Download Marketing Information Systems Paper (ADMN 2100)

Understanding the Marketing Information System
ADMN 2100
Ariel Linton
0567233
February 8th, 2016
Professor Ayman El-Amir
Word Count: 1490
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Marketing can be broken down into many different complex categories. To put it into
simpler terms, it’s viewed as “a social and managerial process whereby individuals and groups
obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with
others” (Armstrong et al, 2015). There are many subcategories that fit within the realm of
marketing, but this paper will assess one in particular, the Marketing Information System (MIS).
“A Marketing Information System consists of people and procedures for assessing information
needs, developing the needed information, and helping decision makers to use the information to
generate and validate actionable customer insights, make marketing decisions, and manage
customer relationships” (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.158). According to Talvinen and Saarinen
(1995, pp.18), the Marketing Information System was viewed as a tool that was used especially
for analysing internal and external effectiveness of marketing and for controlling marketing
activities and environment. Over time, marketing managers have often applied the use of the
MIS to view data of consumer behaviour and purchasing patterns, in order to develop a unique
and understanding relationship with their consumers. This paper will break down the Marketing
Information System and determine the potential use of it in order to demonstrate the
effectiveness that the MIS has with assessing the consumer and effectively providing managers
with the information to efficiently provide products and values with others.
The Marketing Information System can be broken up into several different ‘tools’.
Internal databases, marketing intelligence and marketing research. These tools help managers
and other information users reach the marketing environment. According to Ira Kalb from the
Marshall School of Business, “in a perfect world, every sale and lead could be traced back to the
marketing effort that produced it” (Kalb, 2013). Unfortunately, sometimes marketing is not so
cut and dry. With the use of the first MIS tool; Internal Databases, however, marketing managers
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are able to keep track of marketing data and information within these internal databases. This
information can come in the form of sales transactions, customer satisfaction reports and website
visits (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.160). Through the use of this information, marketing managers
are able to see what type of sales transactions are thriving and which are not as well as how
satisfied customers are with the service or products being offered or provided. Exhibit 5.2 within
the book Marketing, An Introduction discusses the success at which Indigo Books and Music has
had with customer satisfaction by using internal databases (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.160).
Although this type of data collection proves its value, it also has its downsides. Within the
marketing world, data is always changing. Consumers of all ages are constantly changing their
wants and needs, which means marketing managers need to be able to analyze data in more ways
than relying on internal data collection. While this makes the Marketing Information System
sound like an ineffective way to exchange value and products with others, this is not the case.
“Internal databases usually can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information
sources” (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.180). So while data within marketing is always changing,
having an internal database that stores information on consumer behaviour and marketing
intelligence is important for a marketing manager to utilize, especially if the manager is
dedicated to updating these databases to follow the continuously evolving consumer. This leads
onto the next tool within the MIS, marketing intelligence.
The second MIS tool is marketing intelligence. “Competitive marketing intelligence is
the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about consumers,
competitors and developments in the marketplace” (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.160). Marketing
managers use this tool of the Marketing Information System in order to identify changes in the
consumer environment. A SWOT analysis is often one of the many tests run throughout
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marketing intelligence. SWOT, which stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats,
helps marketing managers sort the changes within the consumer environment and label them into
four categories that can be used to signal where the strengths and opportunities lie, and where the
weaknesses and threats stand within the consumer environment. Marketing intelligence is used
primarily through “observing consumers first hand, to quizzing a company’s own employees,
comparing competitor products to researching the internet” (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.161). The
whole idea behind marketing intelligence is to be able to predict and identify changes in
consumer behaviour and to adapt to them. A consumer’s needs and wants often change, and for a
marketing manager to be able to identify this and offer what the consumer is looking for, is
viewed as strong marketing intelligence. One of the keys to strong marketing intelligence is to sit
back and watch the reaction to a certain product. Social media becomes an important factor
within marketing intelligence. Several companies like Dell and Gatorade have built control
centres similar to that of NASA, in order to identify any mention of their products on the social
media front. “Decked out with giant panel screens, sleek mood lighting and banks of monitors,
the command centers track a dizzying array of real-time stats and indicators, from mentions on
twitter to general consumer sentiment and social media market share” (Holmes, 2012). Of
course, back before social media, corporations would opt for other types of market intelligence,
but with the significant impact that social media has on today’s society, this is one of the most
crucial methods that marketing managers use to intelligently view how consumers react and what
changes need to be made in order to grab a sizeable chunk of the market from another
corporation.
The third MIS tool is marketing research. This effectively is a significant part of the other
MIS tools, although it does have its own effect on how marketing managers make crucial
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decisions. Marketing research is defined as, “the systematic design, collection, analysis, and
reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization” (Armstrong et
al, 2015, p.162). Marketing managers may choose to use marketing research in a variety of ways.
According to Entrepreneur.com, there are two types of data when looking at marketing research
that managers must consider; primary information and secondary information (Market Research,
n.d.). Simply put, primary information is information that an organization finds themselves
whereas secondary information is pre-existing information that an organization uses that is
relevant in their marketing field (Market Research, n.d.). Different types of market research that
a marketing manager may try to utilize are surveys, or questionnaires. These types of marketing
research may be done throughout social media and the internet, as well as phone calls or letter
mail. This type of information gives relevant insight into customer behaviour and satisfaction as
well as customer motivation (Armstrong et al, 2015, p.162). Effective marketing research
enables a marketing manager the ability to accurately provide the goods and services that are
needed or wanted in a consumer environment. As mentioned earlier, marketing research has a
hand in some of the previous MIS tools, like Marketing Intelligence, because with the research
that is developed and identified, it provides the ability for a manager to intelligently adapt and
plan for a changing consumer. While many consumers dread phone call surveys or
questionnaires, before social media impacted society the way it does today, these were the most
effective ways to gain information on the consumer environment. While marketing research is
often times the most difficult tool within the Marketing Information System, it proves to be one
of the most important, providing marketing managers with the information that helps with the
decision making process.
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In conclusion, the Marketing Information System is proven to be crucial for marketing
managers. To summarize, marketing is defined as “a social and managerial process whereby
individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging
products and value with others” (Armstrong et al, 2015). The Marketing Information System
helps marketing managers identify the key concepts within this definition throughout the use of
the three MIS tools, internal databases, marketing intelligence and marketing research. As
discussed previously, all three of these tools go hand in hand with each other. Marketing research
is crucial for both internal databases and marketing intelligence because without the research and
development, there would be no databases to refer back to, and there would be no intelligence to
go forward with without the research. This paper discussed that over time, marketing managers
have often applied the use of the MIS to view data of consumer behaviour and purchasing
patterns, in order to develop a unique and understanding relationship with their consumers. With
the use of the Marketing Information System, marketing managers are able to understand and
fulfill the core aspects of marketing, following the present definition of marketing. This was
determined by each tool within the MIS and how it provides the ability for marketing managers
to thoroughly determine the consumer market and environment, as well as the ability to adapt to
changes as they occur.
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Bibliography
Armstrong, G. Kotler, P. Trifts, V. Buchwitz, L., 2015. Marketing, An Introduction, 5th. Toronto,
ON: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Entrepreneur.com, n.d. Market Research,
[internet] n.d.
Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/market-research
[Accessed 6 February 2016]
Holmes, R., 2012. NASA-style mission control centers for social media are taking off. Fortune,
[internet] 25 October.
Available at: http://fortune.com/2012/10/25/nasa-style-mission-control-centers-for-social-mediaare-taking-off/
[Accessed 6 February 2016]
Kalb, I., 2013. 8 Steps to Creating an Effective Marketing Information System. Business Insider,
[internet] 21 June.
Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-marketing-information-system-the-missinglink-for-greater-success-2013-11
[Accessed 6 February 2016]
Talvinen, J. & Saarinen, T., 1995. MkIS Support for the Marketing Management Process:
Perceived Improvements for Marketing Management. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 13.1,
pp. 18.