Why Every Brand Strategy Begins With a Marketing Audit

need a marketing audit

Written by: Jimmy Newson

Jimmy Newson is the founder and CEO of Moving Forward Small Business, a membership-based digital publishing company on a mission to save a million small businesses from failure by 2050. He presents workshops and training regularly with Start Small Think Big, NY Public Library, SCORE, Digital Marketing World Forum, DC Start-Up Week, and international SaaS companies.

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July 21, 2020

In today’s competitive market, you’ll do whatever it takes to get your organization ahead of the game. In order to stand out ahead of potential competitors, though, your business needs a reputable brand identity. 

There are a lot of ins and outs to navigate when establishing a brand identity for a business. To start, it can be in your best interest to run a thorough marketing audit of your organization’s promotional materials. Then, you can start to develop a more strategic brand design. 

After all, even experts recognize the value of building a brand. Don’t let your market competitors outshine your business’s products or services in your local area. 

To ensure your brand personality is targeted to your ideal consumers, you’ll need a proper marketing audit. Keep reading to learn the further benefits an in-depth audit can bring to your business. Your profit margins will be grateful you did.

Refocus Marketing Strategies on Company Goals

As a responsible business owner, you’ve established clear goals and a mission. You want your business operations to reflect those company goals on every level. That includes, of course, keeping your marketing strategies in line with those goals. 

That’s where a proper marketing audit can be of such benefit for your business. Check-in on company resources to ensure the business makes the most of its investments. At the end of the day, your top priority is always going to be the company’s bottom line. 

For instance, you might find that certain marketing efforts are unsuccessful. The goal is to convert potential consumers into loyal ones, right?

Certain digital marketing content might get little to no online user engagement. In such a case, it’s up to you to re-evaluate the content and either improve or get rid of it. 

Your organization needs to use only those marketing strategies successful in generating engagement. Otherwise, it’s time to re-think your marketing campaign and branding strategy altogether. 

Not All Marketing Tactics Will be Successful 

Recognize how important it is to note unsuccessful marketing strategies. As mentioned above, you want to do your best to avoid wasting company resources. 

As an example, consider some of your social media marketing content. Is it unsuccessful in generating positive interactions with followers? Your social media followers might not appreciate the photos and captions you’re posting. 

With a proper marketing audit, you’ll be able to determine exactly why such a thing could be. Your social media content might be more successful if posted at a different time of the day or week. Maybe, though, your branded personality isn’t shining enough. 

Remember, social media followers, appreciate genuine content – not sales tactics. Avoid using social media as a chance to post standard updates about your business.

Instead, use social media as an opportunity to connect with your target consumers. Make the effort to hear their needs and problems. Answer any questions they pose online about your products or services.

Doing so is your best chance for developing long-term consumer loyalty. That consumer loyalty, in the long run, is going to be an invaluable asset for your business. Your profit margins are sure to benefit. 

Stay in Tune with Your Target Consumer Audience

Speaking of your target consumers, a marketing audit can help ensure your branded personality is on point. For example, does it make more sense for the tone of voice in your marketing materials to be more traditional and nostalgic? Rather, would it suit your business’s brand to remain witty and lighthearted?

Taking the time to answer these kinds of questions can help your marketing team reach your target audience. The end goal here is to be able to recognize your consumers’ inner values and, therefore, likely buying habits.

Your business’s brand should reflect that target audience on every single level. After all, there’s even a proven science behind the psychology of colors used in marketing materials. These strategic decisions should be incorporated into everything from your logo design to your blog development. 

Make sure you stay in tune with your target consumer audience with a regular marketing audit. That way, you and your marketing team can continually stay ahead of any potential market competitors in your area. 

Be Willing to Research Your Market Competition

In fact, it can be of particular benefit to consider your market competition. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should seek to copy their marketing efforts.

Rather, you should use their successful branding strategies as inspiration. Then, think about how you could make your own versions of those strategies. 

This is another important reason it’s essential to network with local business leaders. Be willing to attend local networking events, for instance. Doing so is a great way to further your brand’s recognition in your local community.

Plus, it’s a chance to get to know your potential market competition, too. Learning what makes your business’s brand unique will help your marketing. Establish long-term success with these techniques.

Save Your Business Time and Money in the Long Run

If your company is trying to prioritize the beneficial use of company resources, a marketing audit is crucial. Otherwise, who knows how much money and capital could be wasted on marketing resources that provide no profitable return?

The thing is, it’s all too easy to overspend on digital marketing avenues. It’s important to, instead, allocate your business’s marketing budget to be as effective as possible. 

Consider the following statistic regarding digital advertising agencies throughout the United States. It states that in the single year 2019, the industry made $17 billion in revenue.

In other words, you’re not alone in placing a high value on digital marketing for your organization. If you want to stay ahead of competitors, though, you’ll ensure your digital resources are optimized at all times. That requires a marketing audit to ensure your technologies are up-to-date.

It’s Essential to Optimize Inbound Sales for Your Business’s Profits

One way a marketing audit can be of particular benefit is for your business’s inbound sales. If your company sells its products or services online, digital marketing is vital. For more details, check out this article on the basics of inbound marketing and how it benefits your business. 

There’s a reason that software solutions like Google Analytics exist. Instead of trying to navigating analytics data on your own, leave it to professionals.

These marketing experts will guide your business with a ton of previous experience. Plus, they can help plan for more effective marketing strategies in the future. 

Keep Your Branding Strategy Consistent Across All Platforms

Another key reason a marketing strategy can help your business’s brand is by maintaining consistency. It’s no secret that there are a variety of promotional platforms your business can use for marketing. 

Not only can you take advantage of the ever-expanding digital connectivity of today’s online marketplace. In addition, you can invest in branded promotional products such as hats or clothing with your company’s logo on them. For another example, check out this guide to making a promotional video for your business. 

No matter what marketing avenues you choose, though, your branding strategy needs to remain consistent. Do so with a marketing audit to ensure that the personality of your business’s brand is optimizing its chance of recognition by consumers. 

A Qualified Third-Party Marketing Audit Can Be More Effective

The last benefit of hiring a marketing firm for an audit is for an outside perspective. It can get be beneficial to get the qualified opinion of an outsourced perspective. 

It’s essential to ensure your employees are well-trained in the latest marketing technologies. A third-party marketing audit can help upgrade your business in this regard, too. Their outside perspective can even help improve internal communication for your employees. 

After all, a significant part of effective marketing involves project management. For that, you need the most updated and efficient marketing automation software. Keep every employee involved on the same page.

As a result, project management can be even more seamless. Increasing productivity in the workplace, of course, increases profits. It’s up to you, though, to ensure your employees keep up with the marketing industry’s latest trends. 

Hire Experts to Run a Proper Marketing Audit on Your Behalf

At this point in the article, you have a thorough understanding of why a marketing audit can help your business’s branding strategy. If you want to invest company resources into the most effective marketing avenues, an audit is essential. That’s why you’ll take the above suggestions seriously. 

Still, it’s another challenge altogether to make the most of the data generated by a thorough marketing audit. It’s worthwhile to hire marketing experts on your behalf to assist you. In fact, that’s where we can come into play. 

We prioritize bringing clients like you the most reliable marketing consultation and guidance on the market. For that reason, we encourage you to browse through the rest of our website today. 

On our blog, you’ll find the latest and greatest trends in the world of online marketing and branding strategies. To start, check out more details about how a marketing consultation could benefit your organization today. 

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