Responsory recently published “The Definitive Guide for a Marketing Audit,” a complimentary white paper written for marketing leaders. In it, you’ll find a wealth of who, what, where, when and how rationale behind conducting a thorough marketing audit every 12 to 18 months. Today, I’d like to share the why.
The five key benefits of a marketing audit:
1. REINTRODUCES YOU TO YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE
There is nothing more embarrassing than a customer calling up your call center and, in not so many words, telling you that you don’t know your product. Believe it or not, it’s happened. Account executives, product marketers, and even CMOs have fallen victim to the “just get through today”mentality and have forgotten what matters most: the product. During the audit process, you’ll take a fresh look at your product(s), how they solve your customers’ challenges, and what makes them different or better than your competitors’ solutions. This may lead to new ideas for messaging or creative or other changes in how you are marketing your products.
2. REMINDS YOU OF CAMPAIGN GOALS SO YOU CAN READJUST AND SUCCEED
Campaign goals can, and most likely will, change along the way. By looking back at your planning and goal development process you will get reacquainted with the original reason you got the project funding in the first place. If you don’t have measurable goals, the audit will help you set them.
3. ALLOWS YOU TO ASSESS WHAT’S WORKED, AND WHAT HASN’T
It doesn’t take much to realize that the best way to survive a crash is to avoid it altogether. A Marketing Audit gives you an opportunity to take a look at what you’ve done, how you’ve done it, and any positive (or negative) results that may have come of it. Assessing the path you’ve chosen to follow with your marketing budget will enable you to sense an error in direction and pivot to avoid the proverbial crash.
4. UNCOVERS INEFFICIENCIES
You know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach when you pull into your local gas station, fill up your car or truck, and drive a couple blocks down the road to find the next station offering gas 10 cents cheaper? That happens a lot in marketing – you think you’ve gone down the right path only to find that if you’d chosen Option A instead of Option B, you would have saved your organization thousands of dollars. The results you gather when looking at your current marketing strategy allow you to see where your dollars are going and search for ways you can make them go even further.
5. RECHARGES YOUR CAMPAIGN AND SPARKS NEW LIFE INTO STRATEGY AND DIRECTION
For us, there’s nothing more exciting than taking a client from planning to launch. Whether you’re unveiling a spiffy new website, broadcasting new creative, or trying your hand at a new technology, launch dates get the adrenaline pumping and instill a sense of focus. After looking at an aging campaign and identifying weaknesses, you can propose new ways to achieve your goals. New strategies and creative will bring renewed enthusiasm to your sales and marketing teams.
A marketing audit promises results that will help you spend your budget more wisely and earn better results and return on your marketing investments. Another upside – you’ll feel more confident than ever in your marketing decisions.
