Audit.
Man that’s a scary word. Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies. It’s like I know the government's coming for me and there’s nothing I can do about it. Everyone is scared of audits because they’re inconvenient and slightly painful.
But should we be afraid? Audits are about taking stock; about adding up your assets and liabilities, finding your strengths and weaknesses.
Audits should be a good thing (unless you’re Martha Stuart). Or at least a practical thing.
We recently audited one client’s entire marketing library. Logo, website, sales tools, social media, the works. It was extensive, and intrusive, and kind of like cutting her brand open and looking at the rings. And she ASKED for it!
Awkward Conversations
We were absolutely nervous about telling her about all the marketing failings. But to be fair, we told her about all her successes too! This client was looking for a whole new audience. She wanted to grow from working with small businesses to working with not-for-profits, do-good organizations, and bigger businesses who have a community-minded purpose. It was kind of essential she take stock of what she was communicating when she posted to her website and was marketing her services.
The Process
We tore through her work, provided her a complete look at what she was doing and how she could change it up to reach the people she wanted to reach. We were the fresh eyes, the critic who would offer her the honest truth with hopes of making her business better.
It was an incredible feeling to have someone take our opinion (albeit an educated one), consider how it would impact their business, and implement changes to make it successful. In the end, we wound up helping her to rebrand - not just with a new logo - but with a strong, impactful voice, and a marketing plan to see her through the next year of slowly making her new brand recognizable and unavoidable to the people she was trying to reach.
As Time Goes On ...
It’s been about a year since we provided our final report and recommendations and our client is really happy with the results. She said so herself!
“The audit helped me transition from who my target audience was, to who they are now. I’ve been in business for eight years and it was time for us to “grow up,” so to speak. The audit and recommendations are helping me do that this year.”
Never Fear, the Penguins are Here
So, is an audit still scary? Could it actually help your business be more effective, picking and choosing where to spend those marketing dollars? Making changes to meet your client where they live? We think so. If you’re ready to have someone look under the hood, get in touch! We promise, we don’t bite. But Moody does, and have you even seen inside a penguin's mouth?!