Marketing Information System (MIS)

 Internal Records
1. Order-To-Payment cycle

2. Sales Information systems

3. Database, Data Warehousing & Data mining

 Marketing Information System (MIS)

 Marketing Intelligence
1. Collecting data on the Internet

2. Communicating and acting on Marketing

intelligence

3. Collecting market data from the sales/ field people

 Marketing Research(M.R)

Systematic design, collection, analysis & reporting of data

& findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing
the company.

M.R helps to build a strong basis:

 To gain and retain competitive advantages.
 To plan any major change in the marketing strategies.

Many companies are going for M.R -HUL, P&G,

Colgate Palmolive, Dabur etc
 Role of Market Research

 Every business works on a ‘Business Plan’ which

includes the corporate and the competitor strategies.

 ‘Business Plan’ is further supported by other functional

areas, with their specific strategies.

Market Research provides vital information for

selecting an appropriate strategy
 Role of M.R

Segmentation
Business levels:
 Level 1 Target
(Strategic) market
Marketing selection
Strategy
Positioning

Information 4 Ps

Product

Price
 Level 2 Marketing
(Tactical) Promotion
Plan
Place
 Role of Market Research

Product- Identify the gap in the existing product

which needs to be bridged up.

Price- At what price the product would sell and get

well accepted.

Promotion- Which form of promotion should be

adopted to get maximum returns.

Place- Where the product should be marketed.

Market research process
 Research Plan

1.Problem definition
The 1st and most vital step is to formulate a specific problem
faced by the Marketer.

Formulation of Research objectives

The M.R objective should be loud and clear
This includes purpose, methodology, sources of information etc.
 Research Plan

2. Types of Research design

a)Exploratory Research – gather preliminary data
to shed light on the real nature of the problem and
suggest possible solutions/new ideas

Data is obtained from books, journals, magazines,

annual reports, case studies etc.
Minimal time and money is spent in this stage.
 Research Plan

b)Descriptive Research – Usually conducted after

an exploratory research. The quantum or intensity
of the problem is identified. Usually involves less
number of subjects.

c) Causal Research – to test the cause and effect

relationship between two variables.
Conducted using a detailed Questionnaire.
 Research Plan

Research Instruments:
Questionnaire
Open-end questions allows
the respondents to answer in their own words,
while close-ended questions pre specify all possible
answers & respondents make a choice among them.

Open-end questions reveal more while close-ended

questions provide answers that are easier to interpret
and tabulate.
 Research Instruments

Sampling unit – target population that will be

sampled. Once sampling unit is determined, a
sampling frame must be developed so that everyone
in the target population has an equal chance of being
sampled.

Sampling procedure – the method used to select

a representative sample from the identified target
population.
 Probability Sampling

Types of P. sampling:
1.Random sample
Every member has an equal chance of getting
selected.
2. Stratified random sample
Population is divided into mutually exclusive
groups (age etc.) and then random samples are
drawn from each group.
3.Cluster sample
More than 2 sample groups are drawn for the
interview.
 Non-Probability Sampling

1. Convenience sample – select the most accessible

population.

2. Judgment sample – Identify a good prospect for

getting accurate information.

3. Quota sample – prescribed no. of people in each

of the several categories.
 3. Data collection

Types of Data sources:

1. Primary- gathered specially for a specific
project

2. Secondary-already existing but needs to be

collected
 Methods of data collection

1. Mail Questionnaire

2.Telephone Interview

3.Personal Interview
Most versatile method, as the interviewer can analyse the
body language. However, it’s also the most expensive and is
subject to the bias of the interviewer.

Respondents may not be at home, may refuse to co-operate,

may give biased/dishonest answers and some interviewers
may be biased or dishonest.
 4. Data analysis

 Tabulate the data and develops frequency

distributions

 Calculate averages and measures of dispersion for

major variables

 Advanced statistical techniques applied to extract

pertinent findings
 5. Presentation of findings

Researcher should not overwhelm management with

lots of numbers and fancy statistical techniques, but
should present major findings pertinent to the major
marketing decisions facing management
 6. Decision Making

 Company takes a decision based on the presentation

of findings and designs strategies based on the
decisions made
Thought for the day
 Demand Forecasting

 In 1982, an industrial group’s application for financial

assistance was not accepted by a leading financial
institution.
Reason – demand for the product was over-estimated.

 Likewise, another well known engineering company’s

proposal for financial participation in its ambitious
expansion plan was not accepted by the same financial
institution.
Reason- environmental factors considered were too
optimistic, hence demand was over-estimated.
 Key process in demand forecasting

Forecasting involves a good understanding of the market

 Market Opportunity Analysis

Good marketing is the art of finding, developing and

profiting from Market opportunities

3 main sources of Market opportunities:

 Offer products in short supply
 Supply an existing product/service in a New way -
Problem detection method
 Ask consumers to chart their steps in acquiring,
using and disposing of a product –Consumption
chain method
 Spotting Opportunities

 Converge industry trends and introduce hybrid

products
 Make buying process more convenient

 Meet the need for more information and advice

 Customize a product or service

 Introduce a new capability

 Deliver a product or service faster

 Offer a product at a much lower price

 Measures of Market Demand

 Potential Market
Forecasting exercise involves a thorough understanding
of the market potential - eg. TV

Potential of TV sets = No. of household in India

A population of 1.27 billion and if 6 people constitute a

household … Potential market is 192 million TV sets
 Measures of Market Demand

 Available Market
Set of consumers who have interest, income and access to a
particular offer

 Target Market
Part of the qualified available market the company decides
to pursue

 Penetrated Market
Set of consumers who are buying the company’s product
 Market Demand

 Total volume that would buy the product by a defined

customer group in a defined geographical area in a
defined time period in a defined marketing
environment under a defined marketing program.

Demand can be measured in physical/monetary terms.

 Company Demand

 Estimated share of market demand at varied levels of

company’s marketing effort in a given time period

 Depends on the perception of company’s products,

services, prices and communications wrt competitors
Market Demand
 Estimating Current Demand

 Total market potential-maximum sales available to all

firms in an industry in a given period

 Area market potential-market potential of different

areas

 Industry sales and market shares-collected by the

industry associations
 Forecasting (Estimating Future Demand)

 Survey of Buyers’ intentions

 Composite of Sales force opinions

 Expert opinion (Delphi technique)

 Past-sales analysis

 Market-test method
 Survey of Buyers’ intentions

Survey the buyers to assess their intentions to buy the

product under a given set of conditions
Useful to estimate the demand for Consumers durables
Buyer intensity can be measured on a 6 point scale

No Chance Slight Fair Good High Surely Buy

Possibility Possible Possibility Possibility
 Composite of Sales Force Opinion

The company asks individual sales personnel to

estimate sales of the product in his or her territory

These estimates are then pooled region-wise and a

national level sales forecast is obtained
 Delphi Technique

Involves constituting a panel of experts and asking

them to estimate the market demand for a given product

They are also asked to mention their assumptions about

the future market environment

Individual experts do not know who else is on the panel

as each expert works from his or her office
Thus, chances of the expert getting influenced by others
does not occur
 Past-sales analysis

Sales forecast can be developed with methods like:

1. Time-series analysis

2. Exponential smoothing

3. Statistical demand analysis

4. Econometric analysis
 Market-test method

Sales forecast can be developed with methods like:

1. Time-series analysis

2. Exponential smoothing

3. Statistical demand analysis

4. Econometric analysis
 Market-test method

A direct market-test method can be adopted to forecast

new-product sales or sales of an established product
using a new distribution channel method