Marketing Information and Research

1. Marketing Information and Research Chapter 5

2. Competition • When products have limited differences, businesses try to compete for sales emphasizing such things as their name, availability, or price. • You see this often when businesses compete in an oligopoly – few businesses offer very similar products • Example Airline industry • Competition is becoming more and more intense for most businesses. No matter what type of competition they are facing

3. Data Internal External External information- provides an understanding of factors outside of the organization Marketers cannot plan effectively without understanding consumers, competitors, the economy, and other changes around them Trade and Professional Association Business Publications Commercial Data and Information Service Government Reports Examples of these include US Census Bureau, The Wall Street Journal, and the Dun & Bradstreet business database • Internal information- is information developed from activities that occur within the organization • Businesses must keep detailed and accurate records – Three Types • 1. Customer Records & Sales Information • 2. Production & Operations Reports • 3. Performance Information • This can all be used for internal marketing information

4. Market Information Systems • An organized method of collecting, storing, analyzing, and retrieving information to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing decisions • The method includes five steps • 1. Decision Making- the purpose of an MKIS is to improve decision making • 2. Output- the result of analysis given to decision makers • 3. Analysis- the process of summarizing, combining, or comparing information • 4. Storage- the resources used to maintain information so it can be used when needed • 5. Input- information that goes into the system for decision making

5. Using Marketing Research • Marketing research- is a procedure designed to identify solutions to specific marketing problems through the use of scientific solving • The scientific method is used to ensure that a careful and objective procedure is followed in order to develop the best possible solution • 1. Define the problem • 2. Analyze the Situation • 3. Develop a Data-Collection Procedure • Primary Data- information collected for the first time • Secondary data- information already collected for another purpose • 4. Gather Information • 5. Propose a solution

6. Marketing Research • Random sampling ensures that everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample. • Numerical data is much easier for researchers to analyze than non-numerical data. • The most important part of a marketing research report is the accuracy of the information and the presentation of the results of the research.

7. Collecting Primary Data • Ways to Collect Primary Data • Conducting Surveys • Making Observations • collects information by recording actions without interacting or communicating with the participant • Performing Experiments • A carefully designed and controlled situation in which all important factors are the same except the one being studied is an experiment • Test Markets • are specific cities or geographic areas in which marketing experiments are conducted • Simulations • are experienced when researchers create the situation to be studied

8. Surveys • A planned set of questions to which individuals or groups of people respond • Two Types of questions • Closed-ended questions- offer two or more choices • Open ended questions- allows respondents to develop their own answers • Often used when researchers are attempting to identify the problem

9. Types of Information Needed for Effective Marketing Decisions • Most businesses today recognize that different customers have different wants and needs. • The business environment includes information about types of competition, economic conditions, and government regulations • Information about consumers consists of age, gender, brand preference, and income • Information about the marketing mix elements consists of product features, promotional message, and price • Effective marketing information reduces the risk of decision making.

10. Additional Info • The most important performance measure for a company is to compare actual performance with expected or planned performance. • KNOW THE VOCAB • Be able to: • Name the three categories of important types of internal information and briefly describe each. • Name the 5 steps of the marketing scientific method and give a description of each.