1. Marketing audit — This is a comprehensive, systematic, independent examination of the company’s business unit, the marketing environment, marketing objectives, the marketing strategies and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and to recommend plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance.
Innovation audit. - This is a review of the firm’s innovation record, internal obstacles and how performance can be enhanced.
2. Marketing Assets - Marketing assets is something a firm can use to advantage in the market place. There are four types of marketing assets;
i) Customer-based assets: Exist in the customer’s mind. This is in terms of image and reputation, brand, market domination, better products and services.
ii) Distribution-based assets: This is efficiency of the distribution network, control, pockets of strength, uniqueness, and lead-time and supplier’s network.
iii) Marketing assets internal to the firm: Low cost — firms able to offer low prices or make better margins, information systems and market intelligence existing customers (satisfied customer likely to present more repeat business), intellectual property, expertise in production, partnership etc.
iv) Alliance-based assets: This allows for quick expansion through sharing arrangement. Included are assets like market access, management skills, shared technology, and exclusivity.
3. Resource audit
This covers technical resources, financial resources, managerial skills, and the organizational and information systems. Resources are of no value unless they are organized into systems. The resource audit will help identify the limiting factors. The limiting factor is a factor, which at any time or over a period may limit the activity of an entity, often one where there is shortage or difficulty of supply. Resource use is concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of their use. The efficiency is concerned with how well the resources have been utilized. The effectiveness is concerned with whether they were used in the best way possible to achieve the organization objective.
4. Distinctive Competences
This is what the organization can do well, or better than its rivals, these can come from the experience, talents and good coordination within the organization. Some core competences are necessary to stay in business e.g. for an education institution, expertise of teaching staff is necessary. For Oil Company, a good distribution network (pumping of fuel), for a restaurant, expertise in catering is necessary.
A company can choose to combine its core competences. competence should provide potential access to a wide variety of markets. should contribute significantly to the value enjoyed by the customers and should be hard for a competitor to copy: A core competence is no substitute for a strategy but can support competitive positioning.
5. Innovation
Some organization’s market favors innovation while others are hostile to it. This depends on corporate culture. Customer satisfaction rating is also an important input to innovation. Firms need to measure customers’ satisfaction rather than simply react to complaints. This can be measured on scale — highly satisfied to highly dissatisfy. Customers can be asked to identify features of a service they found most useful.
Steps in innovation audit;
i) Benchmarking with leading competitors
ii) Identifying performance indicators
iii) Identify obstacles to innovation which typically reside in the corporate - culture
iv) Recommend innovation objectives
The best innovation is the one that gives the highest customer value for the lowest cost. - Too many innovations can at times confuse consumers. Recent research encourages companies to reduce the variety of goods on offer. Example is the case of Unilever World Wide, which is trying to reduce its product range worldwide.
6. The Management team
This is important in setting the scene for innovation? It is critical for influencing n corporate culture. Dynamics of the management affects how it perceives the work environment. Specialist joins the group to offer expert advice when needed.
7. Financial Resources
Marketing competes with other business functions for financial resources of the organization.
The allocation will be on the basis of rational view, bargaining process or as a result of a formula. Sources of fund include;
i) Cash flow and retained earning- funds from operating activities.
ii) Bank overdraft — it is repayable on demand. You cannot rely on them to finance your long-term operations.
iii) Bank loans- they are repayable over a fixed period of time.
iv) Leasing - a firm can obtain access to resources by leasing them rather than buying them.
v) Venture capital —these are specialist investors who are prepared to take fairly high risk.
vi) Financial markets — money raised on the financial markets by issuing shares or bonds.
vii) Convince the organization that money invested in enlarged marketing mix is a better investment than money spent on improving production facilities, office equipment and personnel management.
8. Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a means where activities relevant to the firm strategy are performed under a contract by other firms. There aide outsourcing opportunities in:
i) Production capacity
ii) Human resources
iii) Marketing resources
Key issues in outsourcing
i) Clear objectives bf what is expected
ii) An appropriate contractual basis/agreement between firms involved
iii) Performance review of the contractual arrangements.
Titany answered the question on October 6, 2021 at 12:20