3

Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment

Marketing Management, 13th ed

Chapter Questions
What are the components of a modern marketing information system? What are useful internal records? What is involved in a marketing intelligence system? What are the key methods for tracking and identifying opportunities in the macro environment? What are some important macro environment developments?
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-2

What is a Marketing Information System (MIS)?

A marketing information system consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-3

Table 3.1 Information Needs Probes

What decisions do you regularly make? What information do you need to make these decisions? What information do you regularly get? What special studies do you periodically request? What information would you want that you are not getting now? What are the four most helpful improvements that could be made in the present marketing information system?
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-4

Internal Records and Marketing Intelligence

Order-to-payment cycle Sales information system Databases, warehousing, data mining Marketing intelligence system

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-5

Steps to Improve Marketing Intelligence

Train sales force to scan for new developments Motivate channel members to share intelligence Network externally Utilize a customer advisory panel Utilize government data sources Collect customer feedback online Purchase information

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-6

Table 3.2 Secondary Commercial Data Sources

Nielsen MRCA Information Resources SAMI/Burke Simmons Arbitron

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-7

Sources of Competitive Information

Independent customer goods and service review forums Distributor or sales agent feedback sites Combination sites offering customer reviews and expert opinions Customer complaint sites Public blogs

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-8

Needs and Trends

Fads Trends Megatrends

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-9

Trends Shaping the Business Landscape

Profound shifts in centers of economic activity Increases in publicsector activity Change in consumer landscape Technological connectivity Scarcity of well-trained talent Increase in demand for natural resources Emergence of new global industry structures Ubiquitous access to information Management shifts from art to science Increase in scrutiny of big business practices
3-10

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Environmental Forces
Demographic Economic Socio-cultural Natural Technological Political-legal

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-11

Population and Demographics

Population growth Population age mix Ethnic markets Educational groups Household patterns Geographical shifts

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-12

Economic Environment
Income Distribution Savings, Debt, and Credit

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-13

Social-Cultural Environment
Views of themselves Views of others Views of organizations Views of society Views of nature Views of the universe

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-14

Table 3.3 Most Popular American Leisure Activities

Reading TV Watching Spending time with family Going to movies Fishing Computer activities Gardening Renting movies Walking Exercise Listening to music

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-15

Natural Environment
Shortage of raw materials Increased energy costs Anti-pollution pressures Governmental protections

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-16

Keys to Avoiding Green Marketing Myopia

Consumer Value Positioning Calibration of Consumer Knowledge Credibility of Product Claims

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-17

Technological Environment
Pace of change Opportunities for innovation Varying R&D budgets Increased regulation of change

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

3-18