Thanksgiving is approaching quickly! In just two weeks, family and friends will show up, eager to mingle and dine. So much to do and so little time to do it in. The menu is set, and grocery shopping is now ready to tackle. However, you are still unsure of what ingredients to buy. The mac 'n cheese, will it be granny's recipe that will awe the crowd, or maybe the one trending on Pinterest will satisfy? How about the ham? Uncle Johnny's family hates the glaze, but Aunt Mae refuses to dig in without the glistening sparkle radiating from her meat. The apples going in the pie, Granny Smith or Jonagold?
Although there is no one way to make any of the goodies included on this year's Thanksgiving menu, there certainly is one recipe that will win the hearts and stomachs of all those seated at the table. There is a method that will mesmerize. There is a novel ingredient that will hypnotize. A dash of this there and a sprinkle of that here will indeed leave them wanting more. Your job is to know what that secret weapon is.
So, how do you figure it out? Well, cooks must do what all great marketers have to do to brew up the perfect marketing strategy. They must know who's coming over for dinner. They must understand why they are coming to the feast. They need to be fully aware of how they want guests to feel at that final bite and how that feeling aligns with what the guests wanted out of the meal. Armed with this knowledge, a chief can bullseye the taste buds of all who partake. And so can any marketer.
There is a magical ingredient we must fuse within our marketing prep before preheating any oven. This mystic element that no impactful strategy can be without is called an audit.
It gives you a comprehensive insight into your audience, industry, and competition. It provides the intellect required to select just the right strategy recipe, shaping the best way forward. The audit is your informant, guiding you through the decision-making process.
Think of it as a survey or inspection, if you will. It's a review of your current position and past footprints, pointing you towards where you want to be. An audit allows you to conduct systematic analysis and evaluations to interpret the business marketing environment, both internal and external. Through the audit, we identify obstacles and opportunities and use them to create a plan of action to enhance the marketing strategy. Listen, the audit isn't the garnish. It is the base of the recipe.
Stopping to conduct this review removes the gray areas so you can begin to find answers to the many questions that influence your marketing planning. Imagine taking a trip, and the only pieces of information you are sure of is your budget and the Caribbean destination. Though inviting, for you to experience enjoyment, there is so much more you need to know. There is no way to prepare well with such limited details about the overall circumstances surrounding this voyage.
The brilliant mind of the chief crafting the menu for the dinner party feels the same, and so does the astonishing marketer creating a strategic experience for their audience. Flying blind is never the way to go. We want our pilots navigating the plane with their eyes wide open!
Marketers, to obtain a bird's eye view to cook up not just any recipe but the right one, an audit is in order. You need this ingredient to ensure that the dish you serve produces nothing but five-star reviews.