The four-step sales and marketing audit

Are your promotional materials delivering the best possible outcomes? Here we go back to basics to identify the pieces that need refreshing using a 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Have you ever been to a website that contains information that’s obviously out of date?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• Does your home page have out-of-date information on it?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you’re checking these documents for consistency you’ll also be eliminating spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and out-of-date information and pricing.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.

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!

• 29 Jan 10
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8 comments | Add your own 1 2 | Next» View all»

• Great advice Jo! I've added this to my 'To Do' list for next month. You could also review your social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook etc.) If the last time that you tweeted was over 12 months ago, maybe consider deleting your account.... Melissa Williscroft from Melbourne, Australia

• Great points - here are some more that could be useful:
  * Refocus your brand. Make sure your position statement and your brand message is in everything you do
  * Statistics - compare your website statistics over the last 12months and also which campaigns returned a good response or not
  * Contact some old clients and old prospects with a fresh new package or offer
  * Use www.surveymonkey.com to conduct some free market research - you would be surprised what you find out.
  All the best everyone! Amanda from Sydney

• No archaic marketing messages found, thankfully. But I think they all needed a bit of a spruce up. Fiona Fell from Albury/Wodonga, Australia

• Hi Jo,
  Great Article! On Blog updates though, I reckon they should happen atleast once a month. Many business owners are not able to keep pace with this requirement due to the demands of the business. Under such situations, it may be a good idea to make a series of posts in one go and then schedule them for timed releases Anup Batra from Melbourne

• Thanks Melissa and Amanda - some more great suggestions. I also agree Fiona, even when out of date information isnt presented - there are opportunities to refresh and revisit. Good time of year to be getting some basics right. Jo Macdermott from Melbourne, VIC | Read my articles

• I find out of date websites very frustrating. Given that 85% of Australians do their research on line, I try to update our site with relevant information at least once a month. It can be time consuming but at least potential customers can see that you are keeping all elements of the marketing mix as up to date as possible. Meri from Melbourne

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