Chapter Eight
IMPROVING DECISIONS WITH MARKETING INFORMATION
Radical Changes are Underway
MIS: Organized way of continually gathering and analyzing data to provide
marketing managers with information to make
decisions. (See Exhibit 8-1)
Some information systems can provide a decision support system and marketing models.
See Exhibit 8-1, page 213 to view a diagram of a MIS.
What Is Marketing Research?
It is a process to develop and analyze new information to help marketing
managers make decisions. For example, the following web sites can help a marketing manager: collect information about population
trends (US Census Bureau), collect articles related to various marketing issues (Yahoo), and search numerous other data
bases in the Library of Congress.
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US Census Bureau |
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Yahoo |
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Library of Congress |
Five Step Approach To Marketing Research
1.Define the problem
2.Analyze the situation
3.Collect data
4.Interpret the data
5.Solve the problem
See Exhibit 8-2, page 218
Defining The Problem
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You must define the problem; however, you must first understand the market place and its needs. |
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Don’t confuse problems with symptoms!! |
Analyzing The Situation
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What information is already available? (Have informed talks with informed people) |
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Use secondary data, then primary data |
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Government data may also be available |
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Determine what else is needed -- write a research proposal |
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See Exhibit 8-3, page 220 |
Collect Problem Specific Data
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This means finding out what customers think about some topic or how they behave under certain situations |
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Qualitative Research: In-depth, open ended questions. |
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Note: Focus groups can be utilized. |
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Can use mail (low response rate/inexpensive) |
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Can use phone (faster/intrusive) |
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Can use personal interview (more in depth/more expensive) |
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Can observe |
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Can use check-out scanners |
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Can use consumer panels |
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Can use experimental methods (See Exhibit 8-4, page 230) |
Interpreting The Data
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Statistical packages are available |
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Can utilize cross tabbing (Exhibit 8-5, page 232) |
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Note: Sample must be representative of population |
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Survey data must be valid |
Solve The Problem
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Use the results to make a marketing decision |
Next Steps: Please review the PowerPoint Overview slides (10-16) for this chapter. Then proceed to the Discussion Area.
