Starbucks Marketing Audit
a. Products: What are the company’s product-line objectives? Are they sound? Is the current product line meeting the objectives? Should the product line be stretched or contracted upward, downward, or both ways? Which products should be phased out? Which products should be added? What is the level of the buyer’s knowledge and attitudes toward the firm’s and competitors’ product quality, features, styling, brands names, and so on? What areas of product and brand strategy need improvement? b. Price: What ae the firm’s pricing objectives, policies, strategies, and procedures? To what extent are price set on cost, demand, and competitive criteria? Do the customers see the firm’s prices as bine in line with the value of its offer? What does management know about the price elasticity of demand, experience-curve effects, and competitors’ prices and pricing policies? To what extent are price policies compatible with the needs of distributors and dealers, suppliers, and government regulation? c. Distribution: What are the company’s distribution objectives and strategies? Is there adequate market coverage and service? How effective are distributors, dealers, manufacturers’ representatives, brokers, agents, and others? Should the company consider changing it distribution channels? d. Advertising, Sales, Promotion, Publicity, and Direct Marketing: What are the organization’s advertising objectives? Are they sound? Is the right amount being spent on advertising? Are the ad themes and copy effective? What do customers and the public think about the advertising? Are the advertising media well chosen? Is the internal advertising staff adequate? Is the sales-promotion budget adequate? Is there effective and sufficient use of sales-promotion tools such as samples, coupons, displays, and sales contests? Is the public relations staff competent and creative? Is the company making enough use of direct, online, and database marketing? e. Sales Force: What are the sales force’s objectives? Is the sales force large enough to accomplish the company’s objectives? Is the sales force organized along the proper principles of specialization (territory, market, product)? Are there enough (or too many) sales managers to guide the field sales representatives? Do the sales-compensation level and structure provide adequate incentive and reward? Does the sales force show high morale, ability, and effort? Are the procedures adequate for setting quotas and evaluating performance? How does the company’s sales force compare to competitors’ sales forces?
