Marketing budgets build up over years. Channels get added, agencies change, and nobody steps back to ask what is really driving sales. This is the checklist I work through when I audit a retailer's marketing. You can use it yourself.
1. Is the return real?
Start here. For each channel, ask whether it changed behaviour or simply took credit for sales that would have happened anyway. Measure return on incremental cash margin, not on sales or impressions. If you can, hold back a region or a group of stores as a control.
2. Are the objectives clear?
More footfall or a bigger basket? New customers or more from existing ones? If a campaign doesn't have one clear objective and a number attached, nobody can say whether it worked.
3. Does the trade plan match the customer?
Look at the year's campaigns, themes and offers. Are they built around what customers are shopping for at each point in the year, or around what suppliers want to promote? Are seasonal events planned early enough to buy the right stock?
4. Are promotions growing margin?
Many promotions simply move customers from one brand to another, or pull sales forward. Check what each one did to cash margin, not just volume. We pay the bank in pounds, not percentages.
5. Where do customers drop out?
Online, the average conversion rate is only around 3%. In store, most retailers convert well under half of visitors in high-ticket categories. Find the biggest leak in the journey before spending more on traffic.
6. Are owned channels working hard enough?
SEO, email, your app and your social channels cost little to run once set up. Is the email programme segmented and automated? Are abandoned baskets followed up? Getting these right reduces what you need to spend elsewhere.
7. What do customers actually think?
Review customer satisfaction and NPS data, complaints and reviews. Which pain points come up again and again? Which stores score highest, and what are they doing differently?
8. Is the team set up to deliver?
Look at structure, skills and agencies. Are the agencies clear on what they're accountable for? Is the team spending its time on what matters most, or on producing activity?
9. What could suppliers be paying for?
Your stores, website, emails and customer data are media that suppliers will pay to use. Is that income planned, priced and measured, or agreed piecemeal?
Turning the checklist into a plan
Score each area, then put a pound value on fixing it. Rank the opportunities by value and by how easy they are to deliver. Anything that is both valuable and easy goes into the first 90 days.
The result should be a short list of changes, each with a financial case, that the board can agree to quickly.