Marketing Information Systems - Overview

Marketing information systems Dr. Hayel Ababneh Dept. of Business Management Al al -Bayt University HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Content • What is Marketing Information • Value of Marketing Information • What is Marketing Information Systems ? • Marketing decisions • Differe...

Marketing information systems Dr. Hayel Ababneh Dept. of Business Management Al al -Bayt University HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Content • What is Marketing Information • Value of Marketing Information • What is Marketing Information Systems ? • Marketing decisions • Different Types of Marketing Decisions • Product decisions • Price Decisions • Distribution decisions • Promotion Decisions • What Purpose do Marketing Information Systems Serve ? • Examples of Marketing Information Systems • Why Do You Need Marketing Information Management ? • Advantages and Disadvantages of Marketing Information Systems ? • Types of data in a Marketing Information System HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University What is Marketing Information • Means all and any information (whether or not recorded in documentary form or on computer disk or tape) relating to the marketing or sales of any past present or future product or service of the company . • It includes : • sales targets and statistics, • market share and pricing statistics, • marketing surveys and plans, • market research reports, • sales techniques, • price lists, • discount structures, • advertising and promotional material, • the names, addresses, telephone numbers, contact names and identities of customers and potential customers of and suppliers and potential suppliers to the Company, HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Value of Marketing Information • Increasingly, business leaders are viewing market information not only as an input for making better decisions but also as an important strategic asset . • Marketing Information may prove to a business’s chief competitive advantage in many business sectors . • Competitors can copy each other’s products , processes, procedures, and technologies, but they cannot duplicate the marketing information and intellectual capital . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University What is Marketing Information Systems? • A marketing information system, or an MkIS , is a system for gathering, storing, analyzing and distributing valuable marketing data to help marketers make better decisions . • Marketing Information Systems (MkIS ) are systems that involve the collection, analysis, and presentation of data related to marketing . It is primarily used by marketing decision - makers to improve their planning, implementation, and monitoring . • Marketing Information Systems involve people, technology, equipment, and various processes, which all work together continuously ; gathering, sorting, analyzing, and distributing accurate and up -to -date information for decision -makers in marketing . • The input of a marketing information system focuses on collecting relevant internal and external data to analyze and interpret . • The output of a marketing information system relates to distributing the findings to all essential internal marketing team members and managers . • Marketers can then use the data to make more informed marketing decisions to promote the success of the business . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Marketing decisions • "Marketing decisions" is an important task for every marketing manager to successfully implement the marketing plan of the firm . • In general marketing decisions made by organizations are based on what is called a “marketing mix ” which influence the development of a given marketing program . • The most lasted marketing mix framework is “the four P’s ,” which stands for product, price, promotion, and placement . • By manipulating and responding to the these elements that make up this marketing mix, or, in other words, by making marketing decisions based upon the four P’s, organizations can develop increasingly successful marketing strategies . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Different Types of Marketing Decisions • A marketing manager has to take many marketing decisions to operate the day -to -day activities of a business organization . • The purpose of these marketing decisions is to achieve the pre -determined marketing objectives of an organization . • There are four areas or aspects, which always kept in mind, when a marketing manager intends to make different sorts of marketing plans for different products and services . Includes : • Product • Price • Placement (Distribution) • Promotion HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University • There are certain activities that are included as the elements of marketing mix like product planning, branding, pricing, distribution channel, packaging, promotions, advertising, physical handling, display, personal selling, servicing and fact finding & analysis and many more . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Product decisions • The product can be considered the "goods" that satisfies one or more consumer demands . Product is related to tangible, physical products as well as services . There are certain decisions that are related to the product .Like : Brand Name Quality Functionality Warranty Safety Styling Packaging Accessories & services Repairs & support HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Price Decisions • The price represents both the economic cost of producing a product or service and the value of a product or service and as perceived by the customers . • Marketing decisions include price decisions which are elements of the marketing mix in which different aspects of marketing communication occurs . • Following are some of the most important Marketing Decisions related to pricing :  Suggested retail price.  Pricing Strategy (penetration, skim etc )  Bundling  Seasonal pricing  Price discrimination  Cash & early payment discounts  Volume discounts & wholesale pricing  Place (Distribution)  Decisions  Price flexibility HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Distribution decisions • Placement is also referred to as "distribution," and often refers to where a given product will be delivered . Marketing decisions include Distribution decisions which are elements of the marketing mix in which different aspects of marketing communication occurs . Following are some of the most important Marketing Decisions related to Distribution decisions : • Distribution channels • Market coverage (Exclusive, inclusive or selective distribution) • Specific channel members • Warehousing • Logistics • Inventory management • Transportation • Order processing • Distribution centers HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Promotion Decisions • Promotion refers to the communication techniques that are used to bring the public’s attention to a given product or service . • Marketing decisions include promotion decisions which are elements of the marketing mix in which different aspects of marketing communication occurs . • The information about the product is communicated with an objective to produce positive customer response . • Following are some of the important promotion decisions . • Promotional strategy • Advertising • Sales promotion • Personal selling & sales force • Marketing communication budget • Public relations & publicity HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University What Purpose do Marketing Information Systems Serve? • MkIS have the ultimate objective of helping the marketing decision -maker to make better, more informed decisions . • There are several applications for these decisions that can have very impactful outcomes for a business . • MkIS can help businesses determine what their customers want and customer perceptions of the product or service and the organization as a whole . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University What Purpose do Marketing Information Systems Serve? • These insights can impact the organization in many different ways to assist with different kinds of decisions . • Product development teams can use insights generated by MkIS to determine which direction they should be moving in terms of their new product pipeline . Data about what customers are looking for and which elements of current products or services they like and dislike can guide the development of future products or add -ons to current products or services . • The insights can also guide the company’s strategic marketing direction by assisting in providing both feedback about current products and services, as well as perceptions that may impact expansion plans, the launch of new products, or the opening of new locations, amongst other factors . In addition to impacting the strategy, it can also affect the pricing and distribution of products by providing valuable feedback on price points, sales trends and locations, and other useful related data . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University What Purpose do Marketing Information Systems Serve? • MkIS can be very helpful in product positioning by providing useful feedback that could help marketing teams better segment and target their customers . Doing this successfully can help increase profits and prevent a lot of both time and money from being wasted . • This better positioning of the product can, in turn, drive more effective marketing communications and campaigns, which can also help companies to seek more successful partnerships or alliances . For those businesses looking to team up with others, knowing the customer and the brand perception is key, and MkIS can provide extremely useful feedback to get an accurate grasp of this in real -time . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Examples of Marketing Information Systems • Loyalty Cards • The loyalty card you use at a grocery store is an easy example . • Every time you swipe the card with your purchase to get points or discounts, the transaction details are recorded . What you buy, what time the purchase is made, at which location, and how frequently would all be some of the data stored with these transactions . • These can then inform a company that can make decisions based on these details , combined with those of other shoppers and additional factors . When the store combines these details from thousands of shoppers, a process that would be almost impossible to do manually, but which is possible with a MkIS , the grocery store can use it to improve their sales and marketing, directing advertising and specials at specific groups of people and even selling this data to third parties to make money from it. HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Examples of Marketing Information Systems • Airlines • Another example would be airlines – there is a lot of data to gather in various places. Their MkIS might include: • data from customers’ (private and corporate) loyalty cards, both personal details and your flying habits, food preferences, etc . • data from other airlines online about their pricing, routes, discount rates, etc . • data from inflight feedback (logged by cabin crew and from passenger feedback forms) • external data, which could be sold to them by caterers or other vendors, and then external market data . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Examples of Marketing Information Systems • Airlines • All of these different sources (and others, such as social media) and types of data would be combined in the MkIS to provide the airline with details not only to help them be able to come up with smart suggestions such as routes you’d like to fly, which you’d get through a mailer or a suggestion on the airline home page, but also to help the company decide whether to extend capacity on more popular routes at certain times of the year, cut down on other routes, or add a destination to their network because it’s what all their competitors are doing . • All of this information is gathered together and presented in many ways to different groups of decision -makers, depending on what they want from the information . Being able to pull certain insights and suggestions from this vast amount of cumulative data and make sense of it to assist with and benefit business decisions is a huge advantage for companies who know how to use it well . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Examples of Marketing Information Systems • Hotel reservation services • They can keep track of demand and adjust rates accordingly as it changes . During the off - season, they can also provide loyalty discounts to their repeat customers . • Electric Vehicle (EV) • Suppose a company was to design a new type of electric vehicle (EV) that would become a direct competitor to Tesla . In that case, the company should have extensive information on all the current and potential EV consumers . Necessary market information would include customer preferences, the value of the EVs, and what a new entrant can offer to make customers want to buy the new EV . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Advantages of Marketing Information Systems ? • Aides in Decision Making .MkIS can save vast amounts of money by targeting marketing campaigns to the right audiences, by using the information that they store in smart ways, by being aware of and able to change the perception of their company, and also by knowing what people want, all to enable good decisions around which projects to go ahead with and which not to pursue . • Valuable Source of Information .When these systems are in place in a company, and data is being systematically gathered, it becomes a precious source of information for the company as it collects, building up a history for the company that it can learn from, that warns it of both future challenges and opportunities, and that can be used intelligently for increasing company profits . • More Consumer -Relevant Marketing . From an individual point of view, people will find that using these systems, the ways they are marketed to and the products they see are far more tailored and feel less like spam marketing .What individuals are exposed to becomes more relevant for them with good use of these systems and might expose them to products and services they need or are interested in . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Disadvantages of Marketing Information Systems? • Requires Time, Money, and Expertise . On the downside, good MkIS can require time, money, and expertise for companies . As with putting any system into place, there will be costs involved . After the upfront cost of the hardware or software required to run these systems, the largest investment is likely to be in staff – learning, operating, maintaining, and optimizing these systems to be able to take full advantage of them . This can require organization and training, which can be time and cost -intensive . • Adoption Issues and Resistance . Further, people in the marketing decision -making roles need to have an open mind to using these systems . When the system presents data, results, or insights that are counter -intuitive or not what the decision -maker expected, the decision -maker has a choice about whether to trust the system and follow its recommendation or not . Sometimes there needs to be a blend of rational judgment and trust in the system . There may be resistance from the users or adoption issues implementing such systems, particularly if the results are surprising or the outcomes are not as expected . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Disadvantages of Marketing Information Systems? • System Errors . Aside from mental blocks in adopting such systems, there can also be genuine errors in the systems, with the weighting of factors being incorrect or parts of the system giving skewed results . Once again, this is where the time investment for the running and optimization of these systems comes into play, and ensuring that the company has people who can select the correct data to be inputted into the system, the correct metrics to measure by and other factors that determine the analysis of information and operation of these systems is vital . • Reinforces Preferences . For the individual, these systems use your preferences and data you volunteer to be better able to sell to you . You can end up reinforcing your existing preferences and not exposing yourself to new products or services . Instead, similar products and services to those you have already purchased or expressed interest in will be shown to you, and you may end up missing out on newness, as your exposure could lack variety . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Why Do You Need Marketing Information Management? • There are many different ways that marketing information management systems can help companies drive growth. • Key benefits include: • ensuring you understand your business better, • gaining important guidance for designing successful products, and • improving company operations. HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 1. Improve Your Understanding of Your Business • Marketing Information Management can help to ain a better understanding of the following elements : • Customers : Depending on the internal reporting inputs you use, a marketing information system can ensure you keep track of customer demographics, attitudes, and behavior . Tracking sales on a customer level can provide important insights into buying cycles as well as different taste profiles . Meanwhile, social media tracking and consumer -based research can help you understand how potential customers perceive your brand and products . • Markets : The marketing intelligence included in marketing information systems helps ensure decisions are based on a strong understanding of the specific market niche or industry where you operate, as well as within the overall competitive landscape .When you combine these insights with economic forecasts and macro trends, you can use them to size your market and predict growth trends for your business . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 1. Improve Your Understanding of Your Business Outside Forces : Other outside forces that can be tracked through marketing information systems include regulatory and legal risks . For example, privacy and data collection may be something you need to monitor if your marketing information system includes insights about individual customers . Or, if you sell a product that is heavily regulated (such as pharma or medical devices) or impacted by government trade policies (such as agricultural or energy products), you can also make sure you stay on top of any new developments . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 2. Drive Product Design and Placement The insights that can be developed from a robust marketing information system are invaluable for product marketing teams . Sector and competitive information, along with consumer research, can help drive the process of analyzing your competitive niche, setting product positioning, messaging, and pricing, and determining your product’s value proposition . When you include insights regarding your sales trends and company capabilities, you have a solid foundation for developing ideas for new products, features, packaging, and delivery . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 3. Drive Operations throughout Your Organization • A marketing information system can provide valuable guidance for many parts of your organization : • Marketing Teams : This group is the initial beneficiary of a marketing information system . They can use it to develop product messaging and positioning (as noted earlier), generate with ideas for specific campaigns and track success for those campaigns, and determine the right marketing mix based on what ’s succeeding and what ’s already being used within the industry . The right marketing information management system can take a lot of the guesswork out of marketing and ensure decisions are based on a strong understanding of return on investment (ROI) . • Customer - Facing Teams : Sales and account teams can benefit from better understanding the competitive landscape and customer needs, so they can speed up the sales cycle and win more customers, provide better service to customers, and provide ongoing support throughout the customer relationship management (CRM) cycle . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 3. Drive Operations throughout Your Organization • Financial Teams : A marketing information system can help drive integration of accounting systems into the broader business . The internal data within the system can help manage product inventory and distribution, and can also help track and manage customer churn . Having a strong understanding of product sales and industry factors can also help financial teams analyze profit margins and drivers . • Enterprise -Wide : Throughout the organization, marketing information systems can ensure all managers have a strong understanding of their sector and business and provide broad inputs into strategy development . Companies can also use a marketing information system to understand which parts of the business are doing the most to support the bottom line and which parts are contributing the most resources toward growth . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 4. Improve Data Access Storing essential data and making it easy to access is a core aspect of any marketing information system, by definition . The tools that make up the marketing decision support system can be used to facilitate data access throughout an organization . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 5 . Increase Sales and Profits • Marketing information management systems help improve your bottom line . By providing a solid analytical basis for everything from product development to marketing initiatives to customer relationship management, they can help you create products that clients want to buy and help you control costs . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University 6. Avoid Crisis • With their extensive external data inputs, these systems can help you avoid getting caught unprepared by competitors or changes in your industry . They can also help you maintain solid control over your marketing systems, so you can spend marketing budgets wisely and minimize risk . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University The Roles of MkIS • A marketing information system can be beneficial for multiple types of marketing decisions, such as : • Control decisions : Middle -level marketing manager decisions related to corrective actions based on deviation from strategic plans implemented by higher -level marketing managers . • Operational decisions : Decisions related to the day -to -day activities of marketing professionals, especially related to accomplishing specific tasks . • Strategic decisions : High -level marketing manager decisions about matters that affect the entire organization, such as organizational policies, objectives and structure . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Types of d ata in a Marketing Information System • Marketing information systems handle different types from multiple sources . The common types of data in a data marketing system are : 1 .Acquired databases • Databases often store large amounts of marketing and sales data and customer information, and some companies may purchase access to these databases for little to no cost . • Businesses may enter the data they purchase into their marketing information system to help them make better, more informed decisions . • For example, there are companies that specialize in gathering data related to business trends and consumer behavior and business trends and generating reports to sell . • Similarly , companies may purchase information from government databases to learn about the demographic or economic information of companies, groups or specific individuals . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Types of d ata in a Marketing Information System 2 .Internal company data • Marketing information systems allow you to turn internal company data into valuable insights . • For example, you may input data related to marketing activities or sales to generate reports . • Also , you may integrate your marketing information system with an internal company communications network or intranet to gather information about certain employees, departments or business units . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Types of d ata in a Marketing Information System • 3 . Marketing intelligence • Marketing information systems allow you to gain insights from the marketing intelligence data you gather about your target market . For example, explore options to gather marketing intelligence data from your competitors' websites or industry trade publications . You may also explore options that are less automated and more manual, such as talking with distributors, making observations, attending trade shows or testing products . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Types of d ata in a Marketing Information System • 4 . Marketing research • Marketing information systems allow you to integrate the marketing research and data you gather from custom and syndicated research reports and primary or secondary research . It's important to find as much specific and unique information as possible, especially regarding your customers, competitors and overall business environment . This will help you gain more valuable insights to make better decisions . HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Marketing information system process Marketing information systems use a sequential process to synthesize data and share findings to influence decision -making. Here are the steps of the marketing information system process: 1. Determine the appropriate marketing metrics. 2. Gather relevant data from external and internal sources. 3. Graph the data to visualize trends. 4. Distribute the trend information to the appropriate departments. 5. Use the data to determine the right course of action to take. HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University Thank you Dr. Hayel Ababneh HAYEL ABABNEH –Al al -Bayt University