Abstract
The use of marketing audits is regarded as an integral part of the strategic marketing management process. The marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company's marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the company's marketing performance. This article reports the results of a study of marketing-audit practices in listed South African companies. More than half the respondents do not use the marketing audit and their reasons for not doing this are regarded as being indicative of a lack of strategic orientation. Independent auditors are used by the majority of companies utilizing the marketing audit, and objectivity and expertise are given as the main reasons for this. Those companies using the marketing audit generally regard it as important and as an integral tool of strategic marketing management. The conclusion is drawn that if the results of this study are indicative of the South African situation, the marketing audit has not been accorded its rightful place in business.
Highlights
IntroductionAt some time, undertake an in-depth review of its overall marketing effectiveness
Every company must, at some time, undertake an in-depth review of its overall marketing effectiveness
This paper reports the results of a study conducted on South African companies in an effort to gauge the current status of the marketing audit
Summary
At some time, undertake an in-depth review of its overall marketing effectiveness. The fact that it is the area of the firm which is in constant direct contact with an everchanging, dynamic market means that marketing is continually confronted with the possibility of rapid obsolescence of objectives, policies, strategies, and programmes. In many instances marketing effectiveness is not necessarily elucidated by current marketing results. Results may be due to the company being in the right place at the right time, rather than having effective marketing management - with effecti\'e management good results may have been eKcellent. As Philip Kotler has it: 'Each company should periodically reassess it's overall approach to the market place' (Kotler, 1984:761). In most instances the problem seems to be that management is so oriented towards its activities that it is not always able to ascertain whether these activities are being performed effectively or not
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