AUDIT-X
Identify what you need to know.
You have important decisions to make to achieve your key business objectives. Do you have the internal customer knowledge necessary to make the most informed decisions possible?
Audit-X℠ is a proprietary process that identifies the customer information required to make your critical decisions, uncovers where that information lies within your organization, and pinpoints what information you are missing.
SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ADDRESSED DURING AUDIT-X℠:
- What does your organization need to know?
- What knowledge assets or resources does it have and where are they?
- Where are pockets of untapped knowledge?
- How are you interpreting that knowledge?
- Are any of your assumptions incorrect?
- What gaps exist in that knowledge?
- What do you need to know that you don’t?
- How does knowledge flow around the organization?
- Is your knowledge properly documented?
- Do you have separate databases of information?
- What are the blockages that prevent knowledge from flowing across the organization (people, process, technology)?
- Are your departments regularly sharing customer insights?
AUDIT-X℠ IS THE BEST PLACE TO START WHEN WORKING WITH BRAND X.
During the process, as you work closely with the Brand X team, a clear picture of your organization’s knowledge structure emerges. Audit-X℠ is vital because it gives your organization a comprehensive picture of both what you currently know and what you need to know. The Audit-X process documents how information is shared throughout your organization and helps you establish processes and systems to tackle shortcomings and obstacles to achieving organizational goals.
HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT THE AUDIT-X PROCESS:
STEP 1 – OBJECTIVE
“What do you want to accomplish?”
Phase 1 – In this first step, Brand X meets with your executive management team to discuss your overall short- and long-term business objectives, your consumer-focused goals, and the state of your industry.
Phase 2 – Internal individual and group interviews are conducted to obtain input from all relevant departments and divisions (Sales, Marketing, Advertising, PR, Operations, Distribution, Manufacturing, Financial, New Products, Innovation, etc.)
STEP 2 – NEEDS
“What do you need to know?”
We uncover the knowledge you need to be successful.
Brand X determines the customer information (internal/external, primary/secondary, qualitative/quantitative) your company needs to successfully achieve your objectives. This can include information on financials, manufacturing, company and industry sales, consumer satisfaction and feedback, market and consumer trends, competitive activity, new product activity and performance, social media results, advertising effectiveness, shareholder satisfaction and opinions, etc. This also includes what new knowledge will be required in the future to meet company objectives.
STEP 3 – INVENTORY
“What information do you have, where is it, and is it accurate?”
Phase 1 –Precisely identify and document the knowledge you currently have.
The Brand X team takes an intellectual inventory to identify and locate organizational expertise and resources throughout your entire organization. This process involves indexing, counting, and categorizing your corporate, tactical, and explicit knowledge in all areas, as well as your organizational resources from consumers, markets, and other financial and trend data.
Phase 2 – Evaluate the validity of your current information/knowledge.
The Brand X team determines if your current knowledge is accurate and usable for the decisions you currently face. To do this, all current information and resources are analyzed and evaluated utilizing our proprietary Analyt-X℠ tool to confirm the validity of the data and identify areas for improvement.
Note: Analyt-X℠ the Next Generation of Analytics, is a fully-integrated solution comprised of data, analysis, and insights to optimize your marketing, sales and operational environment. It allows you to do a deeper dive on your data with our expert analysts.
STEP 4 – FLOW
“How is knowledge shared throughout your organization?”
In this step, we take an in-depth look at how knowledge resources flow through your organization – from where it is to where it needs to be. How quickly, accurately, and efficiently knowledge is shared among key personnel and departments is critical to your success. For example, we might analyze the flow of your data from sales and marketing to shipping and distribution and vice versa. Our team thoroughly studies your people, processes, and systems to ensure that information and knowledge are shared most effectively.
STEP 5 – THE MAP
“Where does your knowledge reside?”
After the Flow, has been analyzed, you receive a “Map” which details the sources, flows, constraints, and repositories of knowledge within your organization. This navigational aid serves as an invaluable reference as you move forward – and as a constant reminder of the importance and relationships between knowledge stores and dynamics.
STEP 6 – THE GAP
“What knowledge do you NOT have?”
The final step of Audit-X is to identify the Knowledge Gap – the knowledge your company does NOT have and what questions need to be answered. This Gap is determined by combining the needed knowledge from Step 2 with the knowledge you currently have from Step 3 and identifying what knowledge you do NOT have. Brand X provides detailed strategic recommendations as to how best to obtain the missing knowledge and is available to help the company implement this plan successfully.
Your results.
Just like business operations in a changing market, Audit-X℠ is an ongoing process. As your company adapts, evolves, and implements changes based on the Audit-X℠ report, the Brand X team will check in periodically to reevaluate objectives and your progress. As more customer knowledge is gained and understood, the strategic plan can be tweaked or updated to address minor shifts in the industry.
And should your company or marketplace face a major change or identify an exciting new opportunity, the Brand X team stands ready to launch the next phase of Audit-X℠ to discover any new knowledge gaps, uncover potential competitive edges, and keep you a step and a half in front of your competition.