Marketing Audit
Marketing audit can be easily identified as an essential part of an efficient marketing planning process.It is a very important process that is not only carried out at the begging but also at regular intervals during the actual marketing planning process. A marketing audit has a lot of influence upon the marketing planning process through the various external and internal factors.There are a number of tools and techniques that are used during a marketing audit.Some of the tools are:
SWOT Analysis: One of the most important tools of marketing audit is the SWOT or Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats analysis.This tool is of a lot of help to the marketers and is used at the beginning of the marketing audit process.The SWOT analysis comes along with a lot of advantages but it has some drawbacks as well.Some of the drawbacks of SWOT analysis are that it is very subjective and cannot be relied upon too much.Thus, it has always been recommended that the SWOT analysis be used as a guide in the marketing planning process and not as a prescription to the various problems.
PEST Analysis: This is the analysis of the various factors that have an effect upon the marketing process. The organization undergoing a marketing analysis should be taking into consideration all the environmental factors and give it a thorough analysis.These environmental factors may be internal or external. The internal factors compromise of the staff and queries related to them.The external would be the external customers and the various distributors connected to the concern and the political and economic factors are also taken into consideration.
Five Force Analysis: This is an analysis that enables the marketer to have a clear picture of the competition outside in the market.This type of analysis has some similarities with the PEST analysis and is different in the sense that it focuses its attention upon a single business or a single concern.In this analysis the marketer basically goes through five basic areas of concern.These areas can be classified as the areas of treat of entry, the suppliers power the power of the buyers and also the threats revealed by the competitors and the rivals.Some of the advantages associated with this analysis are that it leads to economies of large scale with the help of mass purchase and sales.The various distribution channels can also be easily accessed and also finds out if the cost of switching over to some other supplier is low or not.
Advantages of Marketing Audit: A marketing audit can be defined as a systematic, periodic and a comprehensive procedure of checking out the marketing activities of a concern.Some of the other benefits and advantages of marketing audit are:
The audit provides the marketers with an in depth view of the marketing activities that are going around in the concern. It brings out a complete picture of the entire operations of the concern.While revealing the various drawbacks the audit process also leads to efficiency. This process can also be used to lay down an improved marketing plan.
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