MarketingManagement.pdf

The Marketing Audit

Companies that discover weaknesses should undertake a thorough study known as a

marketing audit.^34

■ Amarketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and pe-

riodic examination of a company’s—or business unit’s—marketing environ-

ment, 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 us 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. It would be called a functional au-
   ditif it covered only the sales force, pricing, or some other marketing activ-
   ity. Although functional audits are useful, they sometimes mislead
   management. Excessive sales force turnover, for example, could be a symp-
   tom 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 marketing problems.


2. Systematic:The marketing audit is an orderly examination of the organiza-
   tion’s macro- and micromarketing environment, marketing objectives and
   strategies, marketing systems, and specific activities. The audit indicates the
   most needed improvements, which are then incorporated into a corrective
   action plan involving both short-run and long-run steps to improve overall
   marketing effectiveness.


3. Independent:A marketing audit can be conducted in six ways: self-audit, audit
   from across, audit from above, company auditing office, company task force
   audit, and outsider audit. Self-audits, in which managers use a checklist to

part five

Managing and

Delivering Marketing

(^708) Programs
Operational Efficiency
M.How well is the marketing strategy communicated and implemented?
(^0) —Poorly. (^1) —Fairly. (^2) —Successfully.
N.Is management doing an effective job with its marketing resources?
(^0) —No. The marketing resources are inadequate for the job to be done.
(^1) —Somewhat. The marketing resources are adequate but they are not employed optimally.
(^2) —Yes. The marketing resources are adequate and are employed efficiently.
O.Does management show a good capacity to react quickly and effectively to on-the-spot developments?
(^0) —No. Sales and market information is not very current and management reaction time is slow.
(^1) —Somewhat. Management receives fairly up-to-date sales and market information; management reaction time varies.
(^2) —Yes. Management has installed systems yielding highly current information and fast reaction time.
Total Score
The instrument is used in the following way. The appropriate answer is checked for each question. The scores are added—the total will be somewhere between 0 and 30. The follow-
ing scale shows the level of marketing effectiveness:
0–5
None 11–15
Fair 21–25
Very good
6–10
Poor 16–20
Good 26–30
Superior
Source:Philip Kotler, “From Sales Obsession to Marketing Effectiveness,”Harvard Business Review,November–December 1977, pp. 67–75. Copyright © 1977 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; all
rights reserved.
Marketing Effectiveness Review Instrument (continued)
MARKETING
memo