The Role of Marketing Research and Marketing Information Systems 4 The Role of Marketing Research and Marketing Information Systems

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.

The Marketing Information System

Types of Marketing Research Firms Syndicated- service Custom Specialty- line

Marketing information system consists of: a. The Internal Record System; - Order-to-payment cycle - Sales information system - Databases, warehousing, data mining b. The Marketing Intelligence System; - 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

Marketing information system consists of: (cont.) d. The Marketing Research e. The Marketing Decision Support System

Table 3.2 Secondary Commercial Data Sources Nielsen BASES Information Resources Inc Experian Simmons Arbitron NPD By clicking on the video icon, you can launch a short video clip about Burke’s research process. COPYRIGHT © 2009 JARED M HANSEN 3-7

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 COPYRIGHT © 2009 JARED M HANSEN 3-8

What is Marketing Research? Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.

The Marketing Research Process Define the problem Develop research plan Make decision Collect information Analyze information Present findings

1. Defining the Problem and Research Objectives Define the problem Specify decision alternatives State research objectives

2. Developing the Research Plan a. Data sources b. Research approach; Observation Ethnographic Focus group Survey Behavioral data Experimentation

2. Developing the Research Plan (cont.) c. Research instruments; Questionnaires Qualitative Measures Technological Devices d. Sampling plan Sampling unit: Who is to be surveyed? Sample size: How many people should be surveyed? Sampling procedure: How should the respondents be chosen?

2. Developing the Research Plan (cont.) e. Contact methods Mail questionnaire Telephone interview Personal interview Online interview

Pros and Cons of Online Research Advantages Inexpensive Fast Accuracy of data, even for sensitive questions Versatility Disadvantages Small samples Skewed samples Technological problems Inconsistencies

3. Collect the Information In the case of surveys, 4 major problems arise; Some respondents will not be at home and must be contacted again or replaced. Others respondents will refuse the cooperate. Still others will give biased or dishonest answer. Some interviewers will be biased or dishonest.

4. Analyze the Information At this step, in order to use the various tools of analysis have been tabulated data can be extracted so as to show the most meaningful results for management purposes. The main work in the analysis is to describe and look at the relationship between one variable to another variable in the study in order to see the direction. In addition, the analysis is usually able to provide predictions.

Report must have following sections 5. Present the findings Findings must be presented to decision-makers in a format that allows them to make effective judgments. Report must have following sections Executive Summary Objectives & Methodology Summary, Conclusion, Recommendation Sample Characteristics & Basis of selection Detailed findings Questionnaires & other supporting documents

What is a Marketing Decision Support System (MDSS)? A marketing decision support system is a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques with supporting hardware and software by which an organization gathers and interprets relevant information from business and environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action.

Barriers Limiting the Use of Marketing Research A narrow conception of the research Uneven caliber of researchers Poor framing of the problem Late and occasionally erroneous findings Personality and presentational differences

Characteristics of Good Marketing Research Scientific method Research creativity Multiple methods Interdependence Value and cost of information Healthy skepticism Ethical marketing

What are Marketing Metrics? Marketing metrics are the set of measures that helps marketers quantify, compare, and interpret marketing performance.

Table 4.4 Marketing Metrics External Awareness Market share Relative price Number of complaints Customer satisfaction Distribution Total number of customers Loyalty Internal Awareness of goals Commitment to goals Active support Resource adequacy Staffing levels Desire to learn Willingness to change Freedom to fail Autonomy

What is Marketing-Mix Modeling? Marketing-mix models analyze data from a variety of sources, such as retailer scanner data, company shipment data, pricing, media, and promotion spending data, to understand more precisely the effects of specific marketing activities.

Marketing Dashboards A customer-performance scorecard records how well the company is doing year after year on customer-based measures. A stakeholder-performance scorecard tracks the satisfaction of various constituencies who have a critical interest in and impact on the company’s performance including employees, suppliers, banks, distributors, retailers, and stockholders.

Table 4.5 Sample Customer-Performance Scorecard Measures % of new customers to average # % of lost customers to average # % of win-back customers to average # % of customers in various levels of satisfaction % of customers who would repurchase % of target market members with brand recall % of customers who say brand is most preferred

Common Measurement Paths Customer Metrics Pathway Unit Metrics Pathway Cash-flow Metrics Pathway Brand Metrics Pathway

The Measures of Market Demand Potential Market Available Market Target Market Penetrated Market

Vocabulary for Demand Measurement Market demand Market forecast Market potential Company demand Company sales forecast Company sales potential

How Can We Estimate Current Demand? Total market potential Area market potential Market buildup method Multiple-factor index method

Estimating Future Demand Survey of Buyers’ Intentions Composite of Sales Force Opinions Expert Opinion Past-Sales Analysis Market-Test Method