The word ‘audit’ may strike fear in the hearts of taxpayers, but it shouldn’t scare marketers. Conducting an audit of your marketing department can be a fruitful exercise. Finance departments undergo annual reviews, but too few marketing departments bother to do the same, which means your entire business might not be running as efficiently as it can be. Quite a few companies often think audits are not necessary because their marketing departments and budgets are small. Even if you have only one marketing employee you can still benefit from an audit.
There are many different dimensions to audit, but a central dimension to audit is whether Marketing and Sales are aligned: a) Are your current funnel definitions and metrics in need of an update? b) What can Sales and Marketing do as a team to improve lead conversion? c) Are leads falling through the cracks at any point in the sales cycle? d) Does the sales team need improved sales enablement materials or processes from Marketing? e) What about competitive and customer research? f) What can be done to shorten sales cycles?
These questions are just a few examples of the many dimensions you should audit in order to create more vital marketing activities to better support sales. Marketing is the lifeblood of any company. An audit process ensures a company’s marketing arteries stay clear and the blood keeps pumping! (July 1, 2018)