The four-step sales and marketing audit

Auditing and reviewing your marketing, advertising and sales materials on an ongoing basis is a good discipline to have in your business. Making just a few tweaks may completely reinvigorate your promotional material, without costing the earth.

1. Review your website

Have you ever been to a website that contains information that’s obviously out of date? The first task of your marketing audit is to bravely visit your own site and take an honest view of what it says about your business.

Here’s a checklist of common issues to look for:

• Does your home page have out-of-date information on it?
• If the last time you wrote a blog entry or e newsletter was four years ago, then perhaps you should have that section taken away.
• Do you have price lists or timetables available for download that expired 12 months ago?
• Does your website have a ‘Last updated’ date? If you don’t regularly update your site, consider having it removed.
• Does the text in your website read from a customer’s perspective and appeal to their needs rather than your own?
• Are there any spelling or grammatical mistakes?

2. Scrutinise your sales letters

My business recently completed a large audit for a client that involved reviewing all of the sales collateral in their business. This process revealed that there wasn’t any consistency to the messages or tone of voice that were being used to portray this business to its customers and prospects.

This can easily happen to any business. Documents that are produced over a period of time by different team members tend to reflect the personality of the author rather than a constant and common business tone.

Of course, it goes without saying that while you’re checking these documents for consistency you’ll also be eliminating spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and out-of-date information and pricing.

You’ll find some great tips for rectifying any of these issues in this article on how strong writing helps build your brand.

3. Listen to your voicemail

What does your voicemail message actually say? When was the last time you changed it?

Updating your voicemail with a new message once a month is a cheap and cost effective way of keeping those who contact you regularly up-to-date with the activities of your business. Get your diary and pencil out now and start planning your ongoing updates.

4. Spruce up your sign-off

We use email for a substantial part of our business and personal communication, but many people never think to add or update the marketing or sales messages in their email signature. Keep your signature quite short, but consider adding a line or two or a link to something relevant.

Did your sales and marketing audit reveal any skeletons in the closet? Were you alarmed to learn that your voicemail still tells clients you’ll be returning from holidays in October 2007? Air your dirty laundry below!