Marketing Information System A Marketing Information System is the structure of people, equipment, and procedures used to gather, analyze, and distribute information needed by an organization.

Crteriia for a Well-Designed Marketing Information System Structured organization with people and procedures Generate a continuous flow of information Information should be gathered from inside and outside the organization Information should be compiled and used as a basis for marketing decisions

Requirements for a Successful Marketing Information System It should be objective It should be systematic It should be useful

Information Sources Primary Data –Advantages Specificity Practicality –Disadvantages Cost Time lag Duplication Secondary Data –Advantages Cost Timeliness –Disadvantages Limited applicability May be outdated Reliability

Types of secondary data INTERNAL DATA  Guest histories and sales data  Employees and management staff  Customer feedback EXTERNAL DATA  Trade associations  Travel bureaus  Trade journals and periodicals  Other Periodicals  Internet  University sources  Government sources  Syndicated services  Guides, indexes, and directories

Guidelines for collecting external information State known facts List specific goals and objectives Collect all relevant data Summarize the data and analyze the situation

Table 6.1 Comparison of Primary and Secondary Data Collection Methods CharacteristicSecondary DataPrimary Data Cost to collect dataLowHigh Timeframe to collect data ShortLong Specificity of dataLowHigh Reliability of dataUnknownHigh Timeliness of dataCan be outdatedRecent

Research Design Exploratory research – to gain an understanding of the nature of the problem Descriptive research – answer basic who, what, where, why, when, and how questions Causal research – focuses on cause-and-effect relationships

Methods for Collecting Data Experiments Observation Surveys –Direct mail –Telephone –Personal Interview –Comment Card

Table 6.1 Comparison of Survey Data Collection Methods Characteristics Direct Mail Surveys Telephone Surveys Personal Interviews Cost per respondent LowMediumHigh Speed of response LowHighMedium Response rate LowMediumHigh Interviewer bias LowMediumHigh Allows feedback LowMediumHigh Ability to handle sensitive topics HighMediumLow Ability to handle complex questions MediumLowHigh

Organizing Questionnaires I.Easy, screening questions II.More detailed questions regarding product usage and behavior III.Complicated questions involving ratings and rankings IV.Background information (demographics)

Question Design Open-ended Questions – no options, categories or scales Closed-ended Questions – provide options to choose from for a response –Dichotomous question – two choices (e.g., yes/no) –Multiple category question – categories (e.g., age, income) –Scaled-response question – rating scale (e.g., Likert)

Types of Samples Probability –Simple random sample –Systematic sample –Stratified sample Nonprobablity –Convenience sample –Judgment sample –Quota sample

Determining Sample Size Acceptable level of sampling error Amount of variability in the population Desired level of confidence

Table 6.2 Sampling Error by Sample Size Sample Size Allowance for Sampling Error (95% confidence level) % % % % 1,0002-4% 1,5002-3%

Data Analysis Descriptive Analysis –Profile of respondents or sampling units –Average or typical respondent Inferential Analysis –Test hypotheses and estimate parameters using sample statistics –Make inferences from sample to population

Research Ethics Rights and obligations of the respondent –Be truthful with responses –Right to privacy; confidentiality –Right to know true nature of the research Rights and obligations of the researcher –To provide privacy and confidentiality to respondents and clients –To remain impartial and objective –To be honest and accurate with results Rights and obligations of the client –To be honest about nature of the research –To be honest in dealings with suppliers (proposals) –To be committed to research © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.