How to do a marketing audit for 2025

1. Boost Efficiency: You can cut out any wasteful spending and focus your budget on what really works.
2. Align Goals: It helps ensure your marketing activities are in line with your business goals.
3. Stay Competitive: You’ll get a clearer view of market trends and what your competitors are up to.
4. Measure ROI: You’ll gain insights into how much bang you’re getting for your buck.‍
5. Understand Customers: It gives you a chance to see how your customers feel about your brand and offerings.

1. Set Your Goals

First things first: what do you want to achieve with this audit? Are you looking to improve social media engagement or analyse a specific campaign? Make sure your goals are clear and measurable—think SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

Example: “I want to increase our Instagram followers by 25% in the next three months.”

2. Gather Your Data

Next, you’ll want to collect all the data related to your current marketing efforts. This includes:

• Website Analytics: Dive into Google Analytics and gather info on traffic, bounce rates, and user behaviour.
• Campaign Performance: Look at how your past campaigns have done. What were the click-through and conversion rates?
• Customer Feedback: Check out reviews, surveys, and social media comments to see what customers are saying.

Tools to Use: Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing platforms.

3. Review Your Marketing Goals

Now that you have the data, compare your performance against your marketing goals. Ask yourself:

• Are we hitting our targets?
• Which campaigns did well, and which didn’t?
• How are we performing on different channels?

4. Understand Your Audience

Take a closer look at who your customers are. Make sure your customer personas (the profiles of your ideal customers) are still relevant.

• Customer Journey: Map out the steps your customers take from discovering your brand to making a purchase. Are there any points where they drop off?

5. Check Out the Competition

You’re not the only player in the game! Do a little snooping to see what your competitors are doing. Look for:

• Their marketing strategies and campaigns.
• Their strengths and weaknesses.
• New tactics or platforms that they might be using that you haven’t explored yet.

Tools to Help: SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SpyFu.

6. Analyse Each Marketing Channel

Take stock of how each of your marketing channels is performing. Consider:

• SEO and Content Marketing: Are you ranking for relevant keywords? Is your content engaging your audience?
• Email Marketing: Check your open rates and click-through rates to see how effective your emails are.
• Social Media: Look at engagement levels—likes, shares, comments, and follower growth.
• Paid Advertising: Assess the ROI for your ads. Are you getting enough conversions for the money you’re spending?

Tip: Calculate how much it costs to acquire a lead or customer from each channel to compare performance.

7. Review Your Brand Messaging

Make sure your brand voice and messaging are consistent across all channels. Ask yourself:

• Does our messaging resonate with our audience?
• Are we clearly communicating our values and benefits?

8. Assess Your Marketing Tools

Check if the marketing tools you’re using are actually helping you. Consider:

• CRM Tools: Are they effective in managing customer relationships?
• Automation: Could you benefit from automating some tasks to save time?
• Analytics Tools: Are you using the best tools for analysing your data?

9. Look at Your Budget and ROI

Review your marketing budget to see where your money is going. Ask:

• Are we spending wisely across channels?
• What’s the return on investment for each marketing activity?

Tip: Focus on channels that bring in the best ROI and consider cutting back on those that aren’t performing.

10. Identify Gaps and Opportunities

Based on your findings, look for areas that need improvement or opportunities to explore:

• Content Gaps: Are there topics or formats you haven’t covered yet?
• New Channels: Could you tap into new social media platforms or marketing strategies?
• Process Improvements: Is there a way to streamline how you execute campaigns?

11. Create an Action Plan

Time to get things moving! Based on everything you’ve discovered, prioritise the changes you want to make. Draft a plan that outlines:

• What needs to be done.
• Who will do it.
• When it will be done by.

Also, set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track your progress.

12. Monitor and Adapt

Marketing isn’t static, and your audit doesn’t end once you’ve made changes. Keep an eye on your KPIs and be ready to adjust your strategies based on what’s working and what’s not.

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1. Keep it Objective: It’s easy to get attached to certain strategies, but try to be unbiased in your evaluation.
2. Involve Your Team: Get insights from team members across different departments. Collaboration is key!
3. Use Quality Data: Your audit will only be as good as the data you gather—make sure it’s accurate and up-to-date.‍
4. Set Aside Time: Auditing can take time, so carve out dedicated time for this task to ensure it’s thorough.

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Wrapping Up

A marketing audit may seem like a daunting task, but it’s a powerful way to refine your marketing strategies and ensure you’re on the right path. By following this guide, you’ll uncover valuable insights that can help you tweak your efforts for better results.