Whether operating in online or off line environments, whether using twitter or direct mail, every company should be regularly auditing its marketing and communications to ensure they’re performing and delivering the messages they’re intended to.
Below is a whistle-stop tour of my favoured 10 actions to review an organisation's marketing activity:

1: Review corporate objectives

What does the company want to achieve, in what time scales? It sounds simple, but it’s worrying how many brochures, Press Releases and emails I’ve seen which have lost track of the basic question.

2: Review internal perceptions of the company

Talk to internal stakeholders at all levels – from the senior management team to client account managers / shop staff to gauge their understanding of what the company is, stands for and does, what makes it stand out from the crowd?

3: Review external perceptions of the company

How do your key customers, suppliers and project partners see you? What do your peers see as your main strengths and weaknesses – it’s always worth asking the question as you can be guaranteed a few surprises!

4: Listen to the results

If your staff can’t agree on what your company stand for, it’s time to invest in some internal communications (and not just the top-down sort!).  And if your customers expect something different of you than what you thought your company was all about, it’s time to talk to them to. Do you impose your view on them, and try harder to convince them, or recognise their needs and adapt your company to suit?

5: Review existing marketing materials and channels

Take a look at the types of media you’re using – are sales letters and brochures still the best approach for your customer base?  Is social media really the right approach to reaching your existing or future customers?  Are the messages being sent out cohesive and in line with corporate objectives. I hate to ask – but do they comply with brand guidelines (I’m assuming you have some) or has someone just arbitrarily slapped a logo on a brochure and fired it out the door?
Is the tone of voice in keeping with the corporate ethos? If the 20yr old assistant in charge of twitter if his / her chirpy, trendy tone is at odds with a more conservative corporate outlook it’ll confuse your marketing, not revolutionise them.

6:  Review your contact points

If you’re dependent on just a few clients for most of your revenue / sales, chances are they’ll be managed by one, or 2 key account managers.  Ensure your managers share information on clients and feedback into the company and marketing – being close to existing customers can provide valuable insights into what potential customers need. If your company has different departments servicing different parts of the same client – make sure they share information and communicate cohesive messages – and ensure they have a planned approach to client review meetings. It will avoid confusion for all parties and can lead to new business opportunities you wouldn’t otherwise have been aware of.

7: Check your data

Is all your data stored in a central place and accessible by all who need it? Or do all your account managers keep their contacts on their laptops and blackberries?  Is it kept up to date, or do some of those contacts date back years?  A lax approach to data can easily result in lost sales, inefficient marketing efforts and land you in trouble with the information commissioner if you’re deemed in breach of the Data Protection Act.

8: Define responsibilities

For a growing business, it’s tempting for the founders and directors to want to control all aspects of the business – hey, they’ve done a pretty good job to date, right? Wrong. If you’re confident you’ve hired good marketing staff (or a good agency) empower them to do their jobs – it’s not cost effective for directors to do and frankly, marketers tend to be better at marketing…

9: Plan

Be honest, do you know what your marketing activity looks like 6 months from now? How about next month? Next week?  There are plenty of organisations out there which don’t. They’re the ones struggling to understand why their efforts are having no effect on their sales targets and worrying about letting people go. Having a consistent, regular message, - with a point – is key to building brand awareness amongst new customers and instilling loyalty in existing ones.

10: Measure, repeat, measure, repeat!

 Marketing and marketing measurement is an ongoing process – you might fix some of your problems doing the above, but don’t rest on your laurels – you’ll soon find yourself behind the pack again.  Consistently monitor your marketing outputs, and returns against objectives, and make changes accordingly.

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