Whether you are in B2B or B2C, the thought of a no-holds-barred look at your brand’s marketing efforts is scary. Coming face to face with your company’s warts isn’t nice. So you’re tempted to move full steam ahead without pausing to take stock of how things stand.
But doing so will doom your company. You will lose forever all the priceless resources you’ve invested in your company and spark the ire of investors and stakeholders alike.
Scary thought, huh?
That’s why you should do a digital marketing audit sooner rather than later.
It allows you to stop for a moment, test your progress or lack thereof. You identify your brand’s strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and growth opportunities. You then course-correct and keep your business on track. You reduce the chances of failure and increase the odds of success.
What is a marketing audit, and when might you want to run one?
A marketing audit is a systematic, in-depth assessment of your company’s marketing strategies, systems, goals, and performance that considers both internal and external factors. A sound audit recommends a plan of action to uplift the company’s performance. Here are four scenarios in which you should run a marketing audit:- You want to launch a new business
- You want to introduce a new product
- You’ve bought an existing business
- You’re stuck, or things aren’t working