I thought it worthwhile to mention ‘marketing audits’. Everyone has heard of audits, right? Usually the ‘audit’ word is connected to ‘finance’ and is considering a boring nuisance, however a Marketing Audit – or Marketing MOT as I prefer to call it –  is an essential and vital cog in the business machine for both big and small companies on the basis that everything must be regularly assessed, modified and, if necessary, discarded.

Here’s why:

1: To recognise which marketing strategies are working and which aren’t?

2: To become more efficient and cost-effective with marketing activities.

3: To highlight potential marketing opportunities for growth.

4: To maintain a competitive edge over any rivals.

5: To create a more accurate target buyer profile.

6: To see which tools are needed to accomplish targets.

7: To evaluate short and long-term objectives.

8: To better understand the relationship with your customers, your marketing and your product or service.

Good reasons I think to give your marketing plan a thorough ‘MOT’ and recommend revisiting your plan every three months as a minimum … so you know what’s working, what’s not and what needs tweaking to get better results.