of the most important moments in organizing the effective operation of an enterprise. It can be carried out on its own or with the involvement of third-party specialists.
Definition of concept
Marketing audit is a management activity aimed at identifying deficiencies in the marketing system and lost benefits associated with them. Based on the results of the audit, an optimal strategy is built, and consultations on this issue are also carried out. Marketing audit is a systematic, periodic, objective, and most importantly, an independent audit. It affects not only the internal, but also the external environment. The audit can be carried out both for the organization as a whole and for its individual units. This activity aims to identify marketing bottlenecks and develop a plan to address them.
Principles
Both internal and external marketing audits are carried out in accordance with the fundamental principles. These include the following items:
- Comprehensiveness. The audit should not be limited to the analysis of problematic points. It involves a comprehensive review of all marketingactivities.
- Systematic. Audit activities should be orderly and consistent. At the same time, diagnostics should cover not only internal units, but also the external environment.
- Independence. Marketing audit must be carried out impartially. If objective independent research is not possible, third-party experts should be involved.
- Periodicity. Often, management initiates a marketing review only after profit margins begin to decline. To prevent crises, the audit should be carried out regularly with a certain frequency.
Research objects
In the process of verification, specialists are faced with two groups of indicators: those that they can influence, and those that are beyond the control of management. So, the objects of marketing audit are as follows:
- internal and external environment;
- marketing strategy of the organization;
- enterprise marketing system;
- form of marketing management organization;
- effectiveness of the current system for the enterprise as a whole and for its individual divisions.
Main steps
The marketing audit process includes a number of successive stages. These include the following:
- Preparatory stage. At this stage, the first contact between the client firm and the auditor takes place. There is a discussion of significant points and preliminary consultation. The manager also givesdirecting departments to provide reviewers with all the necessary information.
- Diagnosis. The auditor reveals the most essential facts concerning marketing activity and carefully analyzes them. Relationships are established, as well as the degree of compliance with regulatory or planned indicators. It should be noted that already at this stage, the auditor can make some adjustments to the work of the organization through conversations with the staff.
- Planning. At this stage, the specialist is looking for optimal solutions. They are aimed at recovering losses from lost profits, as well as preventing similar situations in the future.
- Introduction. The preparation and implementation of the planned activities is underway. At the same time, the auditor can take a direct part in this process or act only as a consultant.
- Conclusion. The auditor provides the customer with a full report on the activities carried out, as well as the first results achieved. Negotiations on the prospects for further cooperation may also be held.
Audit activities
Marketing audit of the company is carried out in several significant areas. They can be described as follows.
| Direction | Studied business units | Marketing section |
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firm marketing |
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market segmentation |
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development of goods and services |
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pricing |
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movement of goods |
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promotional activity | |
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personal selling | |
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stimulation | |
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public relations |
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marketing strategy |
Components of an audit
Marketing audit as the basis of a successful enterprise strategy includes a number of components. The main ones are as follows:
- analysis of the external marketing environment (special attention is paid to the microenvironment, which includes the market, competitors, distribution system, etc.);
- analysis of the marketing strategy (the developed program and the degree of its implementation);
- analysis of the organizational structure (study of the work of each unit separately, as well as determining the effectiveness of the relationship between them);
- qualityanalysis of the marketing system (security of information, efficiency of planning, organization of control, etc.);
- quantitative analysis of the marketing system (profit versus marketing costs);
- functional analysis (product and pricing policy, distribution channels, advertising and public relations effectiveness).
Advantages and disadvantages of external audit
An external marketing audit is quite common, for which third-party specialized organizations are often involved. It is characterized by such advantages:
- presence of rich experience in this field;
- availability of the necessary information to make effective management decisions;
- Specialized knowledge that the auditor can transfer to company management.
Nevertheless, there are a number of negative aspects that characterize such a marketing audit. The service has the following main disadvantages:
- high cost of professional auditors;
- confidential information falls into the hands of third-party specialists, and therefore there is a risk of leakage.
Features of internal audit
Internal marketing audit implies an independent audit by the company's own efforts. The following characteristics can be considered the advantages of this type of activity:
- significant cost savings;
- trade secret will not go beyond the organization;
- employees of the enterprise are well acquainted with the specifics of its work, andso you don't have to waste time collecting information.
Nevertheless, it is not always possible to conduct a marketing audit of an enterprise on its own. This is due to such shortcomings of this type of activity:
- company employees are not always objective in assessing its work (this may be due to the specifics of relations with superiors or the desire to hide their own mistakes);
- lack of audit experience and expertise.
Marketing audit example
In order to understand how the marketing audit procedure works, it is worth considering it with a generalized example. Suppose there is a certain network of fast food establishments "Pirozhok". So, the auditor's goal is to assess the real state of affairs, as well as to develop recommendations for further activities. Thus, the specialist will have the following tasks:
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Compilation of the characteristics of the advertising activities of the enterprise, for which the following data are collected:
- total cost of self-presentation;
- assessment of the quality of promotional materials;
- advertising distribution channels (how information is conveyed to the consumer);
- establishing a relationship between the volume of the advertising budget and the profit of the enterprise received in the reporting period.
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Data analysis for each branch:
- convenience of location;
- assessment of the external design of the institution;
- dining room functionality;
- rationalityorganization of working and industrial premises.
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The ratio of the enterprise's load to the total profit:
- studying account information;
- breaking down data into shorter reference periods for more detailed analysis;
- compilation of timekeeping, which will allow you to set the throughput of the institution per unit of time (number of people, average check amount, range of products sold);
- capacity estimate;
- drawing up an analytical table to bring the obtained data into a visual form.
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Drawing up a report that will contain the following information:
- an objective picture that describes attendance for each branch;
- demand analysis for each position in the institution's assortment;
- determining the busiest days and hours of operation of branches;
- proposals for improvement of work are being developed for each of the food points;
- assessment of the effectiveness of the current marketing system;
- conclusions regarding the functionality of the production and public premises of the establishment.
The result of the audit will be a full report and a number of practical recommendations. All these data are issued in the form of the following documents:
- marketing plan to eliminate errors and further develop the fast food chain;
- measure plan aimed at increasing traffic for each of the branches separately;
- complete non-compliance report with recommendations for self-correction.
Site audit
With the development of scientific and technological progress, having your own page on the Internet is an objective necessity for an organization aimed at success. Website audit is just as important as the company as a whole. Such activities are aimed at analyzing the resource in order to identify and eliminate shortcomings, as well as promoting it in search engines. So, auditing a web page implies the following points:
- Structure analysis. It should be optimal in terms of information placement, as well as user perception. In addition, this moment is essential for the work of search engines.
- Studying content. The information presented on the site should be of practical importance to the user. In addition, it must be unique.
- Usability. The site should be built logically and understandably for the user. In addition, it should have a nice design.
- Analysis of semantics. The site content should contain keywords that correspond to popular user queries in search engines. However, the resource should not be overloaded with them.
- Checking meta tags. Not only their presence is determined, but also their compliance with the content of the site.
- Analysis of HTML code. It is fully checked for errors, as well as the logic of tagging. This is one of the most important steps in website optimization.
- Server operation. Correct response to requestsusers.
- Checking the site for compliance with regulatory requirements.
It is worth noting that the audit of an Internet resource is an objective necessity in today's market conditions. Based on its results, the main errors are identified, and an optimization plan is drawn up. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that this procedure is quite expensive.
Example of site audit
A rather complicated procedure is the marketing audit of the site. An example of a study can be given based on the site of a construction company. This process includes the following steps:
- Analysis of entry points. These are the pages of the site that the user gets to by clicking on a link from third-party resources. So, in most cases, the main load falls on the main page. But on such important sections as the list of services or price, users rarely get.
- Failure analysis. For construction subjects, this figure should not exceed 40%. The main reason for failures is inappropriate traffic or technical problems on the site.
- The overall impression of the design. For a construction company, it is better to choose a neutral design. Firstly, it does not distract from the perception of basic information, and secondly, it remains relevant for a long time. It is also worth paying attention to the blocks of information. The site should contain only essential data, and any extra text is not allowed.
- Content and usability analysis should be done page by page. A common homepage mistake is putting data in order to populatefree space. The information must be purely practical. In the section "About the company" there should be not only a presentation of the company, but also documentation. It is recommended to place prominent links to service catalog items in each article.
- An essential point is the analysis of resource navigation. It should be logical and intellectually understandable. So, often the structure of the site confuses the user. It is unacceptable to create sections with similar names or with the same content. It is also unacceptable to place significant data in the second level of the menu, since users practically do not go into it.
After analyzing the experience of Internet auditors, we can single out the following main recommendations that they develop for corporate websites:
- avoid complex and layered menus that can confuse consumers;
- main menu orientation should be horizontal for best use of page space;
- it is recommended to place the most essential information on the main page (for example, some items of the product catalog, special offers);
- don't include a link to the archive in the menu.
Regular conduct of such a procedure as a marketing audit is a necessary condition for the successful functioning of an enterprise. This activity helps to identify shortcomings in time and adjust the strategy.
