Markets are becoming more complex, fragmented and dynamic. Brands have to be created, managed and targeted to a diverse group of stakeholders—customers, suppliers, employees, investors and the media—who are constantly bombarded with promotional messages.

In this environment, companies need to communicate with all stakeholders using a cohesive set of messages that are delivered across an optimal mix of media and tactical programs. Consistency is essential and success requires an integrated marketing communications program that produces an effective and ongoing dialogue. While consistency is primarily a matter of discipline, full-scale integration is more difficult to evaluate, let alone achieve.

So, how integrated are your marketing communications initiatives? The best process for answering this question is a comprehensive audit that should be conducted by an independent, well-qualified communications firm or consultant. They will be able to evaluate the level of consistency and provide recommendations on how your marketing programs and processes can be enhanced and more closely synchronized.

As a starting point, marketers can evaluate integration levels by conducting an integrated marketing self-audit using a framework developed by Tom Duncan at The University of Colorado. This approach will help identify message inconsistencies, strategic gaps and other limitations in an organization’s marketing communications program. Although the self-audit will help assess the effectiveness of the marketing communications process, it doesn’t focus on the results produced.

A simplified version of the integrated marketing audit is shown below. Review the following statements to develop a basic understanding of how integrated your marketing communications are. For each one, rate your organization using a 1–5 scale with 5 representing always, highest, or most and 1 indicating never, lowest, or least. If a statement doesn’t apply to your organization, leave it blank, and “don’t know” answers are not reflected in the final calculations. Add all scores and divide by the response base to determine a basic marketing integration value for your organization.

Marketing Integration Audit

If your organization consistently scores 4 or above, you probably have a strong brand and a dominant market position. If your score is below 3, it’s time to closely align and integrate your marketing initiatives.