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Guide · 30 checks · no email required

Marketing audit checklist

Tick every check you cannot answer with confidence, or where the honest answer is the wrong one. The ring keeps your score, in this browser only, and the audit picks up every flagged area.

  • Reviewed Sep 2026
  • 5 min read
  • 6 areas, 30 checks
  • Median finding $58k a year across 74 audits
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02

Attribution and measurement

When every platform claims the same sale, reported ROAS adds up to more revenue than you actually made. This is where reporting quietly stops telling the truth.

Attribution inflation appeared in 54% of the 74 audited budgets. Every finding, ranked.

Attribution and measurement: 5 checks
03

Pricing, offers and discounts

Offers and discounts are where margin quietly leaves the building: priced below the true landed cost, or never switched off.

Mispriced offers appeared in 47% of the 74 audited budgets, discount habits in 33%. Every finding, ranked.

Pricing, offers and discounts: 5 checks
04

Retention and lifetime value

Acquisition gets the attention; the margin often leaks on the back end: renewals, churn and the cost to serve.

Retention leaks appeared in 41% of the 74 audited budgets. Every finding, ranked.

Retention and lifetime value: 5 checks
05

Channel and budget allocation

Budget set once and never revisited is budget spent on last year’s returns.

Wasted paid spend was 22% of the 74 audited budgets. Every finding, ranked.

Channel and budget allocation: 5 checks
06

Reporting and governance

You cannot fix a leak you cannot see. Most reporting shows revenue; margin is where the answer lives.

A median 18.7% of spend was leaking in the 74 audited budgets, inside an 11% to 28% band. Every finding, ranked.

Reporting and governance: 5 checks

Across the corpus of 74 audits a median 18.7% of marketing spend was leaking, inside an 11% to 28% band; the median highlight finding is worth $58k a year. 74 cases The benchmark

Cite this figureIn 74 audited SMB marketing budgets a median 18.7% of spend was leaking, inside an 11% to 28% band; non-incremental paid spend appeared in 68% of audits. MarginFix, marginfix.ai/marketing-audit-checklist/
07

Checklist questions

Can I do a marketing audit myself?

Yes. This checklist is the DIY version of the six areas a full audit covers, and working through it will surface the obvious leaks. What an independent audit adds is objectivity (no stake in your channels), a benchmark to compare against, and the time to test the leaks that are not obvious. Many teams self assess first, then commission an audit for what they cannot see.

How often should I audit my marketing?

A full review once or twice a year suits most SMBs, with a lighter quarterly check on the fastest moving items: paid media efficiency and any standing discounts. Audit sooner if spend has scaled sharply, you have changed agencies or platforms, or reported ROAS looks better than the bank balance.

How long does a marketing audit take?

A focused audit takes days, not months: a MarginFix audit delivers findings in 5 to 7 working days. Working through this checklist yourself takes a few hours if your reporting is in order, and longer if you first have to assemble the numbers, which is itself a useful signal.

Where does my score go?

It stays in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere while you tick. If you request an audit from this page, the flagged areas and the count are carried into your booking message, so the auditor starts from your list instead of a blank page.

Have all 30 checked.

Every check against your own numbers, in 5 to 7 working days. $10k to $50k of findings, or your money back.

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