3
Gathering Information
and Scanning the
Environment
Marketing Management, 13th ed
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 problems
2. Development of an approach to
the problem/development of a
research plan
3. Formulation of research design
4. Implementing the research
plan regarding field work or data
collection
5. Data preparation and analysis
6. 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 • Educational groups
• Population age mix • Household patterns
• Ethnic markets • 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 • Computer activities
• TV Watching • Gardening
• Spending time with family • Renting movies
• Going to movies • Walking
• Fishing • 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?