What is a Marketing Audit? What are the problems involved in carrying one out? How does it differ from a financial audit? What models are used in the audit?

Résumé du document

In a number of ways, the market auditing process is the starting point for the strategic marketing planning process. In fact, it is through the audit that the strategist arrives at measures catering to both the environmental opportunities and the marketing capabilities. Further, the organization's threats are assessed. This will give rise to a deduction on the treatment of threats and the modes and means of using the advantages and opportunities to the fullest. In other words contributing towards the company's overall revenue and growth structure. The thinking that forms the basis of the concept of the marketing audit is that the corporate objectives and strategies can only be developed effectively when a detailed and objective understanding of both the corporate capabilities and its environmental opportunities and threats are pursued. Mc Donald (1984) has coined a statement with respect to audit as, ?The means by which a company can identify its own strengths and weaknesses as they relate to external opportunities and threats. It is thus a way of helping management to select a position in that environment based on known factors.' The definition of audit has also been proposed by Kotler (1999). Philip Kotler has phrased marketing audit as ?a comprehensive, independent, and periodic examination of a business unit's marketing environment, its objectives, strategies and activities with a view of identifying problematic areas. In addition to identifying problems, an audit will create opportunities and recommend a suitable plan of action to improve the company's performance.

Extraits

[...] What are the problems involved in carrying one out? How does it differ from a financial audit? What models are used in the audit? Table of contents Introduction 3 The structure and focus of the marketing audit 4 The stages of the audit 5 The role of the SWOT analysis 5 The characteristics of an effective audit 6 Components of the audit 8 Example : The Copernicus Auditing process 9 What are the problems involved in carrying a marketing audits? [...]

[...] (1998) International Marketing, 3rd Edition. Bath Press. Kerin A. & Peterson R. (2000) Strategic Marketing Problems, 9th edition, Person education. White C. (2004) Strategic Management, Palgrave Macmillan. Terpstra V. & Sarathy R. (1997) International Marketing, 6th edition. [...]

[...] The principal stakeholders of a company are typically its shareholders, but other parties such as tax authorities, banks, suppliers, customers and employees may also have an interest in ensuring that the financial statements are accurate. The audit is designed to reduce the possibility of a material misstatement. A misstatement is defined as false or missing information, whether caused by fraud (including deliberate misstatement) or error. The Stages of a financial audit A financial audit is performed before the release of the financial statements (typically on an annual basis), and will overlap the 'year-end' (the date which the financial statements relates to). [...]

[...] For example, a company's new product success rate can fall into five classes: critical success), troubling average pleasing and amazing and more). The auditor, after examining the available evidence, assigns a company performance class and score for each of the 21 activities. Determining which of the 21 activities are of high importance, medium importance, and low importance is a more judgmental process worked out between the auditor and the management. The decision will influence the order in which various marketing activities are scheduled for improvement. What are the problems involved in carrying a marketing audits? [...]

[...] Thus, for example, low prices may be seen as strength if the company is pricing well below its nearest competitor in a price sensitive market. Low prices may, however, be a weakness if the company has been forced into them by a price war and cannot really sustain them, or if the market is less price sensitive and its price is associated with inferior quality when compared with higher-priced competitors in the minds of the target price. Opportunities and threats tend to focus on the present and the future, talking a more outward-looking, strategic view of likely developments and options. [...]