Duhhhs, Hmmms, Ahhhs, Ohhhhs, and Wowwwws: Why Every CEWD Program Needs a Marketing Audit

Having just completed a comprehensive marketing audit of Penn State’s Continuing Education & Workforce Development (CEWD) program, I can say this with confidence: every CEWD program should conduct a marketing audit.

Even before we get to recommendations, the stakeholder interviews conducted as part of the audit alone create tremendous value. They give campus leaders and staff a voice, allow them to feel heard, and surface insights that might otherwise never see the light of day and make it to the table for discussion. And when I put the full findings together, the reaction is almost always the same — a mix of duhs (the obvious issues everyone knew about), hmms (new observations that make people think), ahhhs (satisfying moments of clarity), ohhhhs (surprising revelations), and the occasional wowwww (game-changing insight).

What a Best-in-Class Marketing Audit Covers

A true 360° marketing audit goes well beyond a quick website review or social media check. It should encompass:

·       Executive Summary – a high-level snapshot of current state.

·       SWOT Analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

·       Brand Identity, Positioning, & Messaging Assessment – are you saying the right things to the right people?

·       Website Audit & User Experience – performance, UX, SEO, and conversion flow.

·       Email & CRM Effectiveness – technology, segmentation, automation, analytics.

·       Social Media & Community Engagement – visibility, storytelling, and impact.

·       Competitor Benchmarking – how you compare against local and statewide rivals.

·       PESO Media Strategy (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) – channel mix and performance.

·       Org Structure & Staffing Needs – gaps that limit growth and scalability.

·       Audit Summary & Next Steps

Why Conduct a Marketing Audit?

Penn State CEWD commissioned this marketing audit because they lacked a centralized marketing infrastructure and wanted a clear strategy to increase brand awareness and enrollment.

It’s tempting to jump straight into strategy and tactics — launch ads, redesign the website, send more emails. But that’s a mistake. It’s like fixing a car without a diagnosis. You can’t create an effective marketing strategy until you know where you are now (audit state), what’s broken, what needs fixing, and where you want to go (desired state). Sometimes it’s people; sometimes it’s process, sometimes it’s tools; sometimes it’s all of the above. You won’t know until you get under the hood and conduct a thorough examination.

A marketing audit gives you a clear “point A.” Only then can you define your objectives (“point B”) and map the strategy that takes you from here to there.

How the Audit Was Conducted

This particular audit was conducted over 4–5 weeks:

Three weeks of discovery — stakeholder interviews, data gathering, website/SEO analysis, and competitive research.

Two weeks of synthesis — distilling findings into a structured, actionable document.

Most of the work was done via Zoom interviews, email exchanges, and analysis sessions, with select campus visits. Once complete, the final report was shared in advance and presented live to leadership, giving everyone time to review before discussion.

The Benefits: More Than Just Data

Marketing audits uncover not only the issues clients know and expect — inconsistent branding, weak digital presence — but also things they hadn’t considered: numerous lapsed employer relationships, internal process bottlenecks, and untapped opportunities in alumni engagement and microcredentials.

This holistic view gives leadership a shared, data-driven understanding of the current state. And that alone is powerful enough — it lays everything bare, gets everyone on the same page, deals only in facts, reduces finger-pointing, and creates a foundation for focused, collaborative action. Moving forward with objective setting, strategy development, and tactical execution is a transformational opportunity for the organization.

What Happens After the Audit

A great marketing audit doesn’t just sit on a shelf. It becomes the instrument of marketing change.

Here’s the ideal sequence after completing a marketing audit:

Presentation & Approval – review findings with leadership, gather feedback, finalize the audit state (point A).

Objective Setting – define the desired state (point B).

Strategy Development – determine the plan to get from point A to point B.

Tactical Execution – launch campaigns, update systems, train teams, measure results to execute the strategy.

By following this process, you ensure your marketing efforts are grounded in data, aligned with organizational priorities, and designed for measurable impact.

Bottom Line

A marketing audit isn’t a luxury — it’s the starting point for any serious CEWD growth effort: community growth, corporate partnership growth, brand awareness growth, enrollment growth, revenue and profit growth. It provides clarity, removes guesswork, and sets the stage for smart, data-driven decisions.

For higher-ed CEWD programs, in particular, where leaders are often pulled in many directions and aren’t marketing experts, a marketing audit offers the confidence to know what needs to be done, why it matters, and who should do it.

And sometimes, that first wowwww moment is all it takes to start transforming your marketing into a true growth engine and your CEWD program into a juggernaut.