“GAHHHH! Why have my leads completely nose-dived?”
”My website is so pretty, but my word, the words make me cringe.”
”Why is nothing converting… I’m doing what they told me”.

These are just a few things I’ve muttered to myself when I thought my website, proposition and messaging weren’t working the way they were meant to be. The inevitable next step, after telling the website it’s not you it’s me, is to conduct a B2B audit of how it reflects (or doesn’t) my customers’ journey.

A B2B marketing audit dives deep into your marketing engine, looking at everything from the nitty gritty of your marketing strategy to the quality of your leads and sign-ups.

It's like taking a magnifying glass to the activities of your marketing, product, and proposition.

The goal? To see if these are actually aligned and helping you to reach product market fit or they are simply dead weight.

Why do you need a B2B marketing audit?

An audit is like a health check for your marketing strategy. Think of it as an effective way to see what you’re doing well, where you can improve, and where things still aren’t working… despite you telling your boss three times they wouldn’t work.

A marketing audit aims to answer questions like:

Where has the business seen marketing success?
Are there any marketing ‘red flags’?
Is it worth throwing more money into marketing?
Do you actually fit into your market?

Here are some of the results you can expect from a B2B marketing audit:

Open up new revenue streams

Audits can reveal hidden gems, such as new content opportunities, untapped marketing channels, or the real competitors you're up against.

For instance, if an audit discovers a new customer segment with a revised desired outcome, you can consider targeting them in your next marketing campaign to test your message market fit and drive sales-ready leads.

Take apart what you're actually spending marketing on

An audit can help you find out if your marketing budget is being wasted. Maybe you’re throwing money at useless tech or campaigns that aren’t delivering the way they should. You can then redirect those funds to something that actually works.

For example, an audit might reveal you’re spending on keywords that don’t attract clients. You can then spend that money on finding different ones that really generate leads.

Spot big, big holes in your customer journey

Audits pinpoint where your customer experience is falling flat, showing you what you need to work on.

Maybe your marketing and sales teams are out of sync, or your website is a nightmare on mobile. Finding and fixing these issues can lead to more conversions and happier customers.

The typical B2B marketing audit process

If you’re scratching your head about how to conduct a marketing audit, remember that everyone’s process will differ slightly from the next. But generally, a B2B marketing audit boils down to four main steps:

Preparation
Evaluation
Reporting
Implementation

Preparation

As the name suggests, the preparation phase gets everything ready. This means setting clear audit objectives, defining what you expect to achieve, and creating a timeline. You’ll also choose whether you’ll tackle the audit in-house or bring in a third-party service.

Think about the tools, tech, and resources you’ll need. Gather up all of your marketing materials - plans, analytics reports, campaign summaries - whatever. If you nail the prep phase, the next steps will go much smoother.

Evaluation

Time to dive into the data. The evaluation phase involves examining all of your information. Look at everything related to marketing efforts: tech stack, email campaigns, CRM insights - you name it.

Assess trends, patterns, and any weird anomalies to get a clear picture of your business’s overall performance. You’ll see what’s working and what’s not, comparing the results against your performance goals.

Reporting

Next up, the reporting phase. This is where you break down the findings from the evaluation. The audit should cover performance analysis, insights, and recommendations.

Make sure you highlight what’s working, but don’t forget to point out where improvements are needed. Remember to keep recommendations and goals measurable and achievable.

Implementation

Finally, it’s action time. The implementation stage is where you’ll apply the recommendations, focusing on weaknesses and tweaking methods to make them better.

Give your team any resources or training they’ll need for the improvement plan. Set up balances and checks to make sure these changes are doing their job over time. Keep feedback flowing during this stage to see how things are going. Better to make small tweaks now than fix big problems later.

Want to know more about what I cover in a marketing audit?

Check out our post on 50 ideas for B2B startups looking to grow to 50 customers.

Who should carry out your B2B marketing audit?

Wondering whether to conduct a marketing audit yourself or bring in a pro? It depends. If you’ve got the skills and resources in-house, doing it yourself is a cost-effective option that gives you full control.

But, if you don’t have the right expertise or time to carry out a thorough audit yourself, outsourcing is the way to go. A professional will make sure no stone is left unturned, giving you a true picture of your marketing efforts.

Professional marketing audit services are run by those who live and breathe audits, giving you a deeper understanding of your marketing strategies and spotting areas where you can improve.

At Oh Blimey, I use my extensive experience and industry knowledge to help B2B organisations with their marketing audit.

I’ll dive deep into your marketing strategies to highlight areas which need improvement, including working out what your strengths are. Work with me and you’ll get tailored recommendations that drive your business forward.

Ready to get started? Reach out through the contact form, or check out my services to find out more about what I can do for you.

How often should a company carry out a B2B marketing audit?

Aim to audit at least every year, or whenever you’re launching something new, changing goals, or seeing lackluster growth.

Never done a marketing audit? Do it now. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fresh startup or have been in the game for a decade - always make sure your marketing efforts are on point.

Regular audits keep your strategies aligned with your business goals, adapt to market changes, and make sure you’re not wasting resources on ineffective tactics. In the end, an audit helps you stay ahead of the game and keeps your marketing efforts running smoothly.

And there we have it. We hope this post helped clear up the mystery of marketing audits and how they can boost your B2B marketing efforts.

Looking for a skilled marketing consultant to dive into your business and perform an audit? You know where to find me.

The B2B Marketing Audit: The Reality Check Your Startup Needs