1. Global Information Systems and Market
Research
Chapter 6
Global Marketing
Information Needs of Global Marketers
* Understand the importance of information technology and
marketing information systems
* Utilize a framework for information scanning and opportunity
identification
* Understand the formal market research process
* Know how to manage the marketing information collection
system and market research effort
Managing Information for
Global Marketing
* Management Information System (MIS) – provides a means for
* Gathering
* Analyzing
* Classifying
* Storing
* Retrieving
* Reporting relevant data

2. * Nestlé demonstrates how understanding the market can lead to
success. It successfully positioned its Maggi brand noodles as a
between-meal snack food rather than a pasta meal item. Nestlé
caters to the Indian preference for local brands and created
chicory-flavored Sunrise especially for the Indian market.
Information Subject Agenda
* The starting point for global marketing information system is
identifying a list of subjects for which information is desired
* Should be tailored to the needs and objectives of the company
* Two essential criteria
* It should contain all the information subject areas relevant to a
company with global operations
* Categories should be mutually exclusive
Table 6-1: Subject Agenda
* Market Potential
* Demand estimates, consumer behavior, review of marketing
mix
* Competitor Information
* Corporate, business, and functional strategies
* Foreign Exchange
* Balance of payments, interest rates, attractiveness of country
currency
Table 6-1: Subject Agenda (cont.)

3. * Prescriptive Information
* Laws, regulations, rulings concerning taxes, earnings,
dividends in both host and home countries
* Resource Information
* Availability of human, financial, physical, and information
resources
* General Conditions
* Overall review of sociocultural, political, and technological
environments
Scanning Modes
* Surveillance
* Informal information gathering
* VIEWING – general exposure to information
* MONITORING – paying special attention and tracking a story as it develops
* Search- more formal
* Formal information gathering
* INVESTIGATION – seeking out secondary data
* RESEARCH – conducting primary research
Sources of Market Information
* Human Sources Research has shown that executives
obtain two-thirds of their information from personal
sources.

4. * One study found that three-quarters of the information acquired
from human sources comes from face-to-face conversation.
Sources of Market Information
* Direct Perception Direct sensory perception provides a
background for information. It means seeing, feeling,
hearing, smelling, or tasting to find out what is going on in
a particular country
* (e.g., Wal-Mart stocked inappropriate products in China like
extension ladders until executives looked for ideas and
successfully offered lunchboxes and pizza). Imp. Of packaging in
Japan
* Benetton managers rely heavily on inbound data generated at the point of
purchase; data about sales transactions are transmitted via satellite to
headquarters from cash registers at the company’s 7,000 stores around the
world. Analysts sift through the data to identify trends, which are
conveyed to manufacturing.
* Knitwear is produced as undyed “gray goods,” which are dyed according
to fashion trends identified by the MIS. This reduces carrying costs and
reduces markdowns
Preventing Information Overload
* Global organizations need
* Efficient, effective system to scan and digest published sources of
information in all countries in which it conducts business
* Daily scanning, translating, digesting, abstracting, and electronic input
of information into MIS
Formal Market Research

5. * Global Marketing Research is the project-specific, systematic
gathering of data in the search scanning mode on a global basis
Largest Global Research Companies
* AC Nielsen Corp
* IMS Health
* Research International USA
* NFO Worldwide
* Gartner Group
* Video Research
* United Information Group
* Information Resources
* VNU Marketing Information Services
Steps in the Research Process
* 1. Identifying the research problem
* 2. Developing a research plan
* 3. Collecting data
* 4. Analyzing data
* 5. Presenting the research findings
1. Identifying the research problem

6. * The research problem may be the need to identify where the
company should do business and what the business environment
is in those global markets.
* The research problem may be narrowly focused on marketing
issues, such as the need to adapt products to local tastes and
assessing demand and profit potential.
Step1: Identifying the Research Process
* What information do I need?
* Existing Markets – customer needs already being served by one or
more companies; information may be readily available
* Potential Markets
* Latent market – an undiscovered market; demand would be there if product was
there
* Incipient market – market will emerge as macro environmental trends continue
* Why do I need this information?
* Japanese companies led in fax machine sales because they did
not use survey research. They reviewed computers, photocopiers,
cell phones, and then focused on the benefits of fax machines,
not the market.
Step 2: Developing A Research Plan
* During planning, methodologies, budgets, and time parameters are all
spelled out.
* Do we need quantitative or qualitative data?

7. * What is the information worth (versus what will it cost to collect)?
* What will it cost if we don’t get the information?
* What can be gained from the information?
For consumer products, qualitative research
accomplishes the following:
* to provide consumer understanding
* to describe the social and cultural context
* to identify brand equity
* to identify what people really feel
Step 3: Collecting Data
* secondary data may support the decision to pursue a global
market opportunity but will not answer specific questions (e.g.,
market potential for our furniture in Indonesia).
Step 3: Collecting Data
* Secondary Data
* Statistical Abstract of the United States
* Statistical Yearbook of the United Nations
* World Factbook
* The Economist
* The Financial Times
* Syndicated studies
* And much more

8. Collecting Data (cont.)
* Primary Data Collection Methods
* Survey research
* Interviews
* Consumer panels
* Observation
* Focus groups