MIT Sloan Management Review

Marketing

 

The Marketing Audit Comes of Age

By Philip Kotler, William T. Gregor and William H. Rodgers III

January 15, 1989

THIS CLASSIC ARTICLE has been read by countless business-school students and marketing professionals since it originally appeared in 1977. The model proposed at that time—which outlined how an independent entity should go about assessing an existing marketing program—was sufficiently streamlined that it holds up very well today. In their retrospective comments, the authors discuss marketing issues that have come to the forefront in the intervening years: globalization of markets, information technology, communications/promotion technology, strategic planning, more sophisticated analytical tools, and the increased attention paid to marketing throughout the organization. They close with suggestions on how to implement marketing audit recommendations. Ed.

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COMPARING THE MARKETING strategies and tactics of business units today with those often years ago, the most striking impression is one of marketing strategy obsolescence. Ten years ago U.S. automobile companies were gearing up for their second postwar race to produce the largest car with the highest horsepower. Today companies are selling increasing numbers of small and medium-sized cars and fuel economy is a major selling point. Ten years ago computer companies were introducing ever more powerful hardware for more sophisticated uses. Today they emphasize mini- and microcomputers and software.

It is not even necessary to take a ten-year period to show the rapid obsolescence of marketing strategies. The growth economy of 1950 to 1970 has been superseded by a volatile economy that produces new strategic surprises almost monthly. Competitors launch new products, customers switch their business, distributors lose their effectiveness, advertising costs skyrocket, government regulations are announced, and consumer groups attack. These changes represent both opportunities and problems and may demand periodic reorientations of the company’s marketing operations.

Many companies feel that their marketing operations need regular reviews and overhauls, but do not know how to proceed. Some companies simply make many small changes that are economically and politically feasible, but fail to get to the heart of the matter. True, the company develops an annual marketing plan, but management normally does not take a... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.

 
 

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