MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM AND MARKETING RESEARCH Marketing and information § Macroenvironment § Customers § Competition § Strategic management Marketing Information System § An 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 1. Assessing Information Needs 2. Developing Information Obtains Needed Information for Marketing Managers FROM: 3. Distributing Information Right Information + Right Time + Right Managers The Marketing Information System Marketing Research § Marketing research is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making related to the identification and solutions of problems and opportunities in marketing (Naresh Malhotra) Purposes of Marketing Research § Identify changes in the existing market § Build up a knowledge bank § Improve market awareness & opportunities § Reduce risk and uncertainty § Support marketing mix decisions § Support marketing planning and controls § Improve understanding of marketing § Solve ad hoc problems Marketing and Market Research § Marketing research - is the gathering of information on all activities of marketing § Market research - is the gathering of information on a particular market for a product or service § Marketing research has a wider scope than market research Types of research information § Market research - information about the market for a given product/service - likely demand -market characteristics & trends -market share § Promotion research -effects of advertising on sales -effectiveness of promotion methods/media; sales areas Types of research information § Product research covers information about the proposed/improved product: -competing products -customer acceptance -test marketing of potential new users § Price research - customer perception of price/quality/value -profit margin § Distribution research -location & design of distribution centre -costs of transportation/storage Why Research? § To Avoid ... § To Reduce ... § To Obtain ... The Marketing Research Process Developing the Research Plan Defining the problem and objectives § Decision problem = „what needs to be done“? § Research problem = „what information should be provided to help to decide what needs to be done?“ + „how the information can be best secured?“ § DP: Should we invest into new service investment? § RP: Will the offer of the new service create such a surplus which would cover the investment and ensure the profit for the next 3 years? § RO: Do customers want such service? Whcih segment of customers? What are their characteristics? Will the service make better image? How many customers would use this service?.......... 1. Defining the Problem & Objectives Gathers preliminary information that will help define the problem and suggest hypotheses. Exploratory Research § Generally provides qualitative data § May take several forms – Consumer interviews – Focus groups – Case studies – Ethnography – Projective techniques Descriptive Research § Utilizes a large sample of participants as base § Generally provides quantitative data § Designs – Cross-sectional design involves the systematic collection of quantitative information from one or more samples of respondents at one point in time – Longitudinal design tracks the responses of the same sample of respondents over time Causal Research § Attempts to understand cause-and-effect relationships § Factors that might cause a change are independent variables while the variables that are affected are dependent variables § Experimental design allows researchers to control possible explanations for the effect 2. Developing research plan § What, how, when, who, where????? § Includes: – Determining the exact information needed – Developing a plan for gathering it efficiently – Deciding the form of the final results presentation § Outlines: – Sources of data and information – Specific research approaches – Contact methods – Sampling plans – Instruments for data collection Types and surces of data and information Using secondary data § As a backdrop to primary research eg when doing basis research in unfamiliar territory § As a substitute for research - information already available or in cases where it is not worth doing primary research § As a technique in itself - eg for collecting historic data on market trends Comparison on Data Types · Dfn: data already exist · Exs: census, government, Dun&B CDRoms, corporate library, scanner data (Nielsen,) · +’s: quick, cheap, easy, focuses research, can answer Q, benchmark · -’s: doesn’t fit problem, outdated · Dfn: data you collect for purpose at hand · Exs: focus group, survey, interviews, telemarketing · +’s: tailored to needs, current · -’s: takes time to collect, expensive TYPES OF SECONDARY DATA Primary Data § Research Approach: Qualitative V Quantitative Research § Qualitative research -seeks in-depth, open-ended and unquantifiable information describing opinions, values etc, rather than sizes and amounts in numerical form § Quantitative research -seeks structured responses that can be quantified in numerical form rather than general, open-ended information Collection methods § Communication – Mail questionnaires – Telephone interviews – Face-to-face interviews – Online questionnaires § Observation + recording – Personal – Mechanical …People Meters, Supermarket Scanners, Galvanometer, Eye Cameras Communication - inquiry FACE – to – FACE - Personal interview survey_ § In-home (door-to-door) interview § Focus-group interview § Telephone depth interview § Shopping mall intercept interviews § On-site computer interviews PROBLEMS????? § What questions to ask § Form of each question – Closed-ended, Dichotomous, Open-ended, Multiple-Choice… § Wording § Ordering Typical problems in wording questions Choosing the Sample – Sampling § Population—all the elements, units, or individuals of interest to researchers for specific study § Sample—a limited number of units chosen to represent the characteristics of a total population – Types of sampling – Probability—each element has an known chance for study – Random—each element has an equal chance for study – Stratified—study population divided into like groups – Nonprobability: element’s likelihood of study is unknown – Quota: population is grouped and elements are arbitrarily chosen 3. Implementing the research plan Collecting and analysing the data § Pilot research – to test the research approach, sample, objectives, quality of ….. § Collection § Coding § Tabulating § Calculating, summarizing, analysing § Interpretation 4. Interpreting and Reporting the Findings Prepare the Research Report § Executive summary § A description of research methods § Discussion of results § Limitations of study § Conclusions and recommendations Key concept in assessing the quality of research. § Validity: refers to how well a research design(and the research method and the measures or questions used) measure what it claims to measure. § Reliability : refers to the consistency of research results. In other words, if we repeat the research, or if a different interviewer undertake the fieldwork, will we get the same result § Representativeness: Basic information about survey § www.utdallas.edu/~axs050300/Slides%20Week%205%20Wednesday.ppt § www.biz.colostate.edu/faculty/lonc/BK320%20PPTS/Street%20Smart%20Market%20Research.PPT § www.ceebp.org/Report_CEEBP_III_wave.ppt § fpmdi. § cfans.umn.edu/mktg6051/Lecture/Secondary.ppt § econ.ucsc.edu/faculty/flannery/marketing/PowerPoints/kotler04_media.ppt § mgtclass.mgt.unm.edu/MIDS/Shul/PowerPoints%20ch04/armstrong04_media.ppt § acad.erskine.edu/facultyweb/santella/Marketing%20Research/mrslides/ch02cb6e.ppt § home.olemiss.edu/~rcosenza/sol4ppts/solomon04_basic.ppt § learning.north.londonmet.ac.uk/mt102/researchmtlecture.ppt