Marketing audits help set your business up for success by giving your agency a better idea of where you stand and what needs to be done to get where you want to go. Any combination of an SEO, website, or social media audit can be a great place to start since those audits address core marketing infrastructure that every business needs, but they are by no means the only places where we can start. Here are three additional marketing audits to consider in certain situations:
Budget
Oftentimes, a company’s marketing budget and allocation may stay the same for years with little to no restructuring. Meanwhile, marketing tactics are changing and evolving by the day. An audit of your marketing budget can bridge the gap and identify opportunities that you may not even know exist. In a marketing audit, we look at:
- What you’re spending – Is your overall budget in line with what a business in your industry should expect to spend, and does your budget support your goals and expectations for marketing?
- Where you’re spending – What marketing services do you currently pay for and are they in proper proportion to your overall budget?
- What you’re getting for what you’re spending – Are your current marketing tactics performing—and if they’re not, is it due to lack of strategy, quality, consistency, or is that channel simply not the right fit for your business?
- How you might consider spending differently – With any market budget audit, Netwave will provide recommendations to use your budget more effectively. We might suggest cutting or reducing low-performing tactics, increasing tactics with untapped potential, and/or introducing new tactics altogether.
If you haven’t looked at your marketing budget for quite some time, or if you’re struggling to see the value in certain marketing channels, a budget audit might be the best starting point. It can also provide a non-biased look at your marketing strategy if you’ve been working with the same marketing company for years and aren’t receiving new ideas from them.
Branding
Your brand may seem more conceptual than your business finances and marketing budget, but it’s every bit as important. The biggest businesses in every industry all have strong brands that people recognize and trust. Fortunately, you don’t need to have a multi-million-dollar marketing budget to build a great brand—but you do need to have the willingness to explore the world of the intangible. A branding audit covers:
- Mission, vision, and values – These aren’t just statements; they’re guiding principles and the foundation for your messaging to customers.
- Positioning – Do you want to be perceived as premier or approachable? Local, regional, or global? Innovative or time-tested? You’ll enjoy the exercise of determining your brand positioning because it’s a direct reflection of your business positioning.
- Target audiences – Who are your ideal customers? What services do they need? Where do they live? What is their lifestyle? How do they prefer to communicate? Understanding your audience makes your brand more thoughtful and deliberate.
- Competitor analysis – In a competitor analysis, we’ll find businesses with better and worse branding than you—and everything in between. This helps us identify where and how your brand can stand out.
- Marketing materials – What marketing metrics and sales materials are you using to communicate with your current and prospective customers? We’ll review your website, sell sheets, email blasts, social media channels, direct mail, billboards, trade show materials, and essentially any marketing touch point, all through the lens of strengthening your brand across the board by making everything more cohesive.
If you haven’t been a big believer in branding to this point, that’s a sign that you could use a branding audit! And if you’re already onboard with or at least intrigued by the power of branding, you’ll get business value and takeaways from each step and the process as a whole.
Media
Paid media can do amazing things for your business, but only when it’s closely monitored and proactively managed. Otherwise, it stagnates. Our media department and marketing strategists can provide a full breakdown of the results you’re getting from your current media, with recommendations on how to realign your spend based on your business objectives. We’ll analyze:
- Current publications and channels – Are the places where you’re advertising right now the right ones to reach your audience? Are you seeing a return on your investment and, if not, would those dollars be better spent elsewhere?
- Frequency – What are the seasonal trends in your business and how can you align your advertising budget to capitalize on peak sales periods? Should you modify your ad schedule to free up budget and allocate it in new areas?
- Digital advertising – Are you using the latest targeting and technology to generate leads? If not, we can help you get started!
- Promotions – Netwave has ongoing relationships with media outlets that are always contacting us with their latest offers and availabilities.
- New publications –There’s a growing demand for local news at the town and even community level. Depending on your business, shifting some of your advertising budget to publications that distribute news to smaller, more regional audiences can provide cost savings and higher results simultaneously.
Any time you’re spending on advertising space in addition to marketing and creative services, it’s a good idea to take a closer look at that media spend to confirm that it’s worth the money.
Great Marketing Takes Time
Sometimes, that time includes a step back to eventually move forward in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. At Netwave, we treat our clients’ budgets like our own, with attention to the small details and perspective of the big picture. We’re always evaluating, reevaluating, and repositioning for the best return possible—because when our clients succeed, so do we. Contact us to discuss whether a budget, branding or media audit might be right for you.
