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There is not a one size fits all solution when it comes to marketing and the tools your business uses. The tactics and vehicles used for one business or industry may not be suitable for another. This audit is intended as a checklist so you can identify areas that might need more focus and tools that might help grow sales. This will help you to allocate resources and spending for your 2019 budget so you can build a stronger results based plan.

Mark each item with a tick, cross or NA so you can see which items you need to address.

BACKGROUND

  • I can easily provide an overview of what our company does.
  • We have a mission statement and it is clearly understood by staff and customers.
  • We have identified our core values and they are clearly understood by staff and customers.
  • Our USP and points of difference are identified and they are clearly understood by staff and customers.
  • Our visions and goals are clear to the company’s management team.
  • We have an existing marketing plan in place for my business, and it is current.
  • Our marketing plan includes an annual marketing outline calendar with key implementation actions/dates defined.

 

BRAND

  • Our company has one strong key brand message/tagline with a clear meaning.
  • I feel our branding portrays consistency across all collateral both online and offline.

 

MARKET RESEARCH

  • We know who our target market is and have got a full written description of this market.
  • We’ve narrowed down who in our target market is our most likely customer, ie. age, sex, income level.
  • We’ve estimated the number of customers in our target market who could potentially buy from us.
  • We know who our closest 3 competitors are, what services they offer and what their prices are.
  • We’ve done a price comparison between our business and our closest competitors and have made notes on why someone would choose us over them and also why someone might choose them over us.
  • We have completed a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Analysis to understand our concerns and also what we’re proud of.
  • We subscribe to a newsletter for our industry to keep up to date with what is current and relevant.

 

MARKETING METHODS YOU CURRENTLY USE OR COULD START TO USE

Website:

  • We have a keyword list for our business and check it regularly to keep it update.
  • The information on our site is current and is updated regularly.
  • Our website collects visitor information through a newsletter or sign-up offer.
  • We have an auto-responder email message that is sent out when someone subscribes.
  • Our phone number and address is listed on the home page and is easy to find.
  • We have a contact form on our site with a map (Google Map?) or written directions (if appropriate).
  • We use a tracking phone number on our website to determine what calls are coming from it.
  • We use a website statistics tool (Google Analytics?) to understand where visitors are coming from, from what search, what pages they read and how long they visit etc.
  • Pay per client ads such as Google Adwords.
  • Search Engine Optimisation – for high search engine ranking for our main keywords.
  • Our website answers the following questions for visitors who may not be familiar with us.
  • A About Us page or something that informs about the company’s history.
  • Services and products we offer easy to see on the homepage.
  • Different pages on the site for the different services and products we offer.
  • Enough information to answer customer questions.
  • Informational articles on our area of expertise.
  • Client testimonials that include a picture and name.
  • Good photos of our products and services.
  • Price list of our products and services if applicable.
  • Photos of our team.
  • Strong call for actions.
  • Is easy to view and use across mobile devices.
  • Contains a click to call button.

Blogs:

  • We have a blog on our website or our website is a blog.
  • We have a separate blog such as Blogger or WordPress.

Social Marketing – Check off which of these your business currently has:

  • Facebook page.
  • Messenger.
  • Twitter account.
  • LinkedIn account.
  • Snap Chat.
  • Google account.
  • Pinterest.
  • Instagram.
  • YouTube account.
  • Our business is using these social marketing tools competently.
  • Our business needs help learning how to use these social marketing tools.

Email:

  • We have a system in place to collect email addresses for clients and potential clients.
  • We produce a regular email newsletter for our customers.

Directories – Are you using online directories to market your business:

  • Google My Business.
  • Other related to your industry.
  • Other related to where your target markets might be.

Other promotion – What other advertising methods do you use or could benefit you?

  • Referral program for existing customers.
  • Presentations.
  • Sales tools.
  • Print media.
  • Professional photos of our team and products and services.
  • Affiliate program for related business referrals.
  • Direct mail (to your own or rented database).
  • Radio ads.
  • TV ads.
  • Newspapers and Magazines.
  • Physical networking groups.
  • Outdoor (billboards, bus backs, etc).
  • Sponsorship.
  • Hosting events.
  • Exhibiting at expos.
  • (If physical location is important) Our business has a sign that is easily visible from the street.
  • Our vehicles are sign-written.

Press Releases:

  • Our business uses press releases to make announcements.

 

BUDGET

  • We know our basic financial information off hand – average sale value, cost of overheads %, profit, required % and target sales.
  • We have an annual marketing budget.
  • Our marketing budget is based on a percentage of our gross income.
  • Average monthly spend for marketing and advertising is currently.

 

TRACKING – How do you measure the effectiveness of your current marketing methods?

  • We keep track of how a caller or new customer heard about us by asking them and writing it down.
  • Our staff are trained to ask where a customer found out about us, including how they got to our website.
  • We have a system to separately track how our different marketing methods are working for getting new customers.
  • We keep track of the response to our email mailing (opens, clicking on links, unsubscribes).
  • We occasionally send special mailings to our email list such as special offers or alerts.

 

DIFFICULTIES

We are having the most difficulties with our marketing, in the following areas:

 

We would you like help with:

 

So hopefully after completing this check list you now have a better picture of where you need to focus. It’s a good idea to bring all your ideas and the things you need to do together into a focused plan. If you need help an experienced printing.com studio can assist to clarify ideas and direction as well as implementation. Whatever your budget we can help you build a stronger results based plan.