Managing Marketing Information

Transcription

1 Managing Marketing Chapter 4 Learning Goals 1. Explain the importance of information to the company 2. Define the marketing information system 3. Outline the steps in the market research process 4. Explain how companies analyze and distribute information 5. Discuss special issues facing market researchers 1 1

2 Marketing Info. System Marketing System (MIS) Consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers. MIS begins and ends with information users marketing managers, internal and external partners, and others who need marketing information. First, it interacts with these information users to assess information needs. Next, it develops needed information from internal company databases, marketing intelligence activities, and marketing research. Then it helps users to analyze information to put it in the right form for making marketing decisions and managing customer relationships. Finally the MIS distributes the marketing information and helps managers use it in their decision making. 2 Assessing Marketing Needs The MIS serves company managers as well as external partners The MIS must balance needs against feasibility: Not all information can be obtained. Obtaining, processing, sorting, and delivering information is costly 3 2

3 Developing Marketing Internal data Marketing intelligence Marketing research Internal data is gathered via customer databases, financial records, and operations reports. Internal databases are electronic collections of information obtained from data sources within the company. Advantages include quick/easy access to information. Disadvantages stem from the incompleteness or inappropriateness of data to a particular situation. 4 Internal data Marketing intelligence Marketing research Developing Marketing Marketing intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors 5 and trends in the marketing environment. Competitive intelligence gathering activities have grown dramatically. Many sources of information exist: competitive Company employees Internet Garbage Published information Competitor s employees Trade shows Benchmarking Channel members customers and key 3

4 Internal data Marketing intelligence Marketing research Developing Marketing Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization. The marketing research process has four steps: 1. Defining the problem and research objectives. 2. Developing the research plan for collecting information. 3. Implementing the research plan collecting and analyzing the data. 4. Interpreting and reporting the findings. 6 Step 1: Defining the problem and research objectives The manager and the researcher must work together. These objectives guide the entire process. A marketing research project might have one of three types of objectives; Exploratory, descriptive, and causal. The objective of exploratory research is to gather preliminary information that will help define the problem and suggest hypotheses. The objective of descriptive research is to describe things, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers who buy the product. The objective of causal research is to test hypotheses about causeand-effect relationships. For example, would a 10% decrease in tuition at a private college result in an enrollment increase sufficient to offset the reduced tuition? 7 4

5 Step 2: Developing the Research Plan The research plan is a written document that outlines the type of problem, objectives, data needed, and the usefulness of the results. Includes: Secondary data: collected for another purpose that already exists somewhere. Secondary data sources: Government information Internal, commercial, and online databases Publications Advantages: Obtained quickly Less expensive than primary data Disadvantages: may not exist or may not be usable Primary data: collected for the specific purpose at hand Primary research decisions: Research approaches Contact methods Sampling plan Research instruments 8 Research Approaches Contact Method Sampling Plan Research Instrument 9 Primary Data Observational research refers to the gathering of primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situation, using people or machines. Discovers behavior but not motivations. Survey research refers to the gathering of primary data by asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior. Effective for descriptive information. Appropriate for companies that want to know about people s knowledge, attitudes, preferences, or buying behavior. Experimental research refers to 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. Investigates cause and effect relationships. For example, before adding a new sandwich to its menu, McDonald s might use experiments to test the effects on sales of two different prices it might charge. 5

6 Primary Data Research Approach Contact Method Sampling Plan Research Instrument Key Contact Methods Include: Mail surveys Telephone surveys Personal interviewing: Individual or focus group Group interviewing consists of inviting 6 to 10 people to talk with a trained moderator to talk about a product, service, or organization. At the same time, the moderator focuses the discussion hence the name focus group interviewing on important issues. Online (internet) marketing research: collecting primary data through internet surveys and online focus groups. 10 Marketing Info. System Flexibility Sample control Data quantity Cost Interviewer effects Speed of data collection Response rate 11 6

7 Research Approach Contact Method Sampling Plan Research Instrument Primary Data Sample: a segment or subgroup of the population selected for marketing research to represent the population as a whole. From this sample marketers will collect the necessary information. Sampling Plan Decisions: Sampling unit: who is to be surveyed? Sample size: how many people should be surveyed? Sampling procedure: how should the people in the sample be chosen? Probability samples: each population member has a known chance of being included in the samples and researchers can calculate confidence limits for sampling error. Non-probability samples: when probability sampling costs too much or takes too much time, marketing researchers often take nonprobability samples, even though their sampling error cannot be measured. 12 Research Approach Contact Method Sampling Plan Research Instrument Primary Data In collecting primary data, marketing researchers have a choice of two main research instruments: Questionnaires: Include open-ended and closedended questions Phrasing and question order are key Mechanical instruments: Nielsen Media Research attaches people meters to television sets in selected homes to record who watches which programs. Checkout scanners Eye cameras are used to study respondents eye movements to determine at what points their eyes focus first and how long they stay on a given item. 13 7

8 Step 3: Implementing the Research Plan Data is collected by the company or an outside firm The data is then processed and checked for accuracy and completeness and coded for analysis Finally, the data is analyzed by a variety of statistical methods 14 Step 4: Interpreting and Reporting the Findings The research interprets the findings, draws conclusions and reports to management Managers and researchers must work together to interpret results for useful decision making 15 8

9 Analyzing Marketing Statistical analysis and analytical models are often used Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. CRM consists of sophisticated software and analytical tools that integrate customer information from all sources, analyze it in depth, and apply the results to build stronger customer relationships. CRM integrates everything that a company s sales, service, and marketing teams know about individual customers to provide a 360- degree view of the customer relationship. CRM software offers many benefits and can help a firm gain a competitive advantage when used as part of a total CRM strategy 16 Goal 4: Explain how companies analyze/distribute marketing information Distributing and Using Marketing Marketing information has no value until it is used to make better marketing decisions. Routine reporting makes information available in a timely manner. User-friendly databases allow for special queries. Intranets and extranets help distribute information to company employees and value-network members. REVIEW QUESTION: List and briefly explain the steps in the marketing research process. 17 Goal 4: Explain how companies analyze/distribute marketing information 9