Methods of Conducting a Marketing Audit
Marketing audit is an examination of the marketing activities of company. It must be conducted by impartial persons.
Auditors must be properly qualified, trained and experienced enough to do the audit. They must have a complete knowledge and exposure of marketing.
Image below depicts the methods of conducting a marketing audit.
Following methods are used to conduct a marketing audit:
- Outside auditor : Company appoints an outside auditor to conduct a marketing audit.
- Task force audit : Company selects a team of its own senior executives to conduct a marketing audit.
- Self audit : In this method, marketing manager of a company conducts a marketing audit.
- Audit from above : Here, a senior executive of company (for example, a Director) is appointed to conduct a marketing audit.
Now let's discuss, “How is marketing audit conducted?”
1. Outside auditor
In this method, the company can appoint an outside auditor to conduct a marketing audit. An outside-auditor must be professional, a consultant or an agency.
Outside auditors conduct marketing audits for many companies. They have enough skills and experience. They are also more independent, impartial and objective oriented. They give good suggestions for improvement.
Therefore, it is better to use an outside auditor.
Auditor studies information and submits a report to the company. The company has to pay him fees for his services.
2. Task force audit
In ‘Task Force Audit’ method, the company appoints a team of its own executives for conducting a marketing audit. These executives are highly experienced. They conduct the marketing audit independently. They submit their report to the top level of management.
3. Self audit
In ‘Self Audit’ method, the company appoints the marketing manager to conduct a marketing audit. Here, the marketing manager has to conduct a marketing audit himself. This is called self-audit. He has to critically-examine the marketing performances. He has to find out the plus and minus points. Then he has to submit his report to top level of management.
Self audit must be conducted impartially by the marketing manager.
4. Audit from above
In ‘Audit From Above’ method, the company appoints a senior executive to conduct a marketing audit. This executive is mostly a director or a person who has complete knowledge about marketing. This is a type of internal audit.
It is always better to use an outside auditor for conducting a marketing audit. Internal methods have many limitations and hence must be avoided.