Marketing Control

Marketing control is the process by which firms assess the effects of their marketing activities and make necessary changes and adjustments. Table 2.3 lists four types of marketing control: annual-plan control, profitability control, efficiency control, and strategic control.

Annual-plan control ensures the company achieves the sales, profits, and other goals established in its annual plan. To do this, management sets monthly or quarterly goals, monitors marketing performance in the marketplace, determines the causes of serious performance deviations, and takes corrective action to close gaps between goals and performance (see Figure 2.3). Profitability control is used to determine whether to expand, reduce, or eliminate any products or marketing activities.

Efficiency control helps the company look at better ways to manage marketing spending and investments. Some companies have established a marketing controller position to improve marketing efficiency. Marketing controllers examine adherence to profit plans, help brand managers prepare budgets, measure the efficiency of promotions, analyze media production costs, evaluate customer and geographic profitability, and educate marketing staff on the financial implications of marketing decisions.

With strategic control, the firm should periodically reassess its strategic approach to the marketplace, using a marketing audit, a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company’s or business unit’s marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities, to identify problem areas and opportunities and recommend a plan for improving marketing performance. A good marketing audit covers the macroenvironment, task environment,

TABLE 2.3 Types of Marketing Control

FIGURE 2.3 The Control Process

marketing strategy, marketing organization, marketing systems, marketing productivity, and marketing functions. Regular marketing audits can benefit companies in good health as well as those in trouble.