A good way of conducting a marketing audit - 5 basic marketing processes

How well are the 5 vital processes of marketing established ?

Check if these 5 vital processes of marketing are existing in your company & also how well are they established ?

MARKET SENSING PROCESS : Process of observing the reality and learning from it so that a sound plan can be formulated depending on it. This process tracks, analyzes and interprets what the  environment  and  competitive developments and thus provides a foundation of reality to all actions. 

 
STRATEGY FORMULATION PROCESS : This process helps the marketing company decide what value it plans to create, for whom, and how will it compete sustainably.  

CUSTOMER FULFILLMENT PROCESS : This is a process of coordinating with internal departments so that the strategy gets implemented, the product portfolio gets developed and supported in line with the market needs, the stock gets produced and distributed to the right locations and supply chain works properly end to end. 

 
GO TO MARKET PROCESS : This process consists of locating, prospecting, contacting, promoting, advising, closing, transacting - and thus acquiring customers - in order to generate revenues for the company. 

 
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK PROCESS : This process gives frequent customer feedback on existing operations / marketing mix . It consists of  managing complaints, customer recovery, learning from mistakes. It also consists of what gives rise to customer satisfaction from existing ways of the business.

What happens if these 5 processes are absent ?

WHAT HAPPENS IF MARKET SENSING PROCESS IS ABSENT ?
The “alignment” between the markets and the company is never measured (except by the very obvious and post-facto measure of sales – “if we are selling well, we must be aligned to the market”). If you do not sense the market at the time of market entry you will fail because you may not be able to give what the market wants – and which is better than what the competition is offering. Even if you start with a good alignment and hence success in sales, the market and the company may drift in different directions without continuous market sending and thus the "fit with the market" may goes down progressively till the company finds itself  hopelessly out of date. 

 WHAT HAPPENS IF STRATEGY FORMULATION PROCESS IS ABSENT ? the company will try and go after multiple types of customers - and for each it will try to create value – and in multiple ways. Ultimately the company does not create a superior focus on any of these markets (customers) and does not become a leader (among top 3) in any of the markets it operates. In each market it becomes a "follower" and is subject to the pricing and other rules set by the leaders and hence operates with its margins under pressure. Being not a leader it also does not enjoy warm patronage of the users, buyers, trade and vendors. No one's life depends much on such a company but the company is at the mercy of a lot of people.   

WHAT HAPPENS IF CUSTOMER FULFILLMENT PROCESS IS ABSENT ? the right products, with right product specifications, may not come to market at the right time.  Or the right products may not get produced and distributed such that the right product is available at the right time.  

WHAT HAPPENS IF GO TO MARKET PROCESS IS ABSENT ? The revenue generation and customer relationship creation suffers. Even if you make the right product, revenue will not get generated unless you reach out to them, talk to them, convince them, demonstrate to them, persuade them and make them buy.

WHAT HAPPENS IF CUSTOMER FEEDBACK PROCESS IS ABSENT ? you lose out on chances to learn by doing. Since the customers do not connect back to you, you never learn what they think and want, and you do not come to know where are the areas of opportunity. The customer relationship suffers because there is no connect. The customer loyalty suffers and you lose a part of the "total lifetime value" of the customer base - created by you - to your competitors.