INTRODUCTION

What is marketing information system?

According to Encyclopedia of information system,Voi.3(2003)

Elsevier science (USA),137-151 Defines MkIS as a computerized

system that is designed to provide an organized flow of

information to enable and support the marketing activities of

an organization. The MkIS serves collaborative, analytical and

operational needs. In the collaborative mode, the MkIS enables

managers to share information and work together virtually. In

addition, the MkIS can enable marketers to collaborate with

customers on product designs and customer requirements. The

analytical function is addressed by decision support

applications that enable marketers to analyze market data on

customers, competitors, technology and general market

conditions. These insights are becoming the foundation for the

development of marketing strategies and plans. The MkIS

addresses operational needs through customer management

systems that focus on the day-to-day processing of customer

transactions from the initial sale through customer service.

MkIS systems are designed to be comprehensive and flexible in

nature and to integrate with each other functionally. They are

formal, forward looking and essential to the organization’s

ability to create competitive advantage. The MkIS is the

firm’s “window on the world” and, increasingly, it is the

primary customer interface.

The following are the key consideration of marketing information

systems and .its subsystems

Figure1. The marketing information system. From marking management: analysis planning control prentice-Hall p.102

The explanation of this model of an MIS begins with a description of each of its four main constituent parts:

I. the internal reporting systems,

II. marketing research system,

III. marketing intelligence system

IV. Marketing models.

It is suggested that whilst the MIS varies in its degree of

sophistication - with many in the industrialised countries

being computerised and few in the developing countries being

so - a fully fledged MIS should have these components, the

methods (and technologies) of collection,

storing, retrieving Processing data notwithstanding.

Internal reporting systems: All enterprises which have been in

operation for any period of time nave a wealth of information.

However, this information often remains under-utilised because

it is compartmentalised, either in the form of an individual

entrepreneur or in the functional departments of larger

businesses. That is, information is usually categorised

according to its nature so that there are, for example,

financial, production, manpower, marketing, stockholding and

logistical data. Often the entrepreneurs, or various personnel

working in the functional departments holding these pieces of

data, do not see how it could help decision makers in other

functional areas. Similarly, decision makers can fail to

appreciate how information from other functional areas might

help them and therefore do not request it.

The internal records that are of immediate value to marketing

decisions are: orders received, stockholdings and sales

invoices. These are but a few of the internal records that can

be used by marketing managers, but even this small set of

records is capable of generating a great deal of information.

Below, is a list of some of the information that can be

derived from sales invoices.

· Product type, size and pack type by territory

· Product type, size and pack type by type of account

· Product type, size and pack type by industry

· Product type, size and pack type by customer

· Average value and/or volume of sale by territory

· Average value and/or volume of sale by type of account

· Average value and/or volume of sale by industry

· Average value and/or volume of sale by sales person

By comparing orders received with invoices an enterprise can

establish the extent to which it is providing an acceptable

level of customer service. In the same way, comparing

stockholding records with orders received helps an enterprise

ascertain whether its stocks are in line with current demand

patterns.

Market research is any organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important

component of business strategy.[1] The term is commonly

interchanged with marketing research; however, expert

practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that marketing

research is concerned specifically about marketing processes,

while market research is concerned specifically with markets.

Market research is a key factor to maintain competitiveness

over competitors. Market research provides important

information to identify and analyze the market need, market

size and competition.

Market research, which includes social and opinion research,

is the systematic gathering and interpretation of information

about individuals or organizations using statistical and

analytical methods and techniques of the applied social

sciences to gain insight or support decision making.

History

Market research began to be conceptualized and put into formal

practice during the 1920s, as an offshoot of the advertising

boom of the Golden Age of radio in the United States.

Advertisers began to realize the significance of demographics

revealed by sponsorship of different radio programs.

Market research for business/planning

Market research is a way of getting an overview of consumers'

wants, needs and beliefs. It can also involve discovering how

they act. The research can be used to determine how a product

could be marketed. Peter Ducker believed market research to be

the quintessence of marketing.

There are two major types of market research. Primary Research

sub-divided into Quantitative and Qualitative research and

Secondary research.

Factors that can be investigated through market research

include

Market information

Through Market information one can know the prices of

different commodities in the market, as well as the supply and

demand situation. Market researchers have a wider role than

previously recognized by helping their clients to understand

social, technical, and even legal aspects of markets

Market segmentation

Market segmentation is the division of the market or

population into subgroups with similar motivations. It is

widely used for segmenting on geographic differences,

personality differences, demographic differences,

technographic differences, use of product differences,

psychographic differences and gender differences. For B2B

segmentation firmographics is commonly used.

Market trends

Market trends are the upward or downward movement of a market,

during a period of time. Determining the market size may be

more difficult if one is starting with a new innovation. In

this case, you will have to derive the figures from the number

of potential customers, or customer segments. [Ilar 1998]

SWOT analysis

SWOT is a written analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats to a business entity. Not only

should a SWOT be used in the creation stage of the company but

could also be used throughout the life of the company. A SWOT

may also be written up for the competition to understand how

to develop the marketing and product mixes.

Another factor that can be measured is marketing

effectiveness. This includes

Market research for the film industry

It is important to test marketing material for films to see

how an audience will receive it. There are several market

research practices that may be used:

(1) Concept testing, this evaluates reactions to a film idea

and is fairly rare;

(2) positioning studios, which analyze a script for marketing

opportunities;

(3) Focus groups, which probe viewers' opinions about a film

in small groups prior to release;

(4) Test screenings, which involve the previewing of films

prior to theatrical release; (5) tracking studies, which gauge

(often by telephone polling) an audience's awareness of a film

on a weekly basis prior to and during theatrical release

(6) Advertising testing, which measures responses to marketing

materials such as trailers and television advertisements; and

finally

(7) Exit surveys that measure audience reactions after seeing

the film in the cinema.

Influence from the Internet

The availability of research by way of the Internet has

influenced a vast number of consumers using this media; for

gaining knowledge relating to virtually every type of

available product and service. It has been added to by the

growth factor of emerging global markets, such as China,

Indonesia and Russia, which is significantly exceeding that of

the established and more advanced B2C E-Commerce markets.

Various statistics show that the increasing demands of

consumers are reflected not only in the wide and varied range

of general Internet researching applications, but in online

shopping research penetration.

This is stimulated by product-enhancing websites, graphics,

and content designed to attract casual "surfing" shoppers,

researching for their particular needs, competitive prices and

quality. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA),

a successful business is significantly contributed to by

gaining knowledge about customers, competitors, and the

associated industry. Market research creates not only this

understanding, but is the process of data analysis regarding

which products and services are in demand.

The convenience and easy accessibility of the Internet has

created a global B2C E-commerce research facility, for a vast

online shopping network that has motivated retail markets in

developed countries. In 2010, between $400 billion and $600

billion in revenue was generated by this medium also, it is

anticipated that in 2015, this

Online market will generate revenue between $700 billion and

$950 billion. The influence of market research, irrespective

of what form it takes, is an extremely powerful incentive for

any type of consumer and their providers!

The UK Market Research Society (MRS) reports research has

shown that on average, the three social media platforms

primarily used by millionaires, are LinkedIn, Facebook and

YouTube. Social Media applications, according to T Systems,

help generate the B2B E-commerce market and develop electronic

business process efficiency. This application is a highly

effective vehicle for market research, which combined with E-

commerce, is now regarded as a separate, extremely profitable

field of global business. While many B2B business models are

being updated, the various advantages and benefits offered by

Social Media platforms are being integrated within them.

Business intelligence organization have compiled a

comprehensive report related to global online retail sales,

defining continued growth patterns and trends in the industry.

Headed “Global B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment Market 2014”

the report perceives a decrease in overall growth rates in

North America and Western Europe, as the expected growth in

the online market sales, is absorbed into the emerging

markets. It is forecast that the Asia-Pacific region will see

the fastest growth in the B2C E-Commerce market and replace

North America as the B2C E-Commerce sales region leader,

within a few years. This effectively, offers a significant,

motivational platform for new Internet services, to promote

user market 'Marketing intelligence (MI) is the everyday

information relevant to a company’s markets, gathered and

analyzed specifically for the purpose of accurate and

confident decision-making in determining market opportunity,

market penetration strategy, and market development metrics.

Marketing intelligence is necessary when entering a foreign

market.

Marketing intelligence determines the intelligence needed,

collects it by searching environment and delivers it to

marketing managers who need it. Marketing intelligence

software can be deployed using an on-premises or software as a

service (SaaS, or cloud-based) model. These systems take data

from disparate data sources, like web analytics, business

intelligence, call centre and sales data, which often come

separate reports, and put them into a single environment. In

order to collect marketing intelligence, marketing managers

must be in constant touch with relevant books, newspapers and

trade publications. They must talk to various stakeholders

like customers, distributors and suppliers. In addition to

this they must also monitor social media and carry out online

discussions. Marketing managers can design reports that

correlate and visualize data coming from a variety of

departments and sources (even, in some cases, external data.)

This allows them to see current key performance indicators in

real time (or as quickly as sources provide data) and analyze

trends, rather than wait for analysts to deliver periodic

reports.

Marketing intelligence systems are designed to be used by

marketing managers and often viewed by employees throughout an

organization. They may have user interfaces that closer

resemble consumer software than the software around individual

data sources, which are designed for use by analysts. Business

intelligence for example, can collect highly accurate, timely,

granular data, but often requires IT support to build and edit

custom reports.

Organizationally, marketing intelligence can be the name of

the department that performs both the market intelligence and

competitor analysis roles. Business intelligence of any kind

may also be their responsibility, in tandem with (or solely

performed by) the Finance department, for measuring market

share and setting growth targets, the mergers and acquisitions

group for exploring acquisition opportunities, the legal

department to protect the organization's assets or research

and development for cross-company comparison of innovation

trends and the discovery of opportunities through innovative

differentiation.

Steps to be taken by a Company to improve its Marketing

Intelligence

(1) Train and Motivate Sales Force: A company's sales force

can be an excellent source of information about the current

trends in the market. They are the "intelligence gatherers"

for the company. The acquired facts can be regarding the

company's market offerings, whether any improvements are

required or not or is there any opportunity for new products,

etc. It can also provide credible source to know about

competitor activities, consumers, distributors and retailers.

(2) Motivate Distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries

to pass along important intelligence: Specialists are hired by

companies to gather marketing intelligence. In order to

measure the quality of production, the way the employees are

behaving with customers, quality of facilities being provided;

retailers and service providers send mystery shoppers. Firms

can also assess the quality of customer experience with the

shops with the use of mystery shoppers.

(3) Network Externally: Every firm must keep a tab on its

competitors. Competitive intelligence describes the broader

discipline of researching, analyzing and formulating data and

information from the entire competitive environment of any

organization. This can be done by purchasing the competitor's

products, checking the advertising campaigns, the press media

coverage, reading their published reports, etc. Competitive

intelligence must be legal and ethical.

(4) Set up a customer advisory panel: Companies can set up

panels consisting of customers. They can be the company's

largest customers or representatives of customers or the most

outspoken customers. Many business schools set up panels

consisting of alumni who provide their knowledge and expertise

and help in constituting the course curriculum.

(5) Optimal usage of Government data resources: Governments of

almost all countries publish reports regarding the population

trends, demographic characteristics, agricultural production

and a lot of other such data. All this data must be or can be

referred to as base data. It can help in planning and

formulating policies for the companies.

(6) Information bought from external suppliers: Certain

agencies sell data that can be useful to other companies. For

example, television channels will require information on the

number of viewership, ratings of TV programs, etc. An agency

which calculates this information and generates this data will

provide it to companies that need it.

(7) Collect Competitive Intelligence through online customer

feedback: Customer's view about a product is most essential

for any company. Ultimately it's the customer who's buying the

product. Hence customer feedback must be taken. Online

platforms like chat rooms, blogs, discussion forums, customer

review boards can be used to generate customer feedback. This

enables the firm to understand customer experiences and

impressions. It becomes easier for companies to apply a

structured system to do so as it can then scan out the

relevant messages without much of a trouble. With the above

steps being applied, a company's marketing intelligence system

will prove to be beneficial to its effective functioning..

Marketing models: Within the MIS there has to be the means of

interpreting information in order to give direction to

decision. These models may be computerised or may not. Typical

tools are:

· Time series sales modes

· Brand switching models

· Linear programming

· Elasticity models (price, incomes, demand, supply, etc.)

· Regression and correlation models

· Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) models

· Sensitivity analysis

· Discounted cash flow

· Spreadsheet 'what if models

These and similar mathematical, statistical, econometric and

financial models are the analytical subsystem of the MIS. A

relatively modest investment in a desktop computer is enough

to allow an enterprise to automate the analysis of its data.

Some of the models used are stochastic, i.e. those containing

a probabilistic element whereas others are deterministic

models where chance plays no part. Brand switching models are

stochastic since these express brand choices in probabilities

whereas linear programming is deterministic in that the

relationships between variables are expressed in exact

mathematical terms.

Marketing information systems are intended to support

management decision making. Management has five distinct

functions and each requires support from an MIS. These are:

planning, organising, coordinating, decisions and controlling.

Information systems have to be designed to meet the way in

which managers tend to work. Research suggests that a manager

continually addresses a large variety of tasks and is able to

spend relatively brief periods on each of these. Given the

nature of the work, managers tend to rely upon information

that is timely and verbal (because this can be assimilated

quickly), even if this is likely to be less accurate then more

formal and complex information systems.

Managers play at least three separate roles: interpersonal,

informational and decisional. MIS, in electronic form or

otherwise, can support these roles in varying degrees. MIS has

less to contribute in the case of a manager's informational

role than for the other two.

Three levels of decision making can be distinguished from one

another: strategic, control (or tactical) and operational.

Again, MIS has to support each level. Strategic decisions are

characteristically one-off situations. Strategic decisions

have implications for changing the structure of an

organisation and therefore the MIS must provide information

which is precise and accurate. Control decisions deal with

broad policy issues and operational decisions concern the

management of the organisation's marketing mix.

Conclusion

in marketing information system particular and internet-based

technologies are being transformed as these new technologies

that enable the integration of marketing, sale and customer

service activities. The primary drivers of this shift are the

promises of delivering increased value to the customs more

rapidly and increasingly involve the customer in the value

creation process and work to more effectively align the

enterprise and supply chain on rapidly changing market

opportunities.

References

1. Kotler, P., (1988) Marketing Management: Analysis Planning and

Control, Prentice-Hall p. 102.

2. Agnilar, F.. (1967) Scanning The Business Environment, Macmillan,

New York, p.47.

3.Encyclopedia of information system,Vo.3 (2003) Elsevier

science (USA),137-151