Chapter 5
COMPLETING THE MARKETING AUDIT: 2 THE PRODUCT AUDIT
SUMMARY
- What we sell to the segments identified in the last chapter
- What a ‘product’ is – throughout the chapter the word ‘product’ is used, but the guidelines provided apply equally to services
- What a brand is
- What the difference is between a successful and an unsuccessful brand
- Key diagnostic tools, specifically
- – lifecycle analysis
- – the Boston Matrix
- – the directional policy matrix
- The growing importance of category management
- Examples of all these tools in practice are provided in the form of mini case histories
- Exercises to turn the theory into actionable propositions
INTRODUCTION
It will be recalled that, at the beginning of the last chapter, the diagram of the marketing process – repeated here as Figure 5.1 – indicated that Chapters 4 and 5 would be concerned with Box 1, for clearly a marketing audit is concerned not just with whom we sell to but also with what we sell to them. Consequently, this chapter is concerned with this aspect of the audit.
Figure 5.1: Overview of marketing map.
What is a Product?
Throughout this chapter we refer to the term ‘product’. However, everything we say is equally applicable to a service.
The central role that the ▸ product plays in marketing management makes it such an important subject that mismanagement in this area is unlikely to be compensated for by good management ...
