Marketing audit: objects, process, example. Site audit

Marketing audit is one of the most important moments in the organization of effective work of the enterprise. It can be carried out on its own or with the involvement of outside specialists.

Definition of concept

Marketing audit is a management auditactivities aimed at identifying shortcomings in the marketing system and the lost profits associated with them. Based on the results of the audit, an optimal strategy is formed, and consultations on this issue are also conducted.

Marketing audit is a systematic,periodic, objective, and most importantly - independent verification. It affects not only the internal, but also the external environment. The audit can be conducted both for the organization as a whole and for its individual units. This activity is aimed at identifying bottlenecks in the field of marketing, as well as drawing up a plan for their elimination.

Principles

Both internal and external marketing audit is carried out in accordance with the fundamental principles. These include the following items:

• Integrity. Audit should not be limited to the analysis of problematic moments. It implies a comprehensive verification of all marketing activities.
• Systematic. Audit actions should be orderly and consistent. At the same time, diagnostics should cover not only internal units, but also the external environment.
• Independence. Marketing audit should be carried out impartially. If objective independent research is impossible, third-party specialists should be involved.
• Periodicity.Often management initiates a marketing check only after the profit size begins to decline. To prevent crisis phenomena, the audit should be conducted regularly with a certain periodicity.

Objects of research

In the process of verification,two groups of indicators: those to which they can affect, and those that are beyond the control of management. So, the objects of marketing audit are the following:

• internal and external environment;
• marketing strategy of the organization;
• marketing system in the enterprise;
• form of organization of marketing management;
• the effectiveness of the existing system for the enterprise as a whole and for its individual units.

Main stages

The process of marketing audit includes a number of consecutive 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 counseling. Also, the head instructs the departments to provide all necessary information to the inspectors.
• Diagnostics.The auditor identifies the most significant facts about marketing activities and carefully analyzes them. Establish relationships, as well as the degree of compliance with regulatory or planning indicators. It is worth noting that already at this stage the auditor can make some adjustments to the work of the organization through interviews with staff.
• Planning. At this stage, the specialist is searching for optimal solutions. They are aimed at compensating losses from lost profits, as well as preventing similar situations in the future.
• Implementation. Preparations and implementation of planned activities are carried out. At the same time, the auditor can take direct part in this process or act only as a consultant.
• The 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 can also be held.

Directions of audit activity

Marketing audit of the company is carried out in several essential areas. They can be described as follows.

Audit Components

Marketing audit as the basis of a successful enterprise strategy includes a number of components. The main ones are the following:

• analysis of the external marketing environment (special attention is paid to the microenvironment, which includes the market, competitors, distribution system, etc.);
• marketing strategy analysis (developed program and the degree of its implementation);
• analysis of the organizational structure (a study of the work of each unit separately, as well as determining the effectiveness of the relationship between them);
• Qualitative analysis of the marketing system (information security, planning effectiveness, control organization, etc.);
• quantitative analysis of the marketing system (profit in relation to the cost of marketing activities);
• functional analysis (product and pricing policies, distribution channels, advertising and public relations effectiveness).

Advantages and disadvantages of external audit

External marketing audit is quite common, for which third-party specialized organizations are often involved. It has such advantages:

• having a wealth of experience in this field;
• availability of necessary information for making effective management decisions;
• specialized knowledge that the auditor can pass on to the company’s management.

Nevertheless, there are a number of negative points that characterize such a marketing audit. The service has the following main disadvantages:

• the 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 independent verification by the company’s own efforts. The advantages of this type of activity are the following characteristics:

• significant cost savings;
• trade secrets will not go beyond the organization;
• employees of the company are familiar with the specifics of his work, and therefore do not have to spend time collecting information.

Nevertheless, a marketing audit of an enterprise is not always possible to conduct on its own. This is due to the following disadvantages of this type of activity:

• employees of the company are not always objective in assessing its work (this may be due to the specifics of the relationship with the authorities or the desire to hide their own mistakes);
• lack of experience and expertise in auditing.

Marketing audit sample

In order to understand how the procedure happensmarketing audit, it is worth considering it on a generalized example. Suppose there is a certain network of fast food restaurants "Pirozhok". So, the auditor has a goal to assess the real state of affairs, as well as to develop recommendations for further activities.

Thus, the specialist will be faced with the following tasks:

• Drawing up the characteristics of the advertising activity of the enterprise, for which they collect such data:
  • total cost of self-presentation;
  • quality assessment of promotional materials;
  • distribution channels of advertising (how information reaches the consumer);
  • establishing the relationship between the volume of the advertising budget and the profit of the enterprise received in the reporting period.
• Data analysis for each branch:
  • convenience of location;
  • assessment of the external design of the institution;
  • dining room functionality;
  • rationality of the organization of workers and industrial premises.
• The ratio of the load of the enterprise with the total profit:
  • studying accounting information;
  • breaking down data into shorter reference periods for a more detailed analysis;
  • the compilation of timing, which will establish the capacity of the institution for a unit of time (the number of people, the average amount of the check, the range of sales);
  • capacity assessment;
  • compilation of an analytical table to bring the data into visual form.
• Preparation of a report, which will contain the following information:
  • an objective picture that describes the attendance at each branch;
  • analysis of demand for each position in the assortment of the institution;
  • determination of the busiest days and opening hours of the branches;
  • proposals for improvement of work are being developed for each of the catering facilities;
  • evaluation of the effectiveness of the current marketing system;
  • conclusions regarding the functionality of industrial and public premises.

The result of the audit will be a full report and a number of practical recommendations. All these data are drawn up in the form of the following documents:

• plan of marketing activities aimed at eliminating errors and further development of the fast food chain;
• a plan of measures aimed at increasing the cross-country capacity of each branch separately;
• a full report on non-compliance with the recommendations for self-resolution.

Site Audit

With the development of scientific and technological progressown page on the Internet is an objective necessity for an organization aimed at success. Site auditing is as important as the enterprise as a whole. Such activities are aimed at analyzing the resource in order to identify and correct deficiencies, as well as promote it in search engines. Thus, the audit of the website implies such moments:

• 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.
• Examine the content. The information provided on the site should be of practical importance to the user. In addition, it must be unique.
• Usability The site should be built in a logical and understandable way for the user. In addition, it should have a nice design.
• Analysis of semantics.The content of the site should contain keywords that correspond to popular user requests in search engines. However, the resource should not be overloaded with them.
• Check meta tags. Determined not only their presence, but also compliance with the contents of the site.
• HTML code analysis. It is fully checked for errors, as well as the tagging logic. This is one of the most important steps in website optimization.
• Server operation Correct response to user requests.
• Check the site for compliance with regulatory requirements.

It is worth noting that the audit of the Internet resource isan objective need for modern market conditions. According to its results, major errors are identified, and an optimization plan is drawn up. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that this procedure is quite expensive.

Sample site audit

Quite a complicated procedure is the marketing audit of the site. An example of the study can be based on the site of the construction company. This process includes the following steps:

• Analysis of entry points.These are the pages of the site to which the user falls, following the 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 fall.
• Failure analysis. For construction subjects this indicator 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 worth paying attention also to blocks of information. The site should be given only the essential data, and any extra text is invalid.
• Content and usability analysis should be donepage by page. A common mistake on the homepage is placing data to fill free space. Information must be of a purely practical nature. In the section "About the company" must be present not only the presentation of the company, but also documentation. It is recommended to place noticeable links to items of the service catalog in each article.
• The essential point is the analysis of navigation.by resource. It should be logical and intelligently 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 enter it.

Having analyzed the experience of Internet auditors, we can single out the following basic recommendations that they develop for the sites of enterprises:

• rejection of a complex and multi-level menu that can confuse the consumer;
• the orientation of the main menu should be horizontal, which ensures the most efficient use of page space;
• It is recommended to place the most significant information on the main page (for example, some items of the product catalog, special offers);
• Do not include a link to the archive in the menu.

Regularly conducting an auditmarketing is a prerequisite for the successful operation of the enterprise. This activity helps to identify deficiencies in time and correct the strategy.