Marketing Audit Narrative Essay Example

audit," it must encompass an examination of the company's marketing environment, objectives, strategies, organization, and systems.

Additionally, a significant characteristic of a marketing audit is that it should be carried out by an independent party who is separate from the operation being evaluated. While self-audits are sometimes mentioned where managers follow checklists to ensure comprehensive coverage within their own operations; however, an independent evaluation is preferable. Although conducting a self-audit can still be considered beneficial for managers to take proactive steps towards improvement, it lacks objectivity and independence.

Lastly but importantly, a marketing audit needs to be systematic in its approach to effectively assess various aspects of the business's marketing function.A "Mascara" auditor refers to a marketing auditor who randomly interviews individuals both inside and outside the firm without following a specific method. Despite this, they may still provide valuable findings and recommendations. It is preferable for a marketing audit to be conducted periodically, although it is not an inherent requirement. Typically, evaluations of a company's marketing efforts are requested during times of declining sales, low morale among the sales force, or other internal issues.

In summary, a marketing audit can be defined as a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company's or business unit's marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities. The objective is to identify problem areas and opportunities while proposing an action plan to enhance the company's marketing performance. The process of conducting a marketing audit follows three steps as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Three-step procedure of marketing audit

The first step involves discussions between the company officer(s) and potential auditor regarding the nature of the marketing operations and the potential value of conducting

a marketing audit. If deemed beneficial by the company officer(s), they must collaborate with the auditor to determine the objectives, coverage, depth, data sources report format,and time period for conducting the audit.The text discusses the components of a full marketing audit and defines benchmarking. It states that a company may request a marketing organization audit or a marketing environment audit. The six major components of a full marketing audit are the marketing environment audit, marketing strategy audit, marketing organization audit, marketing systems audit, marketing productivity audit, and marketing function audit. The second step involves deploying various data collection methods to collect necessary data from both inside and outside the company. This collected data is then analyzed and used in the final report. The final step in the process is report preparation and presentation. A key principle in conducting marketing audits is to start by examining the marketplace and understanding any changes that could present problems or opportunities. Next, the auditor examines the company's marketing objectives, strategies, organization, and systems. Finally, they may focus on one or two key functions crucial to the company's marketing performance. However, some companies may choose to only request specific parts of the auditing process for initial results before committing to further work. For example, they may initially ask for a marketing environment audit and if satisfied with those findings, then request a marketing strategy audit.
Benchmarking is the systematic search for and implementation of best practices. It involves measuring products, services, and processes against strong competitors or industry leaders, as well as evaluating organizations that represent best practices for improvement. This approach supports the argument for using benchmarking to improve performance

in the civil engineering sector. Haines & Hosannas (1997) identified four types of benchmarking: internal (comparing a firm's internal operations), competitive (comparing with competitors), functional (comparing with similar functions in different businesses within the same broad industry or to industry leaders), and generic (comparing business processes that are very similar regardless of industry). Heavier and Gordon (2006) emphasized that benchmarking compares programs and strategic positions of competitors or exemplary organizations to those in the company reviewing its status, serving as reference points for forming organizational sections and objectives.Comparing the methods of an organization or company with those of a competitor or another organization can help identify best practices and improve performance. According to Northumberland research, three benchmarking methods have been developed: metric benchmarking, agnostic benchmarking, and process benchmarking. Process benchmarking involves comparing performance data from other organizations but does not provide guidance on how to improve. Diagnostic benchmarking examines an organization's practices and achievements to identify areas for improvement. In-depth comparisons between organizations in process benchmarking can lead to better results but require a code of conduct and can be costly. Future research should explore the use of marketing audits in the management processes of civil engineering companies.This investigation can continue within the framework provided in Figure 2. The utility of the future research basic framework in a variety of situations highlights the importance of recognizing problems and pitfalls that can arise during the marketing audit process, which can occur during objective-setting, data collection, or report presentation. The paper concludes that to develop a valuable research and analytical tool for assessing current performance in organizations, it is crucial to identify major outcomes for a marketing

audit template. To gain further insights on its utilization, operationalizing the concept and conducting qualitative studies are essential. This paper discusses various aspects of marketing audits and benchmarking as a result of contemplating the focus of the dissertation, which aims to analyze managers' perceptions regarding the importance of the marketing audit and its influence on company performance. The marketing audit plays a crucial role in evaluating companies or TTS business units' performance. Unlike other marketing exercises, it is comprehensive, independent, systematic, and periodic. A thorough marketing audit encompasses objectives, strategies, organization systems, and functions within the company or division's external environment.