Anatomy of a marketing audit

“Audit” isn’t a word that marketers are typically familiar with, but who says finance is the only department who gets to experience auditing joy? With constant changes in the financial industry we are seeing more and more credit unions take time to assess every department from finance to operations, and even marketing and sales. Analyzing past and present marketing performance helps open your mind to possibilities of new growth and possibilities for change, as well as helps determine the effectiveness of current practices.

So, how, when and why should your credit union perform a marketing audit? First you need to determine why your financial institution is doing the audit so that you can focus on the type of data that you need collected. The findings will provide you with an analysis that shows what practices may need re-examined to be sure you are making the most of your marketing dollars. The top major reasons credit unions choose to do a marketing audit are:

• To redefine your targeted audience
• Collect data on your products and competitors
• Measure how well you are doing and how you can do better
• Re-examine your goals and ROI

Any credit union that is undergoing significant change or has a need for significant change or growth should also consider performing a marketing audit. Credit Unions who are focused on change should conduct a systematic audit of the marketing environment, objectives, and strategies to be sure all marketing efforts are aligned with the new vision and organizational strategy. These audits should definitely be done before:

• Any big changes happen in your credit union such as a name change or rebrand
• A charter change
• Any change in management or leadership
• A business model change
• A digital media transition
• A branch expansion
• Embarking on a new or different marketing strategy

Sure, marketing audits sound scary, but think of it as a way to determine not only problem areas, but opportunities you may be missing. Marketing audits can be done internally, but generally hiring a non-biased third party source to conduct your audit is a better way to uncover new opportunities and gain fresh perspective. Your audit will provide you with an in depth review of:

• All marketing collateral
• All advertising & media
• Community partnerships and sponsorships
• Website practices and design
• Digital marketing and advertising
• Competitor brand positioning
• All marketing plans, strategies, and calendars

By using the data collected from the audit, you can then assess what has worked and will continue to work for you and what things to stop doing immediately. This will also give you a new perspective about what you may need to change or what strategies should be developed so that your credit union can achieve additional growth. For example, is it time to consider marketing automation tools? What about outsourcing design (or bringing it in-house)? Audits tend to be a good tool to uncover inefficiencies that you may not have noticed or realized could be holding you back.

So long are the days of “we’ve always done it this way”, and as so many credit unions are finding out, some ideas may have been great when they were first introduced, but over time these initiatives are no longer beneficial in reaching your goals. If you’re looking to reinvent your marketing strategies and campaigns, and bring exciting new perspective to your credit union, then a marketing audit is the place to start.

Considering a marketing audit? Request more information here.