Class Discussion Notes MKT 390 - 401

September 12, 2001

Marketing Information System– Assessing information needs– Gathering information– Analysis– Disseminating to marketing

Marketing knowledge– Sum of all digitized information from marketing team (past

and present), partners and consultants• Includes intellectual capital, work outputs and contact

information

Marketing Knowledge

Sources of marketing knowledge– Internal records

• Non-marketing data– Accounting data

» Sales» Cash flow data» Marketing expenses» Profit and loss statements

– Logistics data» Inventory» Shipping and delivery data

• Sales force data– Prospects– Sales call info– Field intelligence– Contracts and proposals

Marketing Knowledge

– Internal records – cont’d• Customer characteristics and behavior

– Current and prospective customer names– Other contact info– Purchase behavior or history– Customer complaints– Promotional redemptions

Marketing Knowledge

Sources of marketing knowledge – cont’d– Secondary data

• Pros– Ease of retrieval– Cheaper to obtain

• Cons– Mismatch between data and marketer’s needs

» Data gathered for a different purpose» Quality issues» Out of date

Marketing Knowledge

– Secondary data – cont’d• Marketing intelligence

– Demographic trends– Competitors– Technological forces– Natural resources– Social and cultural trends– World and local economies– Legal and political environments

Marketing Knowledge

– Secondary data – cont’d• Where do we find marketing intelligence?

– Publicly generated data» US Patent Office» World Trade Organization» International Monetary Fund» US Dept of Commerce» University libraries and research» Industry or professional organizations

Marketing Knowledge

• Where do we find marketing intelligence? – cont’d– Privately generated data

» Firms» Individuals» Politicians» Research firms» Media firms» Infomediaries

– Online databases» Trailblazer Web sites aka index pages

Marketing Knowledge

• Competitive intelligence - Analyzing the industry in which the firm operates to understand competitor vulnerabilities

– Sources of CI» Press releases» New product introductions» Alliances» Trade show activity» Advertising strategy» Annual reports» Web sites linked to the competitor» Web site logs» Third party industry specific sites» Company profiles from SEC» User conversation

Marketing Knowledge

• Information quality concerns– Anyone can publish on the Web– No review process– No standards for content, accuracy, appropriateness– Foreign sources

» Cultural differences» Data collection methods

– Don’t be seduced by good design!!!

Marketing Knowledge

• Information quality concerns – cont’d– Discover the Web site’s author– Try to determine the author’s authority on the topic– Check for last update

» Check hyperlinks– Determine comprehensiveness of site– Try to validate research data with another source– Check content accuracy– Don’t stop at the first good site you find!!!

Marketing Knowledge

– Primary data – Information gathered for the first time to solve a particular problem

• Pros– Current– More relevant to specific problem– Proprietary

• Cons– Expensive– Time consuming

Marketing Knowledge

– Primary data – cont’d• Internet-based research approaches

– Online experiments» Attempt to test cause and effect relationships» Exposing test groups to different stimuli

– Online focus groups» Qualitative methodology» Gathers in-depth information from small number of participants» Pros

Eliminates geographic barriersReduces groupthink

» ConsSmaller groupsNonverbal communication is lostAuthenticity problemsTechnical difficulties

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Online observation

» Monitors behavior

Chat rooms

Usenet

Specialized search engines

Provide space on Web site for discussion

Subscribe to e-mail lists on related topics» Cons

Small number of subjects cannot establish relevance for a larger group

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Online in-depth interviews

» Semi-structured conversation with a few subjects» Facilitator uses increasingly directed questions to narrow focus» Cons

Lose the personal interaction– Online survey research

» Sending questionnaires to individuals via e-mail, Web posting or electronic bulletin board

– E-mail surveys» Purchasing target e-mail lists» Using firms own database of e-mail addresses» Pros

Inexpensive follow upPreferable in countries without unlimited access

» ConsDependent on level of interestSloppy responses

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Web surveys

» Posting questions on Web page» Respondents use automated response

mechanisms» Often combined with other methods directing

traffic to the site

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Online survey research advantages

» Fast and inexpensive» Diverse group worldwide OR targeted niche» Reduces errors» Honest responses (anonymity)» Access can be open or restricted» Easy tabulation of data

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Online survey research disadvantages

» Sample selection/generalizability» Self-selection bias» Authenticity» Dishonest responses» Duplicate responses» Steep learning curve to create surveys

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Online panels

» People who have agreed to participate in market research

» Pros

Extensive data already available

Increased response rates

Better targeting» Cons

More expensive than other online research

Generalizability problems

Marketing Knowledge

• Internet-based research approaches – cont’d– Ethics of online research

» Spam» Harvesting e-mail addresses without permission» Selling under the guise of research» Privacy issues

Marketing Knowledge

• Other technology enabled approaches– Client-side data collection

» Cookie – A small data file placed on the user’s hard drive» Clickstream – PC meters used to track usage and surfing

patterns– Server-side data collection

» Web site log software – Records user data on web server» Real time profiling

– Real-space data collection» Smart card and credit card readers» Bar code scanners

Inventory managementPromotions

Marketing Knowledge

• Marketing databases – Product databases – Hold data about inventory

levels– Customer databases – Hold data about customer

behavior– Transaction processing databases – Move data from

other databases into a data warehouse• Data warehouses

– Repository for all of a firm’s historical data» Smaller sections are called data marts

Marketing Knowledge

• Data analysis and distribution– Data mining

» Extraction of hidden information by statistical analysis» Search for patterns

– Customer profiling» Understanding behavior and characteristics of target

groups– RFM analysis

» Recency» Frequency» Monetary value

– Report generation» Automatic targeted reports from data warehouse on a

regular basis

Marketing Knowledge