We all know that marketing thrives under the pressure of results, and getting results, achieving and exceeding goals, and above all showing an increase in value for the client is paramount to being in the lucrative field.

But there is pressure in business and it must not be overwhelming, or your marketing results will be underwhelming.

Marketing Campaign Disconnect’s

If you are unsure if any or all of these conflicts exist, take a step back and ask yourself:

• Does the marketing team appear stressed out when dealing with the client, or in general?
• Is the ROI readily apparent? Does it meet or exceed expectations?
• Are the goals and expectations being met on time?
• Are there clear goals and expectations, a clear plan of action to achieve them, and clearly defined roles for those involved?
• How are the communications between the client and the firm? Between the marketing team itself? Between the firm’s team and their management or executives?
• Are the communications smooth? Are they cordial, are they conducted in a timely manner, and are they clear?
• Are your marketing results readily apparent? Are the costs of acquisition and the value of the marketing goal defined?
• Do you know if the use of time is being addressed properly?
• Do you know if marketing tasks are taking too long on the firm side or the client side?
• Are expectations for things to be done quickly on the mark or over-the-top or too lax?

Now step back again and ask yourself: how would each member of the marketing firm and each member of the client (that has the relationship with the marketers) answer these questions?

Do you think they would vary greatly? It is impossible to make everyone happy all the time, and no poll will yield the same positive results for all of these questions.

If you have an inkling of an idea that some of the people involved in the fantastic business-marketing relationship might have negative answers to some of the above questions, than there is room for improvement.

If not, you are probably doing very well and not in need of a marketing audit.

But if you sense any degree of disconnect, that is to say that any rifts, no matter how small, may be there to be improved upon, then the next step to success is allowing a third party from the outside, like CMO Sync, to conduct a Marketing Audit.

Two of the next reasons you want to consider a marketing audit are the systemic examination of marketing strategy being used and the productivity resulting from the firm, the client, and the strategy.

Oftentimes there is room for streamlining Strategy or Productivity platforms, or both.

• Marketing Audit Strategy Analysis: this has a direct impact on the firm’s marketing performance for the client
  
  • What is the business’ mission and how feasible is its achievement?
  • What are the marketing objectives and goals that are laid out and the specific methods, or marketing strategies, that are being used to reach these aims?
• Marketing Audit Productivity Analysis: these evaluations and relationships are pivotal to long-term success
  • Examining all costs, in real numbers when possible, allow for a comparison of the ROI and the COA, and ultimately the profitability and cost-effectiveness of the campaigns
    • How much room for improvement is there?
    • How much scalability is there?
  • The performance of staff involved in the marketing campaign, at every level of hierarchy, from sales to account managers to firm executives need to be evaluated
  • Those involved on the client side in the advertising endeavors should also be evaluated

There are two important factors that greatly influence every marketing campaign: the macro-environment and the micro-environment.

What are they, you ask?

The macro-environment is the sum of all of the things you cannot control, outside factors and forces, that affect the firm and the performance of the marketing campaign.

Audience demographics, such as your product’s age group (e.g. baby rattles are primarily being marketing to parents of babies), economic factors (e.g. the cost of gold fluctuating, when you use it in your product), environmental factors (e.g. storms shut down the farm), political motives (e.g. laws can change and affect your business and its marketing abilities), and cultural changes (e.g. trends in culture, such as hit films can make you look good or bad in the eyes of the public).

Again these are things that are out of your control and outside your firm, but you must keep them in mind when strategizing or they can negate your positive work.

The micro-environment consists of the firm’s components that directly affect the efficiency of the marketing platforms.

The firm must consider these factors a priority, as should someone conducting a marketing audit: the business’ market, their competitors, their customers, production facilities (if applicable), and any distributors or retailers (if applicable).

Internally, the systems that the firm relies on must also be examined, such as any information systems (e.g. company Intranets) and communication services, any planning systems, any control systems, and any product development systems that are involved in the ebb and flow of marketing activities surrounding the campaign.

If one of these vital cogs is worn out or broken, the entire machine can slow to a crawl or stop dead in its tracks.