1. Marketing Research and Information Systems
Week
Marketing Research and Information Systems

2. The Importance of Information
Companies need information about their:
Marketing environment
Competition
Customer needs
Managers don’t need more information, they need better information.

3. What is a Marketing Information System (MIS)?
A 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.

4. The Marketing Information System

5. Functions of a MIS: Developing Information
Information Needed by Managers Can be Obtained From:
Internal Data
Computerized Collection of Information from Data Sources Within the Company.
Marketing
Research
Design, Collection, Analysis, and Reporting of Data about a Specific Marketing Situation Facing the Organization.
Intelligence
Collection and Analysis of Publicly Available Information about Competitors and the
Marketing Environment (i.e. Technological).

6. Marketing Information System: Developing Information
Company Internal Databases
Accounting
Manufacturing
sales and marketing
customer service
For further details about this topic see page116 5 5

7. Marketing Information System: Developing Information
Marketing Intelligence
company personnel
customers
suppliers & resellers
business publications
trade shows
competitive analysis
information search firms
For further details about this topic see page117 6 6

8. The Marketing Research Process
Implementing
the research
plan -- collecting
and analyzing
the data
Defining the
problem and
research
objectives
Developing the
research plan
for collecting
information
Interpreting
and reporting
the findings

9. Marketing Research Process Step 1
Marketing Research Process Step 1. Defining the Problem & Research Objectives
Exploratory
Research
Gathers preliminary information
that will help define the problem
and suggest hypotheses.
Descriptive
Research
Describes things as market
potential for a product or the
demographics and consumers’
attitudes.
Causal
Research
Test hypotheses about cause-
and-effect relationships.

10. Ownership of Cats and Dogs by Age Group
Source: Maritz Poll
Source: American Demographics, December 2000, p. 27. Adapted with permission.

11. Top Ten Zip Codes for Spending on Fireworks
Source: American Demographics, July 2000, p. 24. Adapted with permission.

12. Marketing Research Process Step 2. Develop the Research Plan
Research plan development follows these steps:
Determining Specific Information Needs
Gathering Secondary information
Planning Primary Data Collection

13. Develop the Research Plan Gathering Secondary Information
Information That Already Exists, collected for any purpose other
than the one at hand.
+ Obtained More Quickly, Lower Cost.
- Might Not be Usable Data.
Secondary
Both Must Be:
Relevant
Accurate
Current
Impartial
Information Collected for the Specific Purpose at Hand.
Primary

14. Develop the Research Plan Planning Primary Data Collection
Observational Research
Gathering data by observing people,
actions and situations
Research Approaches
Survey Research
Asking individuals about attitudes, preferences or
buying behaviors
Most Widely Used Form
Experimental Research
Using groups of people to
determine cause-and-effect
relationships

15. A research method that relies on three types of observation:
Observation Research
A research method that relies on three types of observation:
people watching people
people watching an activity
machines watching people
On Line
Brand Marketing International
Learn more about mystery shopping by requesting a mystery shopper kit from BMI and reading the shopper application.
Notes:
Observation research depends on watching what people do. It may be conducted by human observers or machines.

16. Observation Research Types of Observation Research
Mystery Shoppers
One-Way Mirrors
Types of Observation Research
Audits
Machines Watching People
People Watching People
People Watching an Activity
Traffic Counters
Passive People Meter

17. On Line
Mystery Shoppers
Researchers posing as customers who gather observational data about
a store and collect data about customer/employee interactions.

18. You have been hired by (a) to determine when, where, how and
Observation Problem
You have been hired by (a) to determine when, where, how and
why students consume or use (b) . You have to use observation techniques. Explain how you proceed. Be creative but ethical.

19. Forms of Survey Research
Focus Groups
Executive Interviews
Mail Surveys
Telephone Interviews (Home and Central Location)
Mall Intercept Interviews
In-Home Interviews

20. Characteristics of Traditional Forms of Survey Research

21. Questionnaire Design Open-Ended Question Closed-Ended Scaled- Response
An interview question that encourages an answer phrased in respondent’s own words.
An interview question that asks
the respondent to make a selection from a limited list of responses.
A closed-ended question
designed to measure the intensity
of a respondent’s answer.
Notes:
Questionnaires contain three basic types of questions:
Open-ended questions
Closed-ended questions
Scaled-response questions.
Examples of these types of questions are shown on the next slide and in Exhibit 8.5.

22. Types of Questions in Questionnaire Design
Notes:
Exhibit 8.5

23. Qualities of Good Questionnaires Reasonable Terminology
Questionnaire Design
On Line
Qualities of Good Questionnaires
Clear and Concise
No Ambiguous Language
Unbiased
Reasonable Terminology
On Line
CreateSurvey.com
Design a marketing questionnaire to post on your class Web site using the tools offered by Create Survey. Visit the demo polls on the site for ideas and tips.

25. Non-Probability Samples
Sampling Procedure
Universe
Sample
Probability Samples
Non-Probability Samples

26. Marketing Research Process Step 3. Implementing the Research Plan
Collecting the
Data
Most Expensive & Subject to Error
Research Plan
Processing the
Data
Analyzing the
Data

27. Marketing Research Process Step 4. Interpreting and Reporting Findings
Step 1. Interpret the Findings
Researcher Should Present Important Findings that are Useful in the Major Decisions Faced by Management.
Step 2. Draw Conclusions
Step 3. Report to Management