What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — in London
A practical breakdown of what a marketing audit covers — channels, funnel, tracking, unit economics — and what makes one valuable vs a sales pitch. Calibrated to London — local industry mix: b2b-saas, finance, fnb.
A real audit covers 6 areas: channels, funnel, tracking, unit economics, retention, brand positioning.
Free audits that only cover channel performance are sales tools, not audits.
Local angle for London: b2b-saas + finance.
Why this matters in London
This guide applies the playbook to London. Local economic mix: b2b-saas, finance, fnb, fashion-d2c.
- Average CPC (₹)
- Typical CAC (₹)
- b2b-saas
- finance
- fnb
- fashion-d2c
Shoreditch · Canary Wharf · Mayfair · King's Cross
Inside this topic in London
- Step 01
Channel audit
Per-channel ROAS, CAC, growth trend, creative concentration risk. Identify the 1 channel doing 50%+ of acquisition (almost every brand has one).
- Step 02
Funnel audit
Landing → PDP → cart → checkout → purchase conversion rates. Industry benchmark comparison. Identify the largest single-step drop.
- Step 03
Tracking audit
GA4 setup, Meta Pixel + CAPI, server-side tagging, attribution method. Most ₹50L+/month brands have 30–40% event leakage they don't know about.
- Step 04
Unit economics audit
True CAC (with all hidden costs), gross-margin LTV, LTV/CAC ratio, payback period. Cohort-level analysis.
- Step 05
Retention audit
Email/WhatsApp/SMS revenue contribution, % owned channel revenue, repeat purchase rate, churn by cohort.
- Step 06
Brand & positioning audit
Brand recall, share of voice, positioning vs competitors, NPS/CSAT, qualitative customer feedback themes.
What goes wrong in London
- Treating the metric / concept as universal when the formula varies by category — definitions adapt to industry context.
- Conflating two adjacent concepts (e.g., CAC vs CPA; reach vs frequency; sessions vs users) — the difference matters in budget decisions.
- Using third-party-platform values without reconciliation against server-side truth.
- Mistaking a leading indicator for a lagging one (or vice versa) — direction of travel matters as much as the value.
- Setting targets against a generic benchmark instead of a category-specific band.
What to track for London
- The metric value itself, tracked over time (week-over-week + quarter-over-quarter).
- Variance from category benchmark — how far above / below the typical band.
- Direction of travel — is the metric improving or degrading?
- Reconciliation rate — how often does your reported value match server-side / post-purchase truth.
Tools + channels we use here
- GA4 / Mixpanel / AmplitudeTrack the metric over time.
- Server-side attribution stack (CAPI / GTM SS)Reconcile against post-purchase truth.
- Looker Studio / Tableau / HexDashboard the metric against benchmark bands.
- Frameleads CalculatorsUse the free in-browser calculators (see /tools).
Terms used on this page
Want this scoped to London?
30 minutes, no slides. We'll review your setup against London-specific search demand, competitor density, and channel mix — and hand you the three highest-leverage moves.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a proper audit take?
30 minutes for a tactical pulse-check, 7–14 days for a full deep-dive across all 6 areas. Frameleads runs the 30-min for free; a deep audit is a paid engagement.
Anything specific about London that changes this?
London's industry mix concentrates around b2b-saas, finance, fnb, which shifts both search demand and channel-mix economics. Key corridors in London: Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, Mayfair. Apply the playbook above with these local realities in mind — bidding norms, language preferences, and competitor density vary by city.
How long does a proper audit take?
30 minutes for a tactical pulse-check, 7–14 days for a full deep-dive across all 6 areas. Frameleads runs the 30-min for free; a deep audit is a paid engagement.
Is this the same as [adjacent concept]?
Adjacent metrics / concepts share inputs but differ in scope, attribution windows, or denominator. See the glossary entries linked below for the exact differences — they matter when you're setting budget against the metric.
What's a good benchmark for this?
Category-specific. Benchmarks shift by industry, geo, and stage. Use the band as a sanity check, not a target — the right target is the band median for your specific category × stage.
How often should we measure this?
Leading indicators: weekly. Lagging indicators: monthly. Quarterly + annual trends are the strategic view. Daily measurement adds noise without signal for most metrics in this class.
What tool measures this correctly in 2026?
Server-side attribution is the floor: GA4 + GTM Server-Side + Meta CAPI + Google Ads Enhanced Conversions. Reconcile against post-purchase truth monthly. Third-party-cookie-based reporting is unreliable.
Where does this metric mislead?
When the underlying inputs are wrong (mis-attribution, double-counting, mis-categorised events) — the metric reports a clean value but the real signal is broken upstream. Audit inputs before trusting outputs.
Long-form guides on related topics
Other guides for London
This guide for other cities
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Mumbai
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Bangalore
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Delhi NCR
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Chennai
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Hyderabad
- What is a marketing audit and what should it cover — Pune
Sources & references
Cited primary and analyst sources. Independent of Frameleads' own data.
- IBEF — India Brand Equity Foundation: Indian Industry Reports — IBEF (Ministry of Commerce & Industry)
Sector-level market size, growth, and policy context for Indian industries.
- IAMAI — Internet & Mobile Association of India — IAMAI
Digital advertising industry body; reports on India internet user base, ad spend, and platform shares.
- MoSPI — Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — Government of India
Primary source for India macro-economic indicators (CPI, GDP, household consumption).
- ASCI Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising in India — Advertising Standards Council of India
Mandatory baseline for all advertising claims in India — including digital, influencer, and comparative ads.
Run growth marketing in London with a senior team.
Book a free 30-minute audit. We'll review your current marketing against the London benchmarks above and tell you the three highest-leverage moves.