Decoding Strategy Audits for Better Marketing Outcomes

Marketing strategies can go off the rails fast. One minute you’ve got a clear plan, the next, you’re throwing budget at campaigns that aren’t delivering and wondering why engagement is flatlining. That’s where a strategy audit comes in.

A lot of people don’t even know what a strategy audit is – but trust us, you f*cking need it. If you’re not auditing, you’re going nowhere. Which would be a complete waste of time, money, and effort. Think of it like hitting reset and recalibrating your brand’s direction. At co&co, we’ve seen firsthand how strategy audits can transform businesses – helping them focus on what matters. Without it? You’re burning resources on all the wrong things.

Let’s break it down.

A Comprehensive Checklist for Your Next Audit

We’ll give it to you straight – strategy audits aren’t just there to tick boxes. It’s wild how many missed opportunities, wasted spend, and gaps in execution a proper audit can uncover. You need to know what to look for, how to interpret the data, and most importantly, what to do next. You need to understand the bigger picture and make decisions that work for you.

Sure, you can go through this checklist yourself, but experience makes all the difference. Knowing which numbers matter, spotting patterns, and turning insights into real, actionable improvements takes expertise. That’s where we come in.

Here’s what goes into a proper strategy audit – and if this sounds like a job for the experts, you know where to find us.

Step 1: Define Clear Objectives

Before anything else, know what you’re aiming for. A strategy audit is pointless without clear goals. Are you trying to boost ROI, increase engagement, sharpen your brand positioning, or optimise spend? Whatever it is, define it first because everything else follows.

Step 2: Analyse Your Marketing Channels

Every channel – social media, PPC, SEO, email, website traffic, PR – needs to be assessed. Are your performance metrics delivering results? Which channels are pulling their weight, and which are dead weight? If you’re throwing budget at platforms that aren’t converting, it’s time to pivot before more money goes to waste.

Step 3: Evaluate Content & Campaigns

Your content should be doing the heavy lifting, but is it? Look at engagement and conversion rates. Are they where they should be? Is your messaging consistent across platforms, or does it feel like a mix of different tones? More importantly, does your content still feel fresh, or is it outdated and irrelevant? If it’s the latter, it’s time for an overhaul.

Step 4: Assess Brand Perception

What do people actually think about your brand? Use customer feedback and sentiment analysis because what you think your brand stands for and what your audience sees can be two very different things. Benchmark yourself against competitors. Are you leading the conversation, or just blending into the noise? Most importantly, does your value proposition actually hit home, or is it just corporate fluff that no one cares about?

Step 5: Evaluate Resources

Time, budget, and team capacity aren’t infinite, so are they being used properly? Is your budget actually driving results, or is it just disappearing into ad spend with no clear ROI? Does your team structure make sense, or is too much time wasted on the wrong tasks? And let’s talk about tools – are you still clinging onto outdated software out of habit, or are you actually using tech that makes your life easier?

Step 6: Align with Business Goals

If your marketing isn’t supporting your wider business objectives, what’s the point? Every campaign, piece of content, and ad needs to align with the bigger picture. Cross-check your marketing activities against growth goals, revenue targets, and brand positioning. Get input from key stakeholders to uncover gaps, misalignments, or wasted spend, because marketing in a vacuum is a waste of time.

Step 7: Report the Findings

Now it’s time to be brutally honest. Celebrate what’s working because, hopefully, some things will be. But don’t shy away from calling out inefficiencies. Marketing isn’t a vanity project – it needs to drive real results. And above all, back up your recommendations with real data –no vague guesses, no fluff. You’ll be surprised at the potential a well-executed strategy audit can unlock.

Step 8: Create a Plan & Action It

An audit is useless if you don’t actually fix what’s broken. Prioritise high-impact changes and start with what will make the biggest difference. Assign tasks, deadlines, and accountability because action doesn’t happen by itself. Finally, track success with clear metrics, set KPIs, and monitor progress so you’re not in the same position six months down the line.

Regular strategy audits need to be part of your process. Just like your business is constantly evolving, so should your marketing strategy. Keep in mind - what worked six months ago might not work today.

Understanding Strategy Gaps: Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Not all strategy gaps are created equal. Some are hard numbers – black-and-white, measurable, and obvious. Others? More subtle, perception-based, and harder to quantify. You need to look at both.

🔍 Quantitative Gaps (The Hard Data)

These are the cold, hard facts – the numbers that don’t lie:

✔️ Declining engagement, lower conversion rates, poor retention
✔️ Wasted ad spend with no clear ROI
✔️ Traffic dropping off, lead generation slowing down
✔️ Sales pipeline drying up

🔍 Qualitative Gaps (The Intangibles)

These are the brand perception problems that aren’t always obvious from the numbers alone:

✔️ Your brand messaging is all over the place – inconsistent, unclear, or just plain boring
✔️ Your positioning isn’t landing – if people don’t get what makes you different, they won’t care
✔️ Customer sentiment is shifting – if complaints and negative feedback are creeping in, something’s off

Fixing the numbers without fixing the perception won’t get you far. You need to close both gaps for a strategy that actually works.

Crafting Action Plans Post-Audit

Strategy audits might be the revamp your brand needs. Once you’ve identified the gaps, here’s how to close them:

📌 Fix the quick wins first – Plugging obvious holes (like wasted ad spend, broken funnels, or misaligned messaging) should be top priority.

📌 Adjust budgets and resources – Double down on high-performing channels, cut what’s not working.

📌 Refine your positioning – If your audience doesn’t “get” your brand, no amount of paid ads will fix that.

📌 Realign goals – Marketing should be driving real business outcomes, not just engagement for engagement’s sake.

📌 Measure, tweak, and optimise – Set clear KPIs, track performance, and adjust where needed.

If your strategy isn’t delivering, it’s time to figure out why and fix it.

At co&co, we don’t do pointless fluff – we do strategy audits that actually change the game.If your marketing isn’t where it needs to be, let’s sort it. Marketing strategy, marketing plans, strategy audits, project management – we handle the lot. Take it off your plate, put it on ours, and save yourself the stress. We’ll know exactly what to do. Let’s work together.