This refers to the periodic examination of the principles and foundations that govern a company and drive it towards achieving global market standards. These include examination of policies, objectives, activities, and marketing environment so as to trigger the development and improvement of existing plans. It is a tool used to evaluate a company’s marketing operations so as to establish the efficiency of marketing policies adopted and how effective the firm is in utilizing available opportunities and marketing resources. The marketing audit needs to be conventional and orderly so as to reveal the timely process required for the success of the company. The audit must be done regularly to create necessary solutions to problems hence avoiding surprise disasters that may paralyze the firm.
Marketing audit fully examines the company’s global progress and reviews the necessary adjustments in every area that concerns marketing. The crucial areas of examination include; production, setting of prices, organization of the distribution and communication channels as well as other programs. A global marketing audit should be conducted by an independent individual who has no link to the program under evaluation. This ensures that the objectives and independence are met. Before it is performed, the purpose, the scope, and the appropriate approach to be applied must be agreed upon. Then data is collected using appropriate methods, analyzed before preparation and presentation of the full report.