What is a marketing audit? Explain the four characteristics of a marketing audit.
A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company's or business unit's marketing environment, 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. A marketing audit should be:
• comprehensive — it covers all the major marketing activities of a business
• systematic — it is an orderly examination of the organization's macro- and micromarketing environments, marketing objectives and strategies, marketing systems, and specific activities
• independent — outside consultants bring the necessary objectivity, broad experience in a number of industries, familiarity with the industry being audited, and undivided time and attention
• periodic — firms typically initiate marketing audits only after failing to review their marketing operations during good times, with resulting problems. A periodic marketing audit can benefit companies in good health as well as those in trouble