Marketing Information Systems PDF

Marketing Dr. Hayel Ababneh Dept. of Business information systems Management Al al-Bayt University HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Struct...

Marketing Dr. Hayel Ababneh Dept. of Business information systems Management Al al-Bayt University HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Structuring a Marketing Information System HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Setting up a Marketing Information System Function Step 1: Goal Analysis: There are a lot of different potential functions a marketing information system can include, so plan for success by establishing clear goals at the beginning. Is your primary interest tracking campaigns from beginning to end or driving product development? These goals will help you decide what data to include within your system. Step 2: Metrics Analysis: Once you’ve established your goals, you can move on to determining what data points you will include in your marketing information system. There are a broad number of different internal and external inputs you may want to consider. Your goals will drive this process.  For campaign tracking, you may be more focused on internal metrics, such as clickstream data, email open rates, and sales records.  For product design and strategy initiatives, external inputs (such as competitive research and economic forecasts) might matter more. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Setting up a Marketing Information System Function Step 3: Marketing Department Coordination: Determine who in your marketing team will be responsible for maintaining and using the data as well as what decisions will be supported by the data. If other groups within your organization, such as product or sales, will also be using the system, you’ll also need to consider their needs. Step 4: Tool Identification: Now, it’s time to identify what marketing decision support tools you want to use. There are many variables here based on the amount and type of data you are dealing with. For simpler systems, spreadsheets may be enough. Others may need more extensive data visualization tools, dashboards, or other types of decision support. You may need a skilled IT resource to assist you with this process. Step 5: Implementation and Deployment: The details of this process will emerge after you complete the first four steps. Common steps will include collecting all the data you need for the system, ensuring how it will work together, and then integrating it into your tools. In order to be successful, it’s critical to carve out plenty of time for testing and QA and make sure to properly train all users. Once you’ve completed all these steps, you’ll be ready for launch. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  What is as Marketing Dashboard? A marketing dashboard is a tool useful for making decisions and for seeing the impact of those decisions. The marketing dashboard is just a digital console that reports and visually represents marketing data, including things like key performance indicators or KPIs or other metrics that we want to follow. For example, the marketing dashboard might include things like sales volume or revenue. The dashboard gives us one place where we can go and get a snapshot of everything that's going on relative to the business's performance. It's also good for tracking the impact of our marketing strategy. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  What are Marketing Models? Marketing models are just computer generated estimates of what would happen if we changed this variable or that variable (such as our price or features of our product) or how we promote or any aspect of our marketing mix on what resulting performance will look like. In other words, the marketing model says what if we do this? What will be the outcome? The Marketing models attempts to show us what the outcome should look like. For example, what if we increase the price of our product by a dollar? How much will sales go down? The marketing model can give us some indication or at least an estimate of what that impact would be. Another use for these marketing models is to look at things like market share - rather than just sales volume or revenue. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  How Data Used in Marketing Research? Often, Marketers use what's called secondary data (data that's already available or on hand). This can be internet information. We can look at company records (such as sales records and all sorts of other data points). Sometimes we have to go outside of the company. That's where public records can come in handy. These public records can be a really useful source for guiding us and making decisions as well. Sometimes, the data that we need or the information that we need to come up with is not available. In that case, we have to get what's called primary data. This is data that we go out and gather ourselves. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Now, there's many different ways that we can gather that data. For example, we can ask questions surveys and things of that nature. Another source of primary data is checkout scanners. So you may not realize this but every time you buy something in a store that's creating data and somebody's tracking that data. Lastly. we can just observe what happens around us. By making observations we can generate primary data without even necessarily having to talk to anyone else or use any sort of scanner.  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Determining what data to include in your marketing information system can be a challenge. There are lots of different potential inputs that could be relevant, but if you include too many, you might never get your project off the ground or end up with a system that is impractical and slow or difficult to use. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Here’s a list of some of the data types you could incorporate, along with some factors to consider: Enterprise Size and Total Resources Available: The size of your company and resources available will play an important role in the structure of your system. A small company may not do much formal data collection or have many internal research resources. Customer insights may be gained primarily through talking with sales teams or managers, and while any formal research may need to be conducted by vendors, there may be limited funding. Large companies may have the opposite problem, with tons of different data being collected but remaining unused or stuck in silos. Understanding what is realistic for your organization as well as what budget you have will be key in getting your marketing information system off the ground. Internal/Primary Research: There are many different potential internal inputs you might want to consider using, including both sales and operational data as well as any primary research your company conducts (either internally or with external partners). HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Campaign and Communications Data: What are your touchpoints with customers, and what tracking capabilities do you have? Here are some examples: Company Website: Your site offers a rich trove of information on customer and prospect interests and behavior. Common key metrics here include site traffic data (such as unique visitors and pageviews), clickstream data (the path customers use getting to and going through your site), and site stickiness measures (time spent on site and number of pages per visit). Email Campaigns: If email plays an important role in customer outreach, tracking this channel will be critical. Open and clickthrough rates, along with bounces and unsubscribes, are always worth tracking. Social Data: Social channels are a huge part of the marketing mix for many companies today and can also be a valuable source of customer feedback. Monitoring likes, comments, and shares on company pages and profiles is of course critical, but some companies may also benefit from a social listening monitoring service that tracks everything that’s being said about their brand and products. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Sales Data: Connecting marketing campaign data to sales will be critical to measuring ROI and understanding the sales cycle, although that doesn’t mean it’s always an easy process, particularly for products that are ultimately sold through retailers. Loyalty cards or programs can help with this process, allowing brands to create direct relationships with customers and also track purchases and behavior on an individual level. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Customer Support Data: Customer support data can also help measure things that aren’t working so you can optimize and improve. What problems are customers calling about and when are they calling? A volume of calls around a specific issue may mean you could benefit from a strategic product enhancement or improved messaging on your packaging or manuals. Primary Research: Whether you conduct this internally or with a third party, any marketing research you have should also be considered for incorporation in your marketing information system. This could include customer surveys, focus groups, behavioral research, product testing, and many other types of research. External/Secondary Research: External data typically makes up a significant amount of the marketing intelligence component of your system, and it is important to ensure you bear your industries and the competition in mind when setting strategies. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  What is Web Tracking? People's online behavior is a really valuable source of information for marketers. Web tracking is a method of tracking that behavior. Web tracking is just collecting and storing the online activity of individuals in order to better understand their behavior and their preferences. So, by seeing where a person goes online, we can figure out what they might be more interested in or how to appeal to them regarding our product. One way that we achieve this web tracking or the way that we go about web tracking is through what are called cookies. Cookies are most noticeable when a website warns you that they use cookies. They are telling you that they are tracking where you're going on their website - as well as where else you're going on the internet once you're done on their website. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  What are Cookies? Cookies are the main way that we can engage in web tracking. It is worth noting that some search engines (mainly Google) have developed or are developing other unique ways of tracking consumer behavior on the internet. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Using Data from Web Tracking As we've probably all experienced, sometimes somebody goes to a certain website or looks up a certain type of product. All of a sudden, an ad pops up for a particular brand of that product. That's the result of web tracking. We can design and target specific ads to people based on their online behavior. That is the main goal of web tracking. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation For-Profit Companies: Here are some common sources for marketing intelligence: Media and Publications: Staying up to date on the news is a simple and helpful step. Setting a wide net can be helpful — major industry journals and newsletters are of course always a must- read, but a great piece of insider news might come from a blog. Setting up news alerts can also help ensure you don’t miss anything. Search Engines: It can also be useful to do a search about key industry topics and see what comes up. Advertising and Marketing Agencies: If you work with an agency, they may either already have insights into your sector or may be able to help you conduct any research needed, so you stay informed about your competitive landscape. Specialty Market Research Firms: You may also rely on data from specialty market research firms that are relevant to your industry. Syndicated services they provide (as compared to custom research done specifically for your company) could include sales data for your industry, competitive analyses, or other types of research. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Information Resource Acquisition & Incorporation Nonprofit Organizations: These organizations can provide some incredibly helpful data, often at no cost or a low cost. Government Agencies: A huge wealth of data is generated by government agencies, including the demographic data provided by the Census Bureau and the economic data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Depending on your sector, other agencies may provide helpful insights. For example, if you sell a product to schools, you may rely on the National Center for Educational Statistics. Tracking changes in regulations and the law may also be critical for some businesses. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO): Non-governmental organizations may also be doing studies on your sector or your customers that should be included in your system. Trade Associations: These groups are another important source for market data and competitive intelligence, and your company may already have free access if it is HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University a member.  Marketing Information System IT Structure and Tools User Interface: A marketing information system is only helpful if people can use it and rely on it. Accordingly, it’s critical to have an easy-to-use interface that allows users to quickly get the information they need. The design of this interface can vary, however, based on a multitude of different factors, including the types of decisions marketers need to make, the way they would like to analyze and display information, and the hardware and software being used. In addition to ease of use, you should consider cost and security. System Support: Providing ongoing support for the marketing information system is crucial to its long-term success. Typically, this means you will need system managers to manage and maintain both the hardware and software used in your system, monitor the system regularly, and provide any needed assistance to users. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Marketing Data Support System Models Creating reports that make it easy to understand trends and facilitate informed decision making is an important goal for the data support system component of any marketing information system. In order for you to be able to consistently rely on these insights, it’s essential that any reports can be generated on a regular basis and be standardized and customized to the specific need of your target audience. The look and feel of your reports will vary based on the tools you use but may include some of these common models: HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Marketing Data Support System Models Time Series Sales Models: Forecast future sales by looking at historic trends, including seasonality, sales cycles, and other issues. Brand-Switching Models: Particularly important in highly competitive sectors, you can use inputs on customer behavior, attitudes, and lifecycle to determine what might encourage customers to switch to your brand. Linear Programming: This refers to mathematical models you can use to predict outcomes, such as highest profit or highest sales. Elasticity Models: Show how outlooks change when specific factors change, such as the price of your product, consumer incomes, product supply, or client demand. Regression and Correlation Models: Demonstrate the relationship between different variables, such as sales of your product and an outside factor, like a change in competitor pricing or the weather. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Marketing Data Support System Models Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Models: This is a collection of models that’s useful for comparing differences between groups, such as customer segments. Sensitivity Analysis: Show results when you change a specific factor, for example, the impact on purchasing by different groups when you increase prices. Discounted Cash Flow: Estimate the value of a specific product or business line over time. “What If” Models: These are spreadsheet templates that allow you to weigh different options and predict what will happen if specific factors change, such as launching a new product or opening a new store. HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University  Thank you Dr. Hayel Ababneh HAYEL ABABNEH – Al al-Bayt University