Marketing information Systems

Research Approaches

Three basic research approaches are observations, surveys, and experiments.

Focus Groups

- 6-10 people to talk about thoughts on a product - Broad question that then moves to more specific

Online Interviews

-Over 35% of survey based research - Companies using this to expand their capabilities - quick but expensive, need to be properly designed for proper audience.

Marketing Research Process

1. Defining the problem and research objectives 2. Developing the research plan for collecting information. 3. Implementing the plan- Collecting and analyzing the data. 4. Interpreting and reporting the findings

Objectives of a Market Research Project

1. exploratory research, to gather preliminary information that will help define the problem and suggest hypotheses 2. descriptive research, to describe size & composition of the market 3. causal research, to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships

What makes a good marketing information system?

A good marketing information system balances information managers would like to have against that which they really need & is feasible to obtain. Asking for the right amount of information, not too much not too little.

What does a Marketing Information System Consist of?

A marketing information system (MIS) consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.

Sources of Competitive Information

Competitive intelligence is available from trade magazine articles, competitors' reports, speeches, press releases, brochures, and advertisements. Using the Internet, marketers can search competitor names, events, or trends & see what turns up.Companies can subscribe online databases and information search services.

In-Depth Interviews

In-depth surveys, another form of qualitative personal interviewing, can be used when it is difficult to put together a focus group. • Another form of qualitative personal interviewing, individual interviews using open-ended questions. - they allow a researcher to probe & gain insight into consumer behavior • Qualitative research is useful to gain insight into definitions and concepts as well as insight into survey results.

Contact Methods

Information can be collected by three methods. - mail questionnaires can collect large amounts of information at a low cost per respondent. - telephone interviewing allows quick data gathering - personal interviewing takes two forms: individual (intercept) and in-depth methods

Internal & External Sources

It can be gathered by executives, front-desk staff, service staff, purchasing agents, and sales force.

Defining the Problem and Research Objectives

Managers need to work close to researchers, must know enough about research to know how to interpret it. Not knowing enough can lead managers to read information incorrectly as well as request more data than they need. Assuming the problem is well defined the researcher and manager must set up research objectives.

The Research Plan - Specific Information Needs

The second marketing research step is determining needed information & making a data collection plan. To meet a manager's information needs, researchers can gather secondary data, primary data, or both. - primary data consist of information collected for the specific purpose at hand - secondary data consist of information already in existence somewhere, having been collected for another purpose

Survey research,

best suited to gathering descriptive information, can be structured or unstructured. - structured surveys use formal lists of questions asked of all respondents in the same way - unstructured surveys let the interviewer probe respondents and guide the interview according to their answers - the major advantage of survey research is its flexibility - sometimes people are can't answer questions as they don't remember or never thought about what they do & why - careful survey design can help minimize problems

Experimental Research

is designed to capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings. - the most scientifically valid research - experiments call for subjecting matched groups of subjects to different treatments, controlling extraneous variables, and checking whether observed response differences are statistically significant - if the experiment is well designed & executed, managers can have confidence in the conclusions

Observational research

is gathering of primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations. - this research can yield information people are normally unwilling or unable to provide - companies now use ethnographic research, observers who watch & interact with consumers - feelings, beliefs, and attitudes that motivate buying behavior cannot be observed. - long-run or infrequent behavior is also difficult to observe

Sampling Plan

• Marketing researchers usually draw conclusions about large consumer groups by taking a sample. - a segment of the population selected to represent the population as a whole • Ideally, the sample should allow accurate estimates of the thoughts & behaviors of the larger population. • Designing the sample calls for four decisions. - who will be surveyed? - how many people should be surveyed? - how should the sample be chosen? - when will the survey be given?