The different persons in charge of the company have found in the audit marketing or audit of marketing an inestimable tool of work that allows them to analyze and evaluate the programs and actions started, as well as his adequacy to the environment and to the situation of the moment.

Therefore, the justification of the audit of marketing is due to the fact that the high direction wants to check so much the commercial actions and marketing plans as evaluate the quality and efficacy that brings him the control panel. Across the audits there are examined all the areas that they affect to the efficacy of the marketing to determine the opportunities and the problems in the future like base of the plans of progress. These analyses will give as turned out the recommendation or not of a plan of action that allows to improve the profitability of the company. To this type of analysis it is to the one that is named a marketing audit, and it has to possess the following characteristics:

• To be systematical. Since it must continue a sequence arranged in the phases that necessary must happen to realize the diagnosis.
• To be finished. Since there must be analyzed each of the factors that influence each and everyone of the variables of the marketing and his effectiveness.
• To be independent. This is, that an objective analysis guarantees us without we having doubts that personal interests enter game on the part of certain sectors of the company. For it it is advisable that the audit is realized by external specializing auditors to the company.
• To be a newspaper. Since it must be programmed regularly, although the regularity is subordinated to the size of enterprise.

At present it keeps on being a service that scarcely is realized in Spain and that when it is carried out is motivated Homely by the deviation of the numbers of sale or by the possible dissatisfaction in the reached targets. It is not necessary to forget that the Spanish company usually lacks preventive mentality that added to the moments of changes that they are taking place does that they could take the unprepared companies with the serious consequences that it transports.

Nevertheless this type of control, as we have already indicated, it will have to be realized regularly since we must be proactive at prevention level; let's think that when a company is in his maximum grade of «capacity« it is in perfect conditions to answer to the permanent challenge of the market.

Therefore, we define the marketing audit as the analysis and evaluation than of systematical form,
objective and independent there is realized the targets, strategies, actions and commercial organization of the company in order to control the grade of fulfillment of the marketing plan.

GRAPH 1. MOTIVES OF CURRENT USE OF THE AUDITS OF MARKETING

Since we have exhibited in the characteristics that this type of analysis must possess, the audits can be realized by personnel of staff or by collaborators foreign to the company and hired to such an end. In the first case it is a question rather of an internal control that, despite his economic advantages, can turn out to be slightly objective in his diagnosis. All the companies possess an environment that not only it contains the current or potential consumers and his competitors, but, as we have already mentioned along this book, it shuts many other factors up that or they escape to the control of the company or one wants to know from another perspective.

The changes that take place in the environment owed at the rate of habits of the consumers, to the fashion, to the appearance of new technologies, to changes of legislation, to a certain economic situation, to the appearance of environmental worries, etc. often escape from the persons who are immersed day by day inside their own company. The maintenance of a deep and detailed knowledge of these changes is a fundamental factor for the detection of opportunities and of threats and, hence, to guarantee the success of the management. For this reason it is advisable that the achievement of the audit of marketing is carried out by independent professional experts to the company.

GRAPH 2. DESIRABLE QUALITIES OF THE AUDITOR OF MARKETING

Therefore, we can affirm that the real marketing audit is that that is realized by external professionals to the company and presents the following advantages:

• The professionalism and experience of the auditors in different companies, both for his activity and for his dimension and, consistently, in different sectors.
• The objectivity guarantee in the offered diagnosis.
• The entire dedication to the achievement of the same one, what supposes a professional guarantee and a certainty on the knowledge of the changes that are taking place in the environment
  and how do these affect the company.

As it was indicated previously, the marketing audit is a suitable instrument to measure the capacity of the company and the adaptation grade to his environment. To such an end every auditor must carry his task out both inside the company and in the market. In both cases, we will distinguish six fundamental stages in the achievement of an audit:

• Securing of the initial briefing.
• Investigation and analysis of the different segments of performance.
• Information securing in each of these segments.
• Meetings of work with the implied teams.
• Treatment of the information and contrast of opinions.
• Conclusions and final report.

Since we can see clearly, the information securing is an indispensable element, since without her we cannot take any valid decision, hence the importance of the information systems of marketing.