Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment Marketing Information System Internal Records Marketing Intelligence Secondary Commercial Data Sources Collecting Marketing Intelligence on internet Analyzing the Microenvironment Needs and Trends Economic Environment

1. Gathering Information and
Scanning the Environment
Prepared By,
Mr. Nishant Agrawal

2. 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?

3. MIS Systems Provide Information on
Buyer Preferences and Behavior:
Dupont’s Pillow Study
Pillow Segments
• 23% - stackers
• 20% - plumpers
• 16% - rollers or folders
• 16% - cuddlers
• 10% - smashers

4. 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.

5. 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?

6. Internal Records
Order-to-Payment
Cycle
Databases,
Warehousing,
Data Mining
Marketing
Intelligence
System
Sales
Information
System

7. Marketing Intelligence
Train and motivate sales force to scan for new developmentsTrain and motivate sales force to scan for new developments
Motivate channel members to share intelligenceMotivate channel members to share intelligence
Network internally and externallyNetwork internally and externally
Utilize a customer advisory panelUtilize a customer advisory panel
Utilize government data resourcesUtilize government data resources
Purchase informationPurchase information
Collect customer feedback onlineCollect customer feedback online

8. Table 3.2
Secondary Commercial Data Sources
Nielsen
Information
Resources, Inc.
MRCA
Arbitron
Simmons
SAMI/Burke

9. Collecting Marketing Intelligence on internet
• 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

10. Analyzing the Microenvironment
Needs and Trends
Fad
Trend
Megatrend
• Fad is unpredictable ,short lived. A
company can cash in on a Fad but
getting it right requires luck and good
timing.
• A Megatrend is a large social,
economic, political and technological
change is slow.

11. Trends Shaping the
Business Landscape
• Profound shifts in
centers of economic
activity
• Increases in public-
sector 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

12. 6 Major Forces in Broad Environment
Demographic
EconomicPolitical-Legal
Socio-CulturalTechnological
Natural

13. Demographics Environment
• Population growth
• Population age mix
• Ethnic markets
Ex. In Japan everyone
is mostly Japanese.
• Educational groups
• Household patterns

14. Population Age Groups
Preschool
School-age
Teens
25-40
40-65
65+

15. Schwab’s Chinese-language Web site

16. Household Patterns

17. Economic Environment
Income Distribution
• Pattern in income distribution
• Very Low income
• Mostly low income
• Very low, very high income
• Low, medium high income
• Mostly medium income

18. Social-Cultural Environment
Views of ourselvesViews of ourselves
Views of othersViews of others
Views of natureViews of nature
Views of organizationsViews of organizations
Views of societyViews of society
Views of the universeViews of the universe

19. Interest in Nature: A Growing Trend

20. 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

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

22. Toyota Experienced Success
with Green Cars

23. Figure 3.1 Consumer
Environmental Segments
True Blue Greens (30%)
Greenback Greens (10%)
Sprouts (26%)
Apathetics (18%)
Grousers (15%)

24. Keys to Avoiding
Green Marketing
• Consumer Value Positioning
• Calibration of Consumer Knowledge
• Credibility of Product Claims

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

26. Political-Legal Environment
Increase in
business legislation
Growth of special
interest groups

27. Marketing Debate
 Is consumer behavior more a function
of a person’s age or generation?
Take a position:
1. Age differences are fundamentally
more important than cohort effects.
or
2. Cohort effects can dominate age
differences.

28. Marketing Discussion
 What brands do you feel
successfully speak to you?
 Effectively target your age group?
 Which ones do not?
 What could they do better?

29. Assignment
1. Briefly explain the various methods for
gathering market information.