Marketing Plan
The Marketing Audit
The marketing audit has certain similarities to a financial audit in that it is a review or appraisal of your existing marketing activities. Carrying out the marketing audit provides the opportunity to review and appraise your whole marketing activity, enabling you to assess past and present performance as well as to provide the basis for evaluating possible future courses of action.
Because the business environment is constantly changing, the marketing audit should be used as a reference tool, with constant updates reflecting changes in the external environment and your own internal business experiences.
1. External Audit
External factors can be split broadly into three groups, the economic environment, the competitive environment and your own market environment. Consider these areas from your own business's point of view - will any changes have an impact on your business, will they affect your competitors, will they allow you to compete where you could not, or inhibit your ability to compete. If the answer is yes, then the factors should be included in the audit.
With the advent of the internet, there are now many sources of information on your competitors and your environment. You may also be surprised how much business information is available from your nearest city library. And remember, Company Reports are a good source of competitive information and can be found at www.companies-house.gov.uk.
1.1 The Economic Environment http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Political | Government actions, tax levels, privatisation, schools policy etc | http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Economic | Income levels, employment levels, rate of inflation, rate of economic growth | http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Social and Cultural | Demographics (population growth/distribution, age), lifestyles and cultural values (changing beliefs, skills, family
The marketing audit has certain similarities to a financial audit in that it is a review or appraisal of your existing marketing activities. Carrying out the marketing audit provides the opportunity to review and appraise your whole marketing activity, enabling you to assess past and present performance as well as to provide the basis for evaluating possible future courses of action.
Because the business environment is constantly changing, the marketing audit should be used as a reference tool, with constant updates reflecting changes in the external environment and your own internal business experiences.
1. External Audit
External factors can be split broadly into three groups, the economic environment, the competitive environment and your own market environment. Consider these areas from your own business's point of view - will any changes have an impact on your business, will they affect your competitors, will they allow you to compete where you could not, or inhibit your ability to compete. If the answer is yes, then the factors should be included in the audit.
With the advent of the internet, there are now many sources of information on your competitors and your environment. You may also be surprised how much business information is available from your nearest city library. And remember, Company Reports are a good source of competitive information and can be found at www.companies-house.gov.uk.
1.1 The Economic Environment http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Political | Government actions, tax levels, privatisation, schools policy etc | http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Economic | Income levels, employment levels, rate of inflation, rate of economic growth | http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/imgs/ts.gif | Social and Cultural | Demographics (population growth/distribution, age), lifestyles and cultural values (changing beliefs, skills, family