Managing Marketing
Information
Chapter 5
Objectives
Understand the importance of
information to the company.
Know the definition of a marketing
information system and be able to
discuss its subparts.
Learn the steps in the marketing
research process.
5- 1
Objectives
Learn how companies analyze
and distribute marketing
information.
Realize the special issues some
marketing researchers face,
including public policy and
ethical issues.
5- 2
c
Coke
“New Coke” was a
fiasco; consumer
complaints resulted
in the return of “Coke
Classic” after only 3
months.
$4 million was spent
researching “New
Coke”.
Key issue: the
research problem
was too narrowly
defined, and
consumer feelings
were ignored.
Poor judgment in
interpretation of
results was also a
problem.
5- 3
Marketing Info. System
Marketing Information System (MIS)
 Consists of people, equipment, and
procedures that gather, sort,
analyze, evaluate, and distribute
needed, timely, and
accurate information
to marketing
decision makers.
5- 4
Figure 5-1:
The Marketing
Information System
5- 5
Marketing Info. System
Assessing Marketing
Information Needs
 The MIS serves
company managers
as well as external
partners.
5- 6
Marketing Info. System
Assessing Marketing Information
Needs
 The MIS must balance
needs against feasibility:
Not all information
can be obtained.
 Obtaining, processing,
sorting, and delivering
information is costly.

5- 7
Marketing Info. System
Developing
Information
Internal data
Marketing
intelligence
Marketing
research
Internal Data is
gathered via customer
databases, financial
records, and
operations reports.
Advantages of internal
data include quick/easy
access to information.
Disadvantages stem
from incompleteness
or inappropriateness
of data to a particular
situation.
5- 8
Financial services
provider USAA
collects data from
its customers,
stores the data in
a database, and
uses the data to
tailor ads and
marketing offers
to its customers.
5- 9
Marketing Info. System
Developing
Information
Internal data
Marketing
intelligence
Marketing
research
Marketing intelligence
is the systematic
collection and analysis
of publicly available
information about
competitors and trends
in the marketing
environment.
Competitive
intelligence gathering
activities have grown.
Many sources of
competitive info. exist.
5- 10
Marketing Info. System
Sources of
Competitive Intelligence
Company
employees
Competitor’s
employees
Internet
Trade shows
Garbage
Benchmarking
Published
information
Channel members
and key customers
5- 11
Marketing Info. System
Developing
Information
Internal data
Marketing
intelligence
Marketing
research
Marketing research is
the systematic design,
collection, analysis,
and reporting of data
relevant to a specific
marketing situation
facing an organization.
Several steps are
involved in the
marketing research
process.
5- 12
Figure 5-2:
The Marketing
Research Process
5- 13
Marketing Info. System
Step 1: Defining the problem and
research objectives
 Don’t confuse the symptoms
of the problem with its cause
when defining the problem.
 Exploratory, descriptive, and
causal research each fulfill
different objectives.
5- 14
Marketing Info. System
Step 2:
Developing the
Research Plan
 Research
objectives
guide the
determination
of specific
information
needs.
5- 15
Marketing Info. System
Step 2: Developing the Research Plan
 Research proposals outline the
type of data needed and the
research plan.
Secondary data: Information
collected for another purpose
which already exists.
 Primary data: Information collected
for the specific purpose at hand

5- 16
Marketing Info. System
Types of Data
Secondary
data
Primary data
Secondary data
sources:
 Government information
 Internal, commercial,
and online databases
 Publications
Advantages:
 Obtained quickly
 Less expensive than
primary data
Disadvantages:
 Information may not
exist or may not be
usable.
5- 17
Online database
services such as
Dialog provide
subscribers with
a wealth of
information.
5- 18
Marketing Info. System
Evaluate the Following When
Judging Data Quality
Relevance
Accuracy
Currency
Impartiality
5- 19
Marketing Info. System
Types of Data
Secondary
data
Primary data
Planning primary
research:
 Research
approaches:
 Observation
 Survey
 Experiment
 Contact methods
 Sampling plan
 Research
instruments
5- 20
Marketing Info. System
Research approaches:
 Observation research using people or
machines
Mystery shoppers, traffic counters, web
site “cookies” are some examples.
 Discovers behavior but not motivations.
 Ethnographic research expands
observation research to include
consumer interviews.

5- 21
Discussion Question
What specific
behaviors, actions,
or situations might
an observational
researcher track if
employed by a
bank?
5- 22
The Impact of the Internet
Experimental Research
The Internet: provides an
unprecedented
opportunity for market
testing and optimization.
Digitization: will make it
progressively easier to
experimentally alter
aspects of a business
and quickly see how
customers respond.
Experimentation:
 Allows things that
don’t exist to be
tested
 Features random
assignment of
subjects to treatments
 Controls for other
extraneous variables
 Design plan is key
5- 23
The Impact of the Internet
Experimental Research
How can web-based experimentation be used?
 Customer buying
experience on the web
 Site content
 Availability of links
 Spatial layout
 Usability
 Pricing tests
 Comparison
shopping
websites
 Service
businesses
5- 24
Marketing Info. System
Types of Data
Secondary
data
Primary data
Planning
primary research:
 Research
Approaches
 Contact methods:
 Mail
 Telephone
 Online
 Personal
 Sampling plan
 Research
instruments
5- 25
Marketing Info. System
Key Contact Methods Include:
 Mail surveys
 Telephone surveys
 Personal interviewing:

Individual or focus
group
 Online (Internet)
research
5- 26
BusinessNow
Telephia Video Clip
Telephia uses
multiple methods of
data collection to
service subscriber
clients
Click the picture above to play video
5- 27
Marketing Info. System
Strengths and Weaknesses of
Contact Methods Relate To:
Flexibility
Sample
control
Data quantity
Cost
Interviewer
effects
Speed of data
collection
Response rate
5- 28
Marketing Info. System
Active Group allows
clients to view streamed
video of online focus
group sessions.
Discuss the weaknesses
of text-based focus
groups conducted in an
online chat environment.
Active Group
5- 29
Many companies
today are
migrating their
research efforts
to the web. Visit
the Greenfield
Online site for
details.
5- 30
Marketing Info. System
Types of Data
Secondary
data
Primary data
Planning primary
research:
 Research
approaches
 Contact methods
 Sampling plan
 Sampling unit
 Sample size
 Sampling
procedure
 Research
instruments
5- 31
Marketing Info. System
Sample: subgroup of population from
whom information will be collected
Sampling Plan Decisions:
 Sampling unit
 Sample size
 Sampling procedure:
Probability samples
 Non-probability samples

5- 32
Marketing Info. System
Types of Data
Secondary
data
Primary data
Planning primary
research:
 Research
approaches
 Contact methods
 Sampling plan
 Research
instruments
 Questionnaire
 Mechanical
instruments
5- 33
Marketing Info. System
Research Instruments:
 Questionnaires

Include different types of questions
• Open-ended question:
What are the most important benefits
you seek when buying a car?
• Closed-ended question:
What is your gender?
____ Male ____ Female

Phrasing and question order are key
5- 34
The manner in which questions are phrased
can influence the validity of the data
collected. Critique the following questions:
1. What is your age?
___ 18 – 25
___ 25 – 45
2. What is your income?
___ 46 – 65
$ _________
3. How important is fast and friendly service to
you when selecting a fast food establishment?
___ Very important
___ Important
___ Somewhat important
___ Not important at all
5- 35
BusinessNow
SmarterKids.com Video Clip
Click the picture above to play video
Marketing research
allows companies
to customize their
marketing mix to
meet consumer
needs.
5- 36
Marketing Info. System
Research Instruments:
 Mechanical instruments
Traffic counters
 Retailer store checkout scanners
 Video-taped store traffic
 People meters
 Website logs, cookies, software
 Physiological measurement equipment

5- 37
Mechanical measures of physiological
processes include eye movement, pulse
rate, eye dilation, and as shown below,
changes in facial expressions.
Marketers can adjust offers accordingly.
5- 38
Marketing Info. System
Step 3 of the
Research Process:
Implementing the
Research Plan
 Involves collecting,
processing, and
analyzing information.
5- 39
Marketing Info. System
Step 4 of the Research Process:
Interpreting
and
Reporting
the Findings
5- 40
Marketing Info. System
Analyzing Marketing Information
 Customer relationship management
(CRM) helps manage information.
 CRM offers many benefits and can help
a firm gain a competitive advantage.
 Technology alone can not build
profitable customer relationships.
5- 41
Siebel’s CRM
software
integrates
individual
customer data
from every touch
point to help
build customer
relationships.
Siebel uses a
testimonial
approach in this
ad to stress the
benefits of CRM.
5- 42
Marketing Info. System
Distributing and Using Marketing
Information
 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.
5- 43
Other Considerations
Marketing research in small
businesses and not-for-profit
organizations
International marketing research
Public policy and ethics
 Consumer privacy issues
Misuse of research findings
5- 44