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Itisapparentthatamarketingauditcanbeacomplexprocess,buttheaimissimple:"itisonlytoidentifythoseexisting(externalandinternal)factorswhichwillhaveasignificantimpactonthefutureplansofthecompany."Itisclearthatthebasicmaterialtobeinputtothemarketingauditshouldbecomprehensive.Accordingly,thebestapproachistoaccumulatethismaterialcontinuously,asa

ndwhenitbecomesavailable;sincethisavoidstheotherwiseheavyworkloadinvolvedincollectingitaspartoftheregular,typicallyannual,planningprocessitself-whentimeisusuallyatapremium.Evenso,thefirsttaskofthisannualprocessshouldbetocheckthatthematerialheldinthecurrentfactsbookorfactsfilesactuallyiscomprehensiveandaccurate,andcanformasoundbasisforthemarketingaudititself.Thestructureofthefactsbookwillbedesignedtomatchthespecificneedsoftheorganization,butonesimpleformat-suggestedbyMalcolmMcDonald-maybeapplicableinmanycases.Thissplitsthematerialintothreegroups:Reviewofthemarketingenvironment.Astudyoftheorganization'smarkets,customers,competitorsandtheoveralleconomic,political,culturalandtechnicalenvironment;coveringdevelopingtrends,aswellasthecurrentsituation.

Reviewofthedetailedmarketingactivity.Astudyofthecompany'smarketingmix;intermsofthe7Ps-(seebelow)Reviewofthemarketingsystem.Astudyofthemarketingorganization,marketingresearchsystemsandthecurrentmarketingobjectivesandstrategies.Thelastoftheseistoofrequentlyignored.Themarketingsystemitselfneedstoberegularlyquestioned,becausethevalidityofthewholemarketingplanisreliantupontheaccuracyoftheinputfromthissystem,and`garbagein,garbageout'applieswithavengeance.Portfolioplanning.Inaddition,thecoordinatedplanningoftheindividualproductsandservicescancontributetowardsthebalancedportfolio.80:20rule.Toachievethemaximumimpact,themarketingplanmustbeclear,conciseandsimple.Itneedstoconcentrateonthe20percentofproductsorservices,andonthe20percentofcustomers,thatwillaccountfor80percentofthe

volumeand80percentoftheprofit.7Ps:Product,Place,PriceandPromotion,PhysicalEnvironment,People,Process.The7Pscansometimesdivertattentionfromthecustomer,buttheframeworktheyoffercanbeveryusefulinbuildingtheactionplans.Itisonlyatthisstage(ofdecidingthemarketingobjectives)thattheactivepartofthemarketingplanningprocessbegins.Thisnextstageinmarketingplanningisindeedthekeytothewholemarketingprocess.The"marketingobjectives"statejustwherethecompanyintendstobeatsomespecifictimeinthefuture.JamesQuinnsuccinctlydefinedobjectivesingeneralas:Goals(orobjectives)statewhatistobeachievedandwhenresultsaretobeaccomplished,buttheydonotstate"how"theresultsaretobeachieved.[3]Theytypicallyrelatetowha

tproducts(orservices)willbewhereinwhatmarkets(andmustberealisticallybasedoncustomerbehaviorinthosemarkets).Theyareessentiallyaboutthematchbetweenthose"products"and"markets."Objectivesforpricing,distribution,advertisingandsoonareatalowerlevel,andshouldnotbeconfusedwithmarketingobjectives.Theyarepartofthemarketingstrategyneededtoachievemarketingobjectives.Tobemosteffective,objectivesshouldbecapableofmeasurementandtherefore"quantifiable."Thismeasurementmaybeintermsofsalesvolume,moneyvalue,marketshare,percentagepenetrationofdistributionoutletsandsoon.Anexampleofsuchameasurablemarketingobjectivemightbe"toenterthemarketwithproductYandcapture10percentofthemarketbyvaluewithinoneyear."Asitisquantifieditcan,withinlimits,beunequivocallymonitored,andcorrectiveactiontakenasnecessary.Themarketingobjectivesmustusuallybebased,aboveall,ontheorganization's

financialobjectives;convertingthesefinancialmeasurementsintotherelatedmarketingmeasurements.Hewentontoexplainhisviewoftheroleof"policies,"withwhichstrategyismostoftenconfused:"Policiesarerulesorguidelinest

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hatexpressthe'limits'withinwhichactionshouldoccur."Simplifyingsomewhat,marketingstrategiescanbeseenasthemeans,or"gameplan,"bywhichmarketingobjectiveswillbeachievedand,intheframeworkthatwehavechosentouse,aregenerallyconcernedwiththe8P's.Examplesare:Price-TheamountofmoneyneededtobuyproductsProduct-TheactualproductPromotion(advertising)-Gettingtheproductknown

Placement-WheretheproductislocatedPeople-RepresentthebusinessPhysicalenvironment-Theambiance,mood,ortoneoftheenvironmentProcess-HowdopeopleobtainyourproductPackaging-Howtheproductwillbeprotected