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 management activity directed on revealing of lacks in system of marketing and the missed benefits connected 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 check. 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 crises, audit should be conducted regularly with a certain periodicity.

Objects of research

In the process of verification, specialists face two groups of indicators: those to which they can influence, and those that are not controlled by 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 separate divisions.

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 regarding marketing activities and carefully analyzes them. Establish relationships, as well as the degree of compliance with regulatory or planning indicators. It should be noted 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. The preparation and implementation of the planned activities is carried out. At the same time, the auditor can take part in this process directly, or act only as a consultant.
• Conclusion. The auditor provides the customer with a full report on the activities performed, 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.

Components of the audit

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.);
• 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 interrelations between them);
• A qualitative analysis of the marketing system (information security, planning effectiveness, control organization, etc.);
• Quantitative analysis of the marketing system (profit in relation to the costs of marketing activities);
• Functional analysis (commodity and pricing policy, marketing channels, advertising and effectiveness of public relations).

Advantages and disadvantages of external audit

An external marketing audit is quite common, for which foreign specialized organizations are often attracted. It has the following advantages:

• Presence of rich experience in this field;
• Availability of necessary information for making effective management decisions;
• Specialized knowledge that the auditor can convey to the company's management.

Nevertheless, there are a number of negative aspects that characterize such marketing audit. The service has such basic disadvantages:

• High cost of professional auditors;
• Confidential information falls into the hands of third-party specialists, and therefore there is a risk of leakage.

Internal audit features

Internal marketing audit involves self-checking by the company's own efforts. Advantages of this type of activity can be considered the following characteristics:

• Significant cost savings;
• Commercial secret will not go beyond the organization;
• Employees of the enterprise are very familiar with the specifics of his work, and therefore do not have to waste time gathering information.

Nevertheless, marketing audit of the enterprise is not always possible to conduct on its own. This is due to such shortcomings 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 the field of audit.

Example of marketing audit

In order to understand how the procedure of marketing audit occurs, it is worth considering it on a generalized example. Suppose there is a network of fast food establishments "Pirozhok." So, the auditor is faced with the goal of assessing the real state of affairs, as well as working out recommendations for further activities.

Thus, the specialist will have the following tasks:

• Compiling the characteristics of the company's advertising activities, for which they collect such data:
  • Total costs for self-presentation;
  • Evaluation of the quality of promotional materials;
  • Channels of advertising distribution (how information is delivered to the consumer);
  • The establishment of a relationship between the volume of the advertising budget and the profit of the enterprise received in the reporting period.
• Analysis of data for each branch:
  • Convenience of location;
  • Evaluation of the appearance of the establishment;
  • Functionality of the dining room;
  • The rational organization of workers and production facilities.
• The ratio of the loading of the enterprise to the total volume of profit:
  • Study of accounting information;
  • Breakdown of data for shorter reference periods for more detailed analysis;
  • Making timekeeping, which will establish the capacity of the institution per unit of time (the number of people, the average amount of the check, the range of products sold);
  • Evaluation of production capacities;
  • Compilation of an analytical table to bring the obtained data into a visual form.
• Drawing up a report, which will contain the following information:
  • An objective picture that describes attendance for each branch;
  • Analysis of the demand for each item in the assortment of the institution;
  • The definition of the busiest days and hours of work of the branches;
  • Proposals for improving the work are being developed for each of the food points;
  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of the current marketing system;
  • Conclusions regarding the functionality of the production and public premises of the institution.

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

• A plan for marketing activities aimed at eliminating errors and further developing the network of fast food establishments;
• A plan of measures aimed at increasing the permeability for each of the branches separately;
• A full report on inconsistencies with norms with recommendations for their self-elimination.

Site audit

With the development of scientific and technical progress, having a website on the Internet is an objective necessity for an organization aimed at success. Website audit is as important as the enterprise as a whole. Such activities are aimed at analyzing the resource for the purpose of identifying and correcting shortcomings, and also promoting it in search engines. For example, an audit of a web page 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.
• Learning content. The information presented on the site must have practical significance for 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 content of the site should contain keywords that correspond to popular searches of users in search engines. Nevertheless, the resource should not be overloaded with them.
• Meta tag checking. It is determined not only their availability, but also the content of the site.
• Analysis of HTML-code. It is fully tested for errors, as well as the logic for tagging. This is one of the most important steps in the way of site optimization.
• Server operation. Correctness of response to user requests.
• Site verification for compliance with regulatory requirements.

It is worth noting that the audit of the Internet resource is an objective necessity in modern market conditions. Based on its results, the main mistakes are identified, and an optimization plan is drawn up. Nevertheless, it is worth considering that this procedure is quite expensive.

Example of site audit

A rather complicated procedure is the marketing audit of the site. An example of the study can be given on the basis of the website of the construction company. This process includes the following stages:

• Analysis of entry points. These are the pages of the site that the user is accessing 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 are seldom.
• Failure analysis. For construction topics, this indicator should not exceed 40%. The main cause of failure is untargeted traffic or technical problems on the site.
• Overall impression of the design. It is better for a construction company 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 to the blocks of information. The site should be given only significant data, and any extra text is inadmissible.
• Analysis of content and usability should be done on a page-by-page basis. A common mistake of the main page is the placement of data in order to fill the free space. Information should be of an exclusively practical nature. In the section "About the company" there should be not only the presentation of the company, but also the documentation. It is recommended that in each article you place prominent links to the items in the service catalog.
• An essential point is the analysis of resource navigation. It must be logical and intellectually understandable. So, often the structure of the site confuses the user. It is not allowed to create partitions with similar names or with the same content. Also, it is inadmissible to place significant data in the second menu level, since users practically do not enter it.

Analyzing the experience of Internet auditors, we can highlight the following main recommendations that they develop for enterprise sites:

• Refusal from a complex and multilevel menu, which can confuse the consumer;
• The orientation of the main menu should be horizontal, which ensures the most rational use of the page space;
• On the main page it is recommended to place the most significant information (for example, some items in the product catalog, special offers);
• Do not include a link to the archive in the menu.

Regularly carrying out such a procedure as marketing audit is a prerequisite for the successful operation of the enterprise. This activity helps in time to identify shortcomings and adjust the strategy.