Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment

Marketing Management, 13th ed

3

What is a Marketing Information System (MIS)?

A marketing information system consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze,

evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to

marketing decision makers.

MKIS development

Marketing Information System is developed from

1. Internal company records

2. Marketing intelligence activities

3. Marketing research

4. Marketing decision support systems

Internal Records and Marketing Intelligence

• Order-to-payment cycle

• Sales information system

• Databases, warehousing, data mining

• Marketing intelligence system

Marketing Intelligence System

• A set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain everyday information about developments in the marketing environment

• Market Intelligence is the capturing of information relevant to a companies markets. In a more practical context, it is the gathering, analysis, and dissemination of information that is relevant to the market segments your company participates, or wishes to participate in.

Steps to Improve Marketing Intelligence

• Train sales force to scan for new developments• Motivate channel members to share

intelligence• Network externally• Utilize a customer advisory panel• Utilize government data sources• Collect customer feedback online• Purchase information

Table 3.2 Secondary Commercial Data Sources

• Nielsen• BASES

• Information Resources Inc• Experian

• Simmons

• Arbitron• NPD

Sources of Competitive Information

• Independent customer goods and service review forums

• Distributor or sales agent feedback sites• Combination sites offering customer reviews

and expert opinions• Customer complaint sites• Public blogs• Interviews—up to 70% of intelligence

Marketing Research Process

1. Defining the problems2. Development of an approach to the

problem/development of a research plan

3. Formulation of research design4. Implementing the research plan

regarding field work or data collection5. Data preparation and analysis6. Report preparation and its presentation

Marketing Research Approach

• Observational research: primary data is gathered by observing the relevant actors and settings.

• Focus-group research: six to ten peoples are invited to spend a few hours with a skilled moderator to discuss a product, service or organization

continue……

• Survey research: suitable for descriptive research to learn about peoples, knowledge, beliefs, preferences and satisfaction

• Experimental research: most scientific research to capture the cause and effect relationships

Environmental Forces

• Demographic

• Economic

• Socio-cultural

• Natural

• Technological

• Political-legal

Population and Demographics

• Population growth• Population age mix• Ethnic markets

• Educational groups• Household patterns• Geographical shifts

Economic Environment

• Income Distribution• Savings, Debt, and Credit

Social-Cultural Environment

• Views of themselves

• Views of others

• Views of organizations

• Views of society

• Views of nature

• Views of the universe

Table 3.3 Most Popular American Leisure Activities

• Reading• TV Watching• Spending time with

family• Going to movies• Fishing

• Computer activities• Gardening• Renting movies• Walking• Exercise• Listening to music

Natural Environment• Shortage of raw materials

• Brazilian Wood

• Increased energy costs• Fuel Costs affect manufacturing,

distribution, and retailing

• Anti-pollution pressures• Biofuels, carbon credits, sustainability

• Governmental protections• Tarriffs, quotas, classifications, taxes

• Systemic Effects• Vultures in India, Cow & Growth Hormones

Technological Environment

• Pace of change

• Opportunities for innovation

• Varying R&D budgets

• Increased regulation of change

Chapter Questions

• What are the components of a modern marketing information system?

• What are useful internal records?• What is involved in a marketing intelligence

system?• What are the key methods for tracking and

identifying opportunities in the macro environment?

• What are some important macro environment developments?