1. Marketing Research and Information Systems
Chapter 4
Marketing Research and Information Systems

2. The Importance of Information
Companies need information about their:
Marketing environment
Competition
Customer needs
Managers don’t need more information, they need better information.

3. What is a Marketing Information System (MIS)?
A MIS consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.
The MIS helps managers to:
Assess Information Needs,
Develop Needed Information,
Distribute Information.

4. The Marketing Information System (Fig. 4.1)

5. Functions of a MIS: Developing Information
Information Needed by Managers Can be Obtained From:
Internal Data
Computerized Collection of Information from Data Sources (i.e. Accounting) Within the Company.
Marketing
Research
Design, Collection, Analysis, and Reporting of Data about a Specific Marketing Situation Facing the Organization.
Intelligence
Collection and Analysis of Publicly Available Information about Competitors and the
Marketing Environment (i.e. Technological).

6. Customer Information Comment cards Registration-membership
Disguised/mystery shoppers
Employees
Company records
Exit interviews
Follow up phone calls

7. Functions of a MIS: Distributing Information
Distributes Routine Information for
Decision Making
Information Must be Distributed
to the Right Managers at the Right Time.
Distributes Nonroutine
Information for Special
Situations

8. The Marketing Research Process (Fig. 4.2)
Implementing
the research
plan -- collecting
and analyzing
the data
Defining the
problem and
research
objectives
Developing the
research plan
for collecting
information
Interpreting
and reporting
the findings

9. Marketing Research Process Step 1
Marketing Research Process Step 1. Defining the Problem & Research Objectives
Exploratory
Research
Gathers preliminary information
that will help define the problem
and suggest hypotheses.
Descriptive
Research
Describes things as market
potential for a product or the
demographics and consumers’
attitudes.
Causal
Research
Test hypotheses about cause-
and-effect relationships.
Tests hypotheses about cause-

10. Marketing Research Process Step 2. Develop the Research Plan
Research plan development follows these steps:
Determining Specific Information Needs
Gathering Secondary information
Planning Primary Data Collection

11. Examples Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Causal Research
(Unaware of Problem) (Aware of Problem) (Problem Clearly Defined)
“Our sales are declining and “What kind of people are buying “Will buyers purchase more of
we don’t know why.” our product? Who buys our our products in a new package?”
competitor’s product?”
“Would people be interested “Which of two advertising
in our new product idea?” “What features do buyers prefer campaigns is more effective?”
in our product?”
possible situation

12. Develop the Research Plan Gathering Secondary Information
Information That Already Exists Somewhere.
+ Obtained More Quickly, Lower Cost.
- Might Not be Usable Data.
Secondary
Both Must Be:
Relevant
Accurate
Current
Impartial
Information Collected for the Specific Purpose at Hand.
Primary
For ad, click object:

13. Develop the Research Plan Planning Primary Data Collection
Observational Research
Gathering data by observing people,
actions and situations
(Exploratory)
Research Approaches
Survey Research
Asking individuals about attitudes, preferences or
buying behaviors
(Descriptive)
Most Widely Used Form
Experimental Research
Using groups of people to
determine cause-and-effect
relationships
(Causal)

14. Develop the Research Plan Planning Primary Data Collection
Contact Methods (Table 4.3)

15. Develop the Research Plan Planning Primary Data Collection
Probability or
Non-probability
sampling?
Sampling Plans
Who is to be
surveyed?
(What Sampling
Unit?)
Sample -
representative
segment of the
population
How should the
sample be
chosen?
How many
should be
surveyed?

16. Develop the Research Plan Planning Primary Data Collection
Research Instruments
Questionnaire
What questions to ask?
Form of each question?
Closed-end
Open-end
Wording?
Ordering?
Mechanical Devices
People Meters
Supermarket Scanners
Galvanometer
Tachistoscope
Eye Cameras

17. Research Problem Areas
1. Making assumptions
2. Lack of Qualitative information
3. Failing to look at segments within a sample
4. Improper use of sophisticated statistical analysis
5. Sample is not representative of the population
6. Using biased questions in surveys

18. Development of questions 1
Development of questions 1. Every question should focus on a topic and measure what you want it to measure.
Wrong: Which restaurant do you like the best?
Right: Which of these restaurants you be most likely to choose for a casual dinner?
Wrong: When do you usually go to work?
Right: What time do you ordinarily leave home for work?

19. 2. Questions should be brief
Wrong: Can you tell me how many children you have, whether they are girls or boys, and how old they are?
Right: What is the age and gender of your children?

20. 3. Use vocabulary the respondent will understand
Wrong: Are you an exurbanite?
Right: What is your zip code?

21. 4. Question must be applicable to the respondent
Wrong: How long does it take you to find a parking place after you arrive at the restaurant?
Right: If you drive to the restaurant, how long does it take you to find a parking place after you arrive at the restaurant?
Might use a screening question first - Do you usually drive to the restaurant. Yes___ No____, If Yes …….

22. 5. Avoid using examples that can introduce bias
Wrong: Do you eat lamb chop ribs, even thought they contain a lot of fat?
Right: How likely are you to order lamb chop when you dine out? Perhaps use this with a 7 point scale.

23. 6. Make sure the respondent can answer the question
Wrong: How many times did you dine out last year?
Right: How many times did you dine out at a fast food restaurant during the last 2 weeks?

24. 7. Avoid ambiguous words
Wrong: About what time do you ordinarily eat dinner?
Right: About what time do you dine in the evening?
Avoid; sometimes, frequently, usually

25. 8. Avoid double barreled questions
Wrong: Do you dine out regularly because it is as cheap as eating at home?
Right: Do you dine out regularly? Why or why not?

26. 9. Scales- Mutually exclusive – Collectively exhaustive
0-10___, 10-15___ not mutually exclusive
5-10____, 11-15___, 15+____, not collectively exhaustive

27. Marketing Research Process Step 3. Implementing the Research Plan
Collecting the
Data
Most Expensive & Subject to Error
Research Plan
Processing the
Data
Analyzing the
Data

28. Marketing Research Process Step 4. Interpreting and Reporting Findings
Step 1. Interpret the Findings
Researcher Should Present Important Findings that are Useful in the Major Decisions Faced by Management.
Step 2. Draw Conclusions
Step 3. Report to Management

29. Review of Concept Connections
Explain the importance of information to the company.
Define the marketing information system and discuss its parts.
Outline the steps in the marketing research process.
Distinguish among exploratory, descriptive, and causal research.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of collecting information.
Discuss the issues for developing survey and collecting data