Marketing Information System MIS Companies need sound information

Marketing Information System (MIS) • Companies need sound information to produce superior value and satisfaction for its customers. • Companies also require information on competitors, resellers, and other actors and forces in the marketplace. • Marketers are increasingly viewing information as an important strategic asset and marketing tool. 1

Customer Insights • To create value for customers and build meaningful relationships with them, marketers must first gain fresh, deep insights into what customers need and want • Such customer insights come from good marketing information. • To gain good customer insights, marketers must effectively manage marketing information from a wide range of sources such as traditional marketing research studies, mingling with and observing consumers and even monitoring consumer online conversations about the company and its products. 2

Marketing Information System (MIS) • MIS consists of people, equipment and procedures dedicated to assessing information needs, developing the needed information and sharing it with decision makers. • MIS helps users to analyse and use the information to develop customer insights, make marketing decisions, and manage customer relationships. • The MIS must monitor the marketing environment to provide decision makers with information they should have to better understand customers and make key marketing decisions. 3

MIS Structure Developing Needed Information Assessing Information Needs • Internal databases • Marketing Intelligence • Marketing Research Analysing and Using Information 4

Assessing information needs • Who needs the information • What kind of information is needed • Where and how can the information be obtained • At what cost 5

Developing MI: sources • Internal Data bases • Marketing Intelligence • Marketing Research 6

Internal Data Bases • Collection of electronic information obtained from data sources within the company • Sources of internal data includes records of sales, costs, production schedules, shipments etc • Internal databases usually can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information sources. • Disadvantages are: information may be incomplete or in wrong form for making marketing decisions • Data also ages quickly, therefore updating the database could require major effort. • Managing large amounts of information may require highly sophisticated equipment and techniques. 7

Marketing intelligence • Systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about consumers, competitors and developments in the marketplace. • Main objective is to improve strategic decision making, assess and track competition and provide early warnings of opportunities and threats. • The techniques range from observing consumer first hand to quizzing the company’s employees, benchmarking with competitors, researching the internet and monitoring internet buzz. 8

Marketing Research • Systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization. • It is used to assess market potential, market share; customer motivations, behaviours, satisfaction etc • Can also be used to measure effectiveness of pricing, product, distribution and promotion activities. 9

The Marketing Research Process • 1. Defining the problem and research objectives • 2. Developing the research plan for collecting data • 3. Implementing the research plancollecting and analysing data • 4. Interpreting and reporting the findings 10

Marketing Research • The research may be exploratory, descriptive or causal • Both internal and external secondary sources often provide information more quickly and cheaply than primary sources • Primary data collection methods- observation, survey, experiments • Research instruments- questionnaires, interviews, mechanical instruments 11

Analysing and using Marketing Information • Information gathered databases, marketing intelligence and marketing research usually requires more analysis. • Hence the need for special software and analysis techniques e. g. Customer Relationship Management 12