The Marketing Audit The marketing audit has certain similarities to a financial audit in that it is a review or appraisal of your

existing marketing activities. Carrying out the marketing audit provides the opportunity to review and appraise your whole marketing activity, enabling you to assess past and present performance as well as to provide the basis for evaluating possible future courses of action. Because the business environment is constantly changing, the marketing audit should be used as a reference tool, with constant updates reflecting changes in the external environment and your own internal business experiences. 1. External Audit External factors can be split broadly into three groups, the economic environment, the competitive environment and your own market environment. Consider these areas from your own business's point of view - will any changes have an impact on your business, will they affect your competitors, will they allow you to compete where you could not, or inhibit your ability to compete. If the answer is yes, then the factors should be included in the audit. With the advent of the internet, there are now many sources of information on your competitors and your environment. You may also be surprised how much business information is available from your nearest city library. And remember, Company Reports are a good source of competitive information and can be found at www.companies-house.gov.uk. 1.1 The Economic Environment Political Economic Social Cultural Government actions, tax levels, privatisation, schools policy etc Income levels, employment levels, rate of inflation, rate of economic growth and Demographics (population growth/distribution, age), lifestyles and cultural values (changing beliefs, skills, family values) IT, internet, home shopping UK Law (health & safety, employment law, store opening etc), EU Law Affect of your business on environment, 'green' credentials

Technological Legal Environmental

1.2 Competitive Environment How competitive is your market? What are your competitors doing, likely to be doing? Evaluate the following:

The threat of new entrants to your industry The threat of substitute products The bargaining power of customers The bargaining power of suppliers The rivalry amongst current competitors Who are your competitors? Who are your major competitors, how big are they, what is their market share? What reputation do they have? How do they distribute their products, what are their production capabilities? What is their marketing like - do they diversify? What are their key strengths and weaknesses?

1.3 The Market Environment Total market size growth and trends Market characteristics, growth and trends Products, prices Physical distribution channels Customers/consumers Industry practices

2. Internal Audit This is your opportunity to put your own business under the microscope - do you know as much about your own situation as you should?

Sales (total, split by geography, industry, customer, product) Market shares Profit margins Costs Marketing information research Effectiveness of marketing mix

Key outcomes from this audit can then be summarised in the Current Market Position and Market Overview sections of your marketing plan. The Marketing Audit

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Marketing Audit How to conduct a marketing audit The marketing audit is a fundamental part of the marketing planning process. It is conducted not only at the beginning of the process, but also at a series of points during the implementation of the plan. The marketing audit considers both internal and external influences on marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself. There are a number of tools and audits that can be used, for example SWOT analysis for the internal environment, as well as the external environment. Other examples include PEST and Five Forces Analyses, which focus solely on the external environment. In many ways the marketing audit clarifies opportunities and threats, and allows the marketing manager to make alterations to the plan if necessary. This lesson considers the basics of the marketing audit, and introduces a marketing audit checklist. The checklist is designed to answer the question, what is the current marketing situation? Lets consider the marketing audit under three key headings:

The Internal Marketing Environment. The External Marketing Environment. A Review of Our Current Marketing Plan. 1.The Internal Marketing Environment. What resources do we have at hand? (i.e. The FIVE 'M's):

MEN (Labor/Labour). MONEY (Finances). MACHINERY (Equipment). MINUTES (Time). MATERIALS (Factors of Production). How is our marketing team organised? How efficient is our marketing team? How effective is our marketing team? How does our marketing team interface with other organisations and internal functions? How effective are we at Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? What is the state of our marketing planning process?

Is our marketing planning information current and accurate? What is the current state of New Product Development? (Product) How profitable is our product portfolio? (Product) Are we pricing in the right way? (Price) How effective and efficient is distribution? (Place) Are we getting our marketing communications right? (Promotion) Do we have the right people facing our customers? (People) How effective are our customer facing processes? (Process) What is the state of our business's physical evidence? (Physical Evidence) 2. The External Marketing Environment. As a market orientated organisation, we must start by asking - What is the nature of our 'customer?' Such as: Their needs and how we satisfy them. Their buyer decision process and consumer behaviour. Their perception of our brand, and loyalty to it. The nature of segmentation, targeting and positioning in our markets. What customers 'value' and how we provide that 'value?.' What is the nature of competition in our target markets? Our competitors' level of profitability. Their number/concentration. The relative strengths and weaknesses of competition. The marketing plans and strategies of our competition. What is the cultural nature of the environment(s)?

Beliefs and religions. The standards and average levels of education. The evolving lifestyles of our target consumers. The nature of consumerism in our target markets. What is the demography of our consumers? Such as average age, levels of population, gender make up, and so on. How does technology play a part?

The level of adoption of mobile and Internet technologies. The way in which goods are manufactured. Information systems. Marketing communications uses of technology and media. What is the economic condition of our markets?

Levels of average disposable income. Taxation policy in the target market. Economic indicators such as inflation levels, interest rates, exchange rates and unemployment. Is the political and legal landscape changing in any way?

Laws, for example, copyright and patents. Levels of regulation such as quotas or tariffs. Labour/labor laws such as minimum wage legislation. 3. A Review of Our Current Marketing Plan What are our current objectives for marketing? What are our current marketing strategies? How do we apply the marketing mix? (Including factors covered above in (a)) Is the marketing process being controlled effectively? Are we achieving our marketing budget? Are we realising our SMART objectives? Are our marketing team implementing the marketing plan effectively? Levels of staffing. Staff training and development. Experience and learning. What is our market share? (total sales/trends/sales by product or customer or channel) Are we achieving financial targets? (profit and margins/ liquidity and cash flow/ debt: equity ratio/ using financial ratio analysis) Marketing Audit www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-audit.html

What Is A Marketing Audit?

A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic evaluation of a company's marketing assets. It is an effective tool in reviewing the competence of a marketing strategy, analyzing the objectives, policies and strategies of the company's marketing department as well as the manner and the means employed in attaining these goals. Because of the constantly varying business environment, marketing audit is frequently required, not only at the beginning of the planning process, but along with the implementation stage, providing also ground for evaluating possible future courses of action.

Marketing audit on a regular basis is a strong reference point, reflecting evolution in external business environment, internal experience and strategy development. The marketing audit focuses on three key headings: The external marketing environment The internal marketing environment Evaluation on the current marketing plan

External environment consists of economic, political and legal factors and concentrates on clients and competition. Marketing audit of the external surroundings analyses the customers, their needs and how to meet them, their behavior and decisions, perception of products and brands, segmentation, targeting and positioning on the market. The nature of competition is also studied, concerning its concentration, profitability, strengths and weaknesses, plans and strategies. New entrants on the market are also studied as well as the substitute products, the influence of supplier. The cultural nature of the external environment consists of education levels and standards, religion and beliefs, as well as lifestyle and customs. Demography plays a key role in marketing audit of the consumers, reflecting on growth distribution, age, evolution of technology and information systems as well as marketing communication and media. The external economic conditions consist of indicators as unemployment rates, inflation levels, interest rates, economic growth, taxation and average disposable income. Political and legal landscaping concern laws, regulations, minimum levels of taxes or wages and maximum levels of prices or quotas. Internal environment focuses on the resources the company has at hand as labor, finance, equipment, time and other factors of production. It also analyses the marketing team concerning structure, efficiency, effectiveness, correlation with internal functions and other organizations. The internal marketing planning process, it's accuracy and actuality, the product portfolio, new products, pricing and distribution are areas the marketing internal audit is concerned in. It also focuses on market share, sales, profit margins, costs and effectiveness of marketing mix. The marketing audit studies also the current marketing plan, focused on objectives, strategies and the marketing mix used to achieve these goals. It also evaluates budgeting, staffing, training , developing, experience and learning. The current marketing plan concerns also the market share, financial targets as profit and margins, cash flow, debt and other indicators that need to be balanced. There are several approaches that can be used, for example SW OT analysis for the internal environment, as well as the external environment. Other examples include PEST(political-economic-social-technological) and Five Forces Analyses, which focus solely on the external environment. Using SWOT a company lists its advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses compared to its competitors or similar products providers. It also includes an analysis of the external factors that could help or hinder company's chance of success, as well as an evaluation of internal practices and operations. A five force analysis is similar to SWOT, but is used to evaluate an individual product or business rather than an entire marketing strategy. Using this approach, the study reviews similar subjects covered in a SWOT analysis, eventually dividing the results in five groups labeled as following: Power of buyer

Threat of entry Competitive rivalry Power of suppliers Threat of substitutes.

Political-economic-social-technological (PEST) is another audit study also known as a STEP (change in the order of letters) study. This audit focuses mainly on the factors influencing the external environment, usually factors out of company's internal control. This study analyses political climate, economic growth, social environment and technological evolution in the area where the product will be delivered. Its similarity to SWOT consists of dividing these results in opportunity and threats. In conclusion, a marketing audit does not necessarily audit the current activity of the business, but reviews all the areas that are crucial to the success of the company ,both internal and external and tries to align these. Only considering these results and using them in planning the next marketing strategy, a business can grow and become stronger.

What Is A Marketing Audit?

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Marketing Audit
How to conduct a marketing audit
The marketing audit is a fundamental part of the marketing planning process. It is conducted not just at the start of the process, but also during the implementation of the plan. The marketing audit considers both internal and external influences on marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself. Marketing decisions generally fall into the following four controllable categories: Product Price Place (distribution) Promotion

The marketing audit therefore considers the impact of a range of internal and external factors on these categories. In setting out to conduct a marketing audit, there are a number of tools and audits that can be used, for example SWOT analysis for the internal environment, as well as the external environment. Other examples include PEST and the Five Forces Analyses, which focus solely on the external environment. The marketing audit clarifies opportunities and threats, and allows the marketing manager to make "fine tune" the plan if and when necessary, whether it be product, price, place or promotion.

The marketing audit can usefully be considered under three key headings: 1. The Internal Marketing Environment. 2. The External Marketing Environment. 3. A Review of Our Current Marketing Plan.

1.The Internal Marketing Environment.

A. What resources do we have available: 1. Personnel. 2. Funding. 3. Equipment and technology. 4. Time. 5. Materials and Production Resources. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. How is our marketing team organised? How efficient is our marketing team? How effective is our marketing team? How does our marketing team interface with other organisations and internal functions? How effective are we at Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? What is the state of our marketing planning process? Is our marketing planning information current and accurate? What is the current state of New Product Development? (Product) How profitable is our product portfolio? (Product) Are we pricing in the right way? (Price) How effective and efficient is distribution? (Place) Are we getting our marketing communications right? (Promotion)

N. O. P.

Do we have the right people facing our customers? (People) How effective are our customer facing processes? (Process) What is the state of our business's physical evidence? (Physical Evidence)

2. The External Marketing Environment.

All market orientated organisations must ask be fully engaged in: A. Customer Discovery: 1. Customer needs and how we satisfy them. 2. Buyer decision process and consumer behaviour. 3. Customer perceptions of our brand, and loyalty to it. 4. Segmentation, targeting and positioning in our markets. 5. What do our customers 'value' and how we going to provide what they 'value?.' B. Competition: 1. What is the nature of competition in our target markets? 2. Our competitors' level of profitability. 3. Their number/concentration. 4. The relative strengths and weaknesses of competition. 5. The marketing plans and strategies of our competition. C. Beliefs and Religion 1. What is the cultural nature of the environment(s)? 2. The standards and average levels of education. 3. The evolving lifestyles of our target consumers. 4. The nature of consumerism in our target markets. 5. What is the demography of our consumers? Such as average age, levels of population, gender make up, and so on. D. Technology

1. How important is technology in the market and product perception, accessibility, deliverability? 2. The level of adoption of mobile and Internet technologies. 3. The way in which goods are manufactured. E. F. G. H. I. J. k. Information systems. Marketing communications uses of technology and media. What is the economic condition of our markets? Levels of average disposable income. Taxation in the target market. Economic indicators - inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and unemployment. Is the political and legal landscape changing in any way? Laws, for example, copyright and patents. Levels of regulation such as quotas or tariffs. Labour/labor laws such as minimum wage legislation.

3. A Review of Current Marketing Plan

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. What are our current objectives for marketing? What are our current marketing strategies? How do we apply the marketing mix? (Including factors covered above in (a)) Is the marketing process being controlled effectively? Are we achieving our marketing budget? Are we realising our SMART objectives? Are our marketing team implementing the marketing plan effectively? Levels of staffing.

I. J. K. L. M.

Staff training and development. Experience and learning. What is our market share? (total sales/trends/sales by product or customer or channel) Are we achieving financial targets? (profit and margins/ liquidity and Cash flow/ debt: equity ratio/ using financial ratio analysis)

How do you 'marketing' your Internal Audit function? | LinkedIn ...

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What is a marketing audit?

The first stage of the marketing audit process is the external analysis. It is a systematic approach to create information necessary to an organisation in order to identity the key issues it will need to create a successful marketing strategy. Marketing, by nature, is an outward looking process and is the interface between a company and the outside world. A marketer must scan the environment, both internally and externally, in order to identify opportunities and threats. The companys position and resources can then be adjusted based on the outcome of the analysis. In order to understand the needs of its customers and to keep marketing at the heart of the business, the marketer must analyse the external environment as part of the marketing audit in order to identify future needs and to develop its marketing mix. Although the external environment consists of a wide variety of factors and influences it is possible to group them under 5 broad headings: Political/Legal:National government, local government, trade associations, the EU, regulatory bodies. Economic/competitive:Market structure, government policy, trading bodies, taxation, interest rates, trading blocs.

Sociocultural:Demographics, culture, attitudes, current issues. Technological innovation effecting:Products, materials/components, processes, distribution, marketing/administration. Environmental:Waste disposal, conservation, natural resources.

When to use PESTLE external analysis?

Use PESTLE environmental analysis to understand the key factors that are likely to drive change in your business environment. The aim is to then establish how these factors affect your industry in general and more importantly your organisation in particular.

What do marketing audits achieve?

Through a comprehensive, systematic and independent examination of your companies external environment you will be able to identify problem areas, future events and trends that may have an effect on your company. You may not have any influence over these events but by understanding the affects they may have on your business you will be able to recommend a plan of action to improve the companys marketing performance.

Marketing Plans Tweet

What is it?
A marketing plan aims to help organise the strategy for a company, its products or services. Planning is essential in all organisations and company plans should be documented. A marketing plan is not a unique document within an organisation. Production would have a Production Plan, Human Resources a Human Resources plan and so on.

However, all good plans must support the overall corporate objectives of the organisation, the corporate objectives maybe to be global leader in the next five years, all individual plans must support this.

Lets look at what an outline of a marketing plan may look like. A common method used to help plan a marketing plan is an acronym called AOSTC. It simply stands for 1. Analysis Of environment. 2. Objectives Setting yourself SMART objectives. 3. Strategies For segmentation and growth, targeting and positioning. 4. Tactics Used i.e. marketing mix 5. Control. How you will monitor that you are achieving objectives.

Structure of a typical Marketing Plan

1. Situational Analysis Where are we now? Every good marketing plans needs to analyse the current business situation and ask a simple question, where is the business now? This involves the business firstly conducting an internal audit. An internal audit will look at: - Past objectives and success rates. - Past marketing mix strategies. - Past budgets. - Past segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies. The internal audit aims to look at what you did in the past, was it successful, if not why not, if so, why so? Simple hey! After the internal audit the next stage is for you to conduct an external audit. The external audit will involve: - Conducting a PEST analysis, and discussing the impact of this on your strategy. - Researching the industry you operate in. What are the trends within the industry you operate in? - Competitor analysis. What are your competitors up to? - A SWOT analysis to help establish your current strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. 2. Set your objectives Where are we going? Set yourself SMART objectives so you know where you are heading. Remember SMART stands for: Specific Clearly state what you want to achieve.

Measurable Is it easy to measure the objectives you set by monitoring sales, market share figures? Achievable Set yourself attainable objectives. Realistic Can you really achieve them with the current resources you have? Timed Set a realistic time scale for the objectives. An option is to use Ansoffs model to help you set your objectives, 3. What tactics or methods will you use to get there? How will you get there? - Define your target market. Select your segment, your targeting strategy and positioning strategy. - How will you use the marketing mix to assist you. What will be your product, price, place or promotion strategy? 4. How do I evaluate the strategy? Are we getting there? Are you achieving the objectives you set for yourself? To evaluate your plan some benchmarks may include: - Market share data. - Sales data. - Consumer feedback. - Feedback from staff. - Feedback from retailers. 5. Executive summary Write a summary of the plan. Finally at the end of this task write a summary of the plan and place it at the front. Why? Well it acts as a quick reference guide to the plan you have just written.

Study Book: Marketing136 Bradford MBA MARKETING PLAN The following presents a typical structure of a marketing plan report. This provides useful headings for you to write up a report in order to present a marketing plan. 1. Terms of Reference 2. Executive Summary 3. Business Mission 4. External Marketing Audit Macro environment The Market Competition 5. Internal Marketing Audit Operating Results Strategic Issues Analysis Marketing Mix Effectiveness Marketing Structures and Systems 6. SWOT Analysis 7. Marketing Objectives Strategic Thrust Strategic Objectives 8. Core Strategy Target Market(s) Competitor Targets Competitive Advantage 9. Marketing Mix Decisions Product Promotion Price Place 10. Budget 11. Organization and Implementation 12. Control In order to present a marketing plan, the terms of reference are useful to state the objectives of the marketing planning exercise and its coverage. The terms of reference refers to the company or brand on which a marketing plan is being developed and the market in which that plans is undertaken. The term Market can mean a market segment, a geographical area, an industry sector. But it is important to have complete focus before commencing with the work of planning. EXTERNAL MARKETING AUDIT A marketing audit is a systematic examination of a business marketingenvironment, objectives, strategies and activities, with a view to identifyingkey strategic issues, problem areas, and opportunities. It provides thebasis upon which a plan of action to improve marketing performance canbe built.The external marketing audit focuses on the macro environment and themicro environment.

Macro environment : consists of broad environmental issues that impingeon the business. A PEST or PESTL analysis can be used for the analysis.Not every element has to be used. What is important here is that theanalysis is appropriate and relevant to the product or brand under theinvestigation. So for example, students frequently cite political stabilityunder the influence political. This is only any importance if politicalstability (or instability) has any particular effect on the chosen product or Study Book: Marketing138 Bradford MBA brand. Try and ensure that your identified PEST factors focus oncustomers and competitors and by inference, company capabilities.Micro environment includes: The market : analyses of market size (growth rates and trends);customer analysis (who they are, what choice criteria they use, howthey rate competitive offerings and how the market is segmented);distribution analysis (significant movements in power bases, channelattractiveness analyses, physical distribution analyses and analysis of the role and interests of decision-makers and influences with distributor organisations). Competition : analysis of who are the competitors to the company(actual and potential); what are their objectives and strategies,strengths and weaknesses, market shares, size and profitability; andany entry barriers that make market entry from new competitors difficult.For the micro environment, use a simple Porters Five Forces model. Butagain, really focus on issues such as customers and competitors. Newentrants and substitutes are only of importance if it is believed that theypresent a tangible threat during the period of the plan. As for suppliers,they are only of importance if they present a strategic threat or thecompanys relationship with them presents a marketing opportunity.

Study Book: Marketing138 Bradford MBA brand. Try and ensure that your identified PEST factors focus oncustomers and competitors and by inference, company capabilities.Micro environment includes: The market : analyses of market size (growth rates and trends);customer analysis (who they are, what choice criteria they use, howthey rate competitive offerings and how the market is

segmented);distribution analysis (significant movements in power bases, channelattractiveness analyses, physical distribution analyses and analysis of the role and interests of decision-makers and influences with distributor organisations). Competition : analysis of who are the competitors to the company(actual and potential); what are their objectives and strategies,strengths and weaknesses, market shares, size and profitability; andany entry barriers that make market entry from new competitors difficult.For the micro environment, use a simple Porters Five Forces model. Butagain, really focus on issues such as customers and competitors. Newentrants and substitutes are only of importance if it is believed that theypresent a tangible threat during the period of the plan. As for suppliers,they are only of importance if they present a strategic threat or thecompanys relationship with them presents a marketing opportunity. INTERNAL MARKETING AUDIT The internal marketing audit focuses on the activities and performance of the company in the light of the external marketing environment. It should cover an evaluation of the following four sections. Operating Results This covers operating results (by product, customer, and geographic region) for sales, market share, profit margins and costs. Strategic Issues Analysis Strategic issues analysis will answer the following questions: What are the companys current marketing objectives? How does the company currently segment the market? What is the companys competitive advantage (if any)? What are their core competencies? How are the companys products positioned in the marketplace? Unit 9: RevisionBradford MBA 139

How are their products placed in terms of market attractiveness andcompany strength (portfolio analysis)? Each answer will be evaluated to produce strengths and weaknesses. Marketing Mix Effectiveness Each element of the marketing mix (product, promotion, price and place)will be evaluated in the light of the external marketing environmentalanalysis. This is an important section. You need to identify the current 4 or 7Ps, describe each and evaluate each. This is a marketing plan andultimately, it succeeds or otherwise on the strength of the marketing mix. Itcan then be matched with the mix to strategic issues such as marketsegment identification, core competences, competitive advantage andcompetitive positioning. Try using perceptual or positioning maps that aredescribed both in your Study Book (Activity 4.5) and in your textbook (e.g.,Jobber, page 287, Fig. 8.11; page 288, Fig. 8.12). Marketing Structures and Systems The marketing structures and systems of the company will be evaluated toidentify what exists and its effectiveness. Marketing structures includemarketing organisation, marketing training, and intra andinterdepartmental communication. Marketing systems include marketinginformation systems, the marketing planning system and the marketingcontrol systems. The most important thing in this section is to give someinformation and comment upon effectiveness Unit 9: RevisionBradford MBA 139 How are their products placed in terms of market attractiveness andcompany strength (portfolio analysis)?Each answer will be evaluated to produce strengths and weaknesses. Marketing Mix Effectiveness Each element of the marketing mix (product, promotion, price and place)will be evaluated in the light of the external marketing environmentalanalysis. This is an important section. You need to identify the current 4 or 7Ps, describe each and evaluate each. This is a marketing plan andultimately, it succeeds or otherwise on the strength of the marketing mix. Itcan then be matched with the mix to strategic issues such as marketsegment identification, core competences, competitive advantage andcompetitive positioning. Try using perceptual or positioning maps that aredescribed both in your Study Book (Activity 4.5) and in your textbook (e.g.,Jobber, page 287, Fig. 8.11; page 288, Fig. 8.12). Marketing Structures and Systems The marketing structures and systems of the company will be evaluated toidentify what exists and its effectiveness. Marketing structures includemarketing organisation, marketing training, and intra andinterdepartmental communication. Marketing systems include marketinginformation systems, the marketing planning system and the marketingcontrol systems. The most important thing in this section is to give someinformation and comment upon effectiveness. SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis is a structured approach to evaluating the strategicposition of a business by identifying its strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats. It provides a simple method of

synthesizing theresults of the marketing audit by summarising the companys strengthsand weaknesses as they relate to external opportunities and threats.Strengths and weaknesses will derive from the internal marketing auditanalysis (i.e. refer to the company). Opportunities and threats will derivefrom the external marketing audit analysis (i.e. refer to the environment).Highlight ones that are appropriate and relevant. Importantly, your SWOTmust only include information that is relevant to the precedingmarketing audit. Any element of the SWOT, which has not beendiscussed in the macro, micro or internal audit, is likely to be invalid. Thatis because there is no audit information that would justify such analysis