MKTG716MarketingAuditWorksheetSummer2023v2

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School

University of South Carolina, Aiken *

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A716

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Marketing

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Overview of the Marketing Audit Project For this project (and all deliverables in the class) it is expected that students will submit their best work. Each assignment will only be graded once (there are no “do-overs”). While Dr. Steen will happily answer specific questions you have, entire assignments will not be “looked over” before submission since this essentially pre-grading the assignment. This course-long project will have students conduct a marketing audit for an organization/product/brand of their choice. The marketing audit will consist of a written report based on the template provided in the marketing audit worksheet below. There is a sample marketing audit posted on Blackboard. IMPORTANT: Please choose an organization/business that would benefit from the marketing audit and suggestions for improvement to their marketing plans. Due to the timeframe of the class, small (even micro) businesses work well. Many students choose to conduct the audit on a business owned by a close friend or family member. The company/product/brand needs to already exist. It is difficult (if not impossible) to conduct a marketing audit on a fictional (or even future) company/product/brand. There are three different assignments associated with the marketing audit: 1. Marketing Audit Topic Assignment: Each student will submit a paper describing their proposed topic for the marketing audit. This assignment should include the company background section (see sample Marketing audit) and address how the student will obtain access to the information needed to write the marketing audit. 2. Marketing Audit Situational Analysis & SWOT Assignment: Each student will submit the Situation Analysis and SWOT Analysis (including the SWOT Matrix) section of their marketing audit. See the sample marketing audit and the outline posted below. NOTE: The maximum length for this section of the audit (not including cover page, company background, etc. is five single spaced pages). 3. Final Marketing Audit: Each student will submit a complete marketing audit based on the outline below (also see the Sample Marketing Audit on Blackboard). This audit should include an executive summary and table of contents. NOTE: The maximum length of the final marketing audit is ten single spaced pages (this does not include the title page, table of contents, or reference page, if needed). Keep in mind that in most business settings, information that is both thorough yet concise/succinct is expected. All written assignments should be neatly typed, well organized, visually appealing, legible, and free of all errors in grammar and spelling. Each of the three assignments are to be submitted on Blackboard by 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time on the respective due dates. Assignments submitted late will receive a 10% point penalty per day. 1

Marketing Audit Worksheet This worksheet will assist you in writing a formal marketing audit. Worksheets are a useful planning tool because they help to ensure that important information is not omitted from the marketing audit. Answering the questions on these worksheets will enable you to: 1. Organize and structure the data and information you collect during the situation analysis. 2. Use this information to better understand a firm's strengths and weaknesses, and to recognize the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketing environment. 3. Analyze current marketing strategies/tactics being used. 4. Make recommendations that will enhance marketing for the organization/product/brand. In completing the situation analysis section, be sure to be as comprehensive as possible. However, there may be sections that do not apply to the chosen organization/product/brand. The viability of your SWOT analysis depends on how well you have identified all of the relevant environmental issues. Likewise, as you complete the SWOT analysis, you should be honest about the firm's characteristics. Do not depend on strengths that the firm really does not possess. Honesty is also important for your listing of weaknesses. Remember to label (Figure 1: SWOT Matrix) and refer to your SWOT matrix within your paper (e.g. As shown in Figure 1, .... ). I. Situation Analysis (NOTE: The situational analysis section of the marketing audit is basically a report on the current state of the external and internal environment.) A. The External Environment (see sample audit) NOTE: Be sure to write this section from an EXTERNAL point of view. These factors apply to all firms in an industry. Political, legal, and ethical Identify any political activities affecting the industry with respect to changes in elected officials (domestic or foreign), potential regulations favored by elected officials, industry (lobbying) groups or political action committees, and consumer advocacy groups. What are the current and potential hot button political or policy issues at the national, regional, or local level that may affect the industry? Identify any changes in international, federal, state, or local laws and regulations affecting the industry’s marketing activities with respect to recent court decisions, recent rulings of federal, state, or local government entities, recent decisions by regulatory and self-regulatory agencies, and changes in global trade agreements or trade law. Identify the ethical and social responsibility issues that the industry faces. How are these issues expected to change in the future? 2

Sociocultural With respect to the firm’s target customers, identify changes in society's demographics, values, and lifestyles that affect the industry. Technological How have recent technological advances affected the firm's customers with respect to needs/wants/preferences, access to information, the timing and location of purchase decisions, the ability to compare competing product offerings, or the ability to conduct transactions more effectively and efficiently? Have customers embraced or rejected these technological advances? How is this issue related to customers’ concerns over privacy and security? How have recent technological advances affected the industry with respect to manufacturing, process efficiency, distribution, supply chain effectiveness, promotion, cost-reduction, or customer relationship management? What future technologies offer important opportunities for the firm? Identify any future technologies that may threaten the firm's viability or its marketing efforts. Economic Identify the general economic conditions of the country, region, state, or local area where the firm’s target customers are located. How are these economic conditions related to customers’ ability to purchase the firm’s products? Describe the economics of the industry within which the firm operates. These issues might include the cost of raw materials, patents, merger/acquisition trends, sales trends, supply/demand issues, marketing challenges, and industry growth/decline. B. The Competitive Environment (see sample plan) Threat of New Entrants How strong are entry barriers based on capital requirements or other factors? Rivalry among Existing Firms Identify the firm’s major competitors. How much direct competition is there? How much indirect competition? How strong are the firms in both categories with respect to size, growth, profitability, target markets, products, and marketing capabilities (production, distribution, promotion, pricing)? What other major strengths and weaknesses do these competitors possess? Threat of Substitute Products What substitutes exist for the products/services the company produces? How much of a threat do these substitutes possess? 3

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Buying Power of Buyers To what degree can customers affect prices or product offerings? Bargaining Power of Suppliers To what degree can suppliers affect prices or quality? Analysis of Key Competitors Who are the key competitors (most organizations have 2-3 key competitors)? How much does the competition charge for similar offerings? How do the competitors’ offerings compare in terms of quality? What new offerings have the key competitors launched recently? What do the key competitors offer that your organization does not? How do the key competitors’ social platforms compare to your organization’s social platforms? Discuss significant marketing activities (including promotions) that the key competitors have used recently? C. The Internal Environment (see sample plan) Review of firm structure and systems To what degree does the present organizational structure facilitate or impede successful market-driven strategic planning? Are the firm’s internal systems set up and properly aligned to effectively serve customers? Review of firm culture In terms of marketing strategy development and implementation, describe the positive and negative aspects of the current and anticipated culture of the firm. Examples could include: The firm's overall customer orientation (or lack thereof) The firm's emphasis on short-term versus long-term planning Willingness of the firm's culture to embrace change Internal politics and power struggles The overall position and importance of the marketing function Changes in key executive positions General employee satisfaction and morale Review of firm leadership Does the firm leadership believe in and continuously support the structure, systems, and culture necessary for market-driven strategic planning? 4

Review of firm resources Describe the current state of the firm's organizational resources (e.g., marketing, financial, R&D, technological, operations, production, human, and information system). How are the levels of these resources likely to change in the future? If resource levels are expected to change, how can the firm leverage additional resources to meet customer needs better than competitors? If additional resources are not available, how can the firm compensate for future resource constraints (lack of resources)? II. SWOT Analysis (see sample audit) A. Strengths (generally listed in order of decreasing importance; i.e. biggest strength first) Strength 1: _________________________________________________________ Strength 2: _________________________________________________________ (Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of strengths—most plans have three to five strengths) How do these strengths enable the firm to meet customers' needs? How do these strengths differentiate the firm from its competitors? B. Weaknesses (generally listed in order of decreasing importance; i.e. biggest weakness first) Weakness 1: ________________________________________________________ Weakness 2: ________________________________________________________ (Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of weaknesses—most plans have three to five) How do these weaknesses prevent the firm from meeting customers' needs? How do these weaknesses negatively differentiate the firm from its competitors? C. Opportunities (generally listed in order of decreasing importance; i.e. biggest opportunity first) NOTE: Many students make the mistake of listing strategic options versus opportunities here. Remember that an opportunity comes from the external environment (and is/can be positive). Opportunity 1: _______________________________________________________ Opportunity 2: _______________________________________________________ (Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of opportunities—most plans have three to five) 5

How are these opportunities related to serving customers' needs? What is the time horizon of each opportunity? D. Threats (generally listed in order of decreasing importance; i.e. biggest threat first) Threat 1: ___________________________________________________________ Threat 2: ___________________________________________________________ (Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of threats—most plans have three to five threats) How are these threats related to serving customers' needs? What is the time horizon? E. The SWOT Matrix (List three to five of each) Strengths : • • • • Opportunities : • • • • Weaknesses : • • • • Threats : • • • • III. Target Markets Describe the organization’s current target markets using terminology learned in this course. See chapter 7. There are at least seventeen different segmentation variables discussed in your text such as density of population, income, benefits sought, etc. Which target marketing approach (undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated) is the organization currently using? Explain your answer. How is the organization currently positioned? What sources of differentiation does the organization currently use? 6

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IV. Products and Branding Describe the products offered by the organization. Be sure to describe the organization’s product line and product mix. Are the items sold by the organization goods, services or ideas (or some combination)? Explain your answer. What types of products (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought) are sold by the organization? Explain your answer. At what stage of the product life cycle is the organization/brand/product? Explain your answer. Discuss any new product development process used by the organization. Describe the company’s brand identity. Describe the brand equity of the organization? Discuss any other branding decisions (chapter 9) that are relevant. Describe any packaging or labeling used by the organization. Describe any warranties offered by the organization. Does the company have any intellectual property (i.e. patents, trademarks, copyrights). Explain your answer. What does the organization’s name communicate to the public? Is the brand consistent across all platforms (i.e. social media, website, storefront)? V. Pricing Which pricing objectives/strategies are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. Which pricing tactics are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. NOTE: Most organizations use multiple pricing tactics. Discuss any discounts or allowances employed by the organization using terminology from this course. VI. Distribution Define and describe the value network in which the organization operates. Describe the channel configuration and intermediaries in the channel. What physical distribution functions are accomplished in-house? What physical distribution functions are outsourced? If e-channels are used explain how they are used. What level of distribution intensity is used. Explain your answer. 7

VII. Promotion What approaches to digital/social media/interactive marketing are currently being used by the organization. Explain your answer using terminology from this course. If internal marketing is being used by the organization explain how it is being used. What approaches to advertising are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. Note: The answer to this question should address the types of advertising used, types of advertising execution used, and types of media used. What types of sales promotion are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. What types of public relations are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. What types of personal selling are currently being used by the organization? Explain your answer using terminology from this course. VIII. Suggestions for Improvement Based on what you have learned in the course, offer recommendations for improvement in regard to the organization’s target market, product/branding strategy, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, and promotion strategy. Be as specific as possible. 8

MKTG716MarketingAuditWorksheetSummer2023v2

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