UNIT DMARKETING

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

7.02 Interpret information to make effective business

decisions.

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Internal databases

Electronic collections of information obtained from data sources within the company.

• May be retrieved quickly

• Information may not be in line with what is needed.

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Internal data sources

• Accounting– Financial documents– Sales records

• Customer service– Rain checks– Service problems– Customer follow-up

• Operations– Inventory levels– Production timetable

•Salespeople

-Competition

-Customer preferences

-Customer feedback

•Marketing

-Customer segmentation

-Buying patterns

4

Marketing intelligence

The systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and developments in the marketing environment.

• Competitors investigate each other, often concurrently.

• Uses1. Provides forewarning of potential

opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis)

2. Improves decision making3. Helps trace competitors

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Marketing intelligence (cont.)

• Sources of information1. Employees2. Internet research

• Company annual reports from web pages, electronic bulletin boards, or blogging

• Online databases– U.S. Patent Office– Dun & Bradstreet– Dow Jones News

Retrieval– Lexis-Nexis– Data Star

3. Trade shows4. Competitors’ products

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Marketing research

The systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization.

• Many large companies have their own research department. Both large companies and small companies hire outside research consultants.

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Marketing research (cont.)

Steps in the research process

1. Define the problem and research objectives.

2. Develop the research plan.3. Implement the plan.4. Interpret and report the findings.

• Details on next slides

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Marketing research (cont.)

1. Define the problem and research objectives.• Often the most difficult step• Recognizing that there is a problem

may be simple, but identifying the specific source of the problem may be hard.

• Managers must carefully define the dilemma and determine research objectives. Plans should be written down, as they will guide the entire research process.

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Marketing research (cont.)

1. Define the problem and research objectives. (cont)• Three types of research

• Exploratory research: Marketing research to gather preliminary information that will help define problems and suggest hypotheses.

• Descriptive research: Marketing research to better describe marketing problems, situations, or markets, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers.

• Casual research: Marketing research to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships.

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Marketing research (cont.)

Steps in the research process

2.Develop the research plan.• Outline the information needed.• Create a written plan for gathering

information.• Specify the type of data to collect.

• Secondary or primary• To be usable, data must be pertinent,

precise, current, and unbiased.

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Marketing research (cont.)

Steps in the research process

3. Implement the plan.1. Most expensive stage in the research

process2. Putting the plan into action3. Includes collecting and processing data

1. Separate relevant data from clutter.2. Focus on the objectives established at the

beginning of the process.3. Check for precision and comprehensiveness.4. Derive statistical measure.

4. Interpret and report the findings.

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Secondary data

Information that already exists, having been collected for another purpose.

• May be obtained quickly at a cheaper rate than primary data

• Needed information may not currently exist• Sources

– Government (SBA, stat-usa.gov, census.gov)– Commercial providers (Hoovers online,

demographics.com)– Outside suppliers– Commercial online databases: Computerized

collections of information available from online commercial sources or via the Internet. (Dialog and LEXIS-NEXIS)

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Primary data

Information collected for the specific purpose at hand.

• Research approaches– Observational research– Survey research– Experimental research

Details on next slides

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Primary data (cont.)

• Observational research: The gathering of primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations.– Monitors exterior reactions but fails to

yield an understanding of feelings, attitudes, and/or motives

– Ethnographics: Consumer research that reveals the unspoken cultural and social patterns that shape consumer behavior and attempts to capture these personal characteristics.

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Primary data (cont.)

• Survey research: The gathering of primary data by asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior.– Flexible– Best suited for gathering

descriptive information

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Primary data (cont.)

• Experimental research: The gathering of primary data by selecting matched groups of subjects, giving them different treatments, controlling related factors, and checking for differences in group responses.

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Primary data (cont.)

• Contact methods1. Mail surveys2. Telephone interviews3. Personal interviews4. Online marketing research and

technology aided research

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Primary data (cont.)

• Mail surveys– Can collect large amounts of data at a

low price– Response time may be slow for large

samples– No control over who responds– Percentage of return may be low

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Primary data (cont.)

• Telephone interviews– Can collect data quickly– More accurate data because

interviewer can take time to clarify responses

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Primary data (cont.)

• Personal interviewing– Individual interviewing: A one-to-one

interview conducted in the homes or offices of individuals, on the street, or in shopping malls.

– Focus group interviewing: Interview process that involves a trained moderator and 6 to 10 people invited to talk about a product, service, or organization.

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Primary data (cont.)

• Online marketing research and technology aided research– Online marketing research: Collecting

primary data through Internet surveys and online focus groups.• Advantages are speed and lower costs.• Drawbacks are trying to get a reasonable sample

and reaching your desired market.– Computer-assisted telephone interviewing:

Collecting data by having interviewers sit at computers, read questions from the computer screen to a person over the telephone, and key in the person’s responses.

– Completely automated telephone surveys: Interviewing that utilizes computer initiated telephone calls and prerecorded questions.

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Primary data (cont.)

• Sampling plans– Extract conclusions about a consumer

population by studying a segment or sample

– Sample: A segment of the population selected for marketing research to represent the population as a whole.

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Primary data (cont.)

• Research instruments1. Questionnaires

• Allow use of open-ended questions, close-ended questions, or a combination

• Allow for ordering of the questions• Require unbiased wording

2. Mechanical devices• Meters to track input• Scanners such as those used in grocery

stores• Eye cameras that evaluate consumers’

eye movements and reactions END