MARKETING INFORMATION

SYSTEMMARKETING INFORMATION MEANING

The term ‘information’ is a concept familiar to every-one. Information consists of evaluated data being symbols, usually number, used to represent things .It stands for the cues or the guidelines which have he potential of influencing decision .Information is any perceived or recorded fact opinion or thought .Mere symbols or number are meaningless unless they are given appropriate meaning For example, a sequence of say, six digits number 456789 represents data. However, you may be surprised when you are told as to what these six digits stands for; it may represent a telephone number of an attractive lady who I anxiously awaiting a call from you. Thus, the data becomes information as it has meaning and implications. Information means relevant data that helps manager to reduce uncertainty.

MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM

We are concerned, here, with ‘marketing management information’. The nature of information needed to manage the marketing functions if an enterprise is unique because, it is of its dynamism and diversity. Though the basic need for information is the same for the marketing manager as for any other manager, the marketing manager is faced with a vast array of data of differing varieties, forms and degree of credibility. Another unique feature of marketing information is that it is largely generated outside the organization. Other managers are more interested in information generated within

the organization. However, the marketing information is largely generated in the external environment-from customers-potential customers-untapped market segments-competitors – government agencies and the like. Marketing information is also diverse in its form and substances. It is complex in nature as it has complicated relationship between the information and managerial action which such information supports. Thus, marketing information includes all the facts, opinion estimates and other evaluated data used in making decisions which have far reaching effect on the marketing units.

DEFINITION

“MIS is a set of procedures and method for the regular and planned collection, analysis and presentation of information in making marketing decisions”.

Classification Of Marketing Information SystemsThe concept of marketing information systems has been around for many years. Early systems were paper-based systems but, with the emergence of computers with large storage capacities and later microcomputers with similar features, marketing information systems have become more "electronic" in nature. MIS (marketing information systems) can be classified under five headings:

Planning systems - which provide information on sales, costs and competitive activity, together with any kind of information which is needed to formulate plans.

Control systems - these provide continuous monitoring of marketing activities and enable marketing executives to identify problems and opportunities in the marketplace. At the same time, they permit a more detailed and comprehensive review of performance against plans.

Marketing research systems - such systems allow executives to test decision rules and cause/effect hypotheses. This permits the assessment of the effects of marketing actions and encourages improved learning from experience.

Monitoring systems - these systems provide management with information concerning the external environment in which they are operating.

The Nature of MarketingMarketing management is about finding ways of satisfying customer wants and needs, while achieving organizational objectives or requirements in terms of profit or some other measure of corporate performance. It brings together all customer-impinging resources, such as product design and specification, advertising and other forms of promotion, pricing policy, selling, channels of distribution and physical distribution to achieve this end. These customer-impinging resources are often summarized under four headings and referred to as the four Ps of the marketing mix (price, promotion, place and product). The art or science of marketing management is concerned with making decisions/policies with respect to the elements of the' marketing mix such that the company's interface with its markets is both profitable and customer satisfying.

THE NEED FOR MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM

It is essentials to reiterate here that any enterprise is an open adaptive system of the supra-system. Marketing of today operates in a dynamic and highly competitive environment. The ever changing external or environmental forces do effect the internal situation and such and adaptive system can survive and survive successfully when

it takes warranted decision on the basis of marketing information. Thus, information is a life blood of that adaptive system. The for marketing information arises because of changing nature of the external forces which can be outline as under:

1. Knowledge of consumer demand: Today’s mass production and, hence, mass marketing efforts are founded on anticipation of consumer demand. In present day consumer oriented marketing approach. No marketer can afford to succeed without the perfect knowledge of his consumer and their needs, tastes, dislike and like, action and reaction which are constantly changing. Whatever he decides for the consumer must be based on facts, for no hunch or intuition or the guess works.

2. Growing complexity of marketing: with the growth and expansion of marketing activities ,the system of marketing is getting more intricate and elaborate .these intricacies and elaboration are warranting extended market intelligence service.

Marketing intelligence is an organized feedback process of marketing communication regarding the marketing environment .

The firms need census data, syndicated market data, trade association data, observation by salesmen-dealer and distributors, newspaper, magazines, trade fairs and exhibitions all provide what is going around.

3. Changing economic parameters: Broadly, the force of demand and supply determine the price of input and output and hence the

general market and marketing conditions. Marketer of today is to shoot at flying target than the constant one; he is to keep abreast of changing economic conditions by studying and monitoring the economic parameters like national income population, price levels, money flow, growth rate changes go on. This is possible when he was relevant and up to day economic data at his command.

4. Changing competitive condition: Modern marketing efforts and activities are not only on mass scale but are highly sensitive to the changing forces of keen competition So long at business activity gives an idea of making surplus, competitors creep in. Rivals try to compete away the existing business by superior policies and strategies followed in for areas of market–mix. A successful marketer is one who gauges correctly the nature extant the size of competition. Such sizing–up is based on relevant, authentic and latest market information regarding his rivals both overt and convert.

5. Strides in science and technology: Mass production activities warranted mass marketing efforts to bring about balance in the economic system. Competition leads to improvement of product

Quality, reduction in costs and prices made possible by the use of latest techniques. New ideas, new product, new services are possible thought new techniques. The energy crisis that we are facing in case of gasoline has led to the development of automobiles run on gas, electricity and even water. Metal shortages have encouraged plastic molding. Innovation becomes the law of the land to survive in this competitive world. Keeping pace with technological change is a challenge to which all firms will have to respond because,

technologies have an impact through out the marketing system in shaping the availability, cost and final consumption of goods. Marketing management’s role in this area is to provide the spur to the firm’s innovation while supplying marketing insights into the broad patterns of technological change.

6. Fast growing consumerism: mass marketing efforts have widened the gap between the producers and the marketers and final users. The marketers are not understand the consumers and the consumers have been able to understand the producer and marketers. The gap has led to consumer dissatisfaction resulting in even increasing consumer movement. There has been a communication gap between the producers or marketers and consumers. It implies that thee is no perfect two-way flow of information to help in solving the problems of producers or marketers and consumers which is indispensable.

ELEMENTS OF GOODS MIS

A good marketing system has the following features which can be called as the requisites or essentials. These are:

1. It is a unified and centralized system: The marketing information system of an organization is to be conceived and manage as a single entity. The system made up of certain components which can be information components and activity

Components. These components are to be integrated into a single whole and manned by a single central agency. The chief of the

marketing system is to work as the consultant, coordinator and the controller of all the information and activity component of the system so perceived.

2. It is a decision supporting system: To-day marketing information system is not merely a data bank where data is processed and stored. Though data collection and evaluation are the basic tasks of such a system, it is to help the management in decision making and controlling. It is responsible for improving the efficiency of modern management amidst the changing atmosphere of risks and uncertainties. The marketing information system assists in arriving at right choice among the competing alternatives and this improves the organizational effectiveness and efficacy. This is how it can be called as a decision supporting system.

3. It is compatible with the organization: The marketing information system being the part of an organization, it is to act the

Subservient of the system. Therefore, the marketing information system so designed is matching to the philosophy, culture and the level of sophistication attained by the organization. There is commenting interrelationship between the marketing operation, the marketing control system and the marketing communication flow. Good marketing information system reflects this relationship. Further, the system must be of that level of sophistication and advancement that fits well within the capabilities of people at work.

4. It is economical: The marketing information system must be economical in the sense that it should meet accepted cost- value

variables are decided by the types of information needed, levels of organization needing it, purposes served, authenticity and so on. The value or the gain got must exceed the expenditure in terms of money time and efforts .A given information can be gathered, analyzed and presented by alternative information designs. There should be scientific assessment and comparison of costs and benefits and their variation before selecting an information design.

5. It is need based and use- oriented: Marketing information system should not contend merely with the functions, arranging, analyzing, coding, preserving and feeding the information because, it is not a courier service department. It must not overload the organization with redundant information though abundant

Information is to be provided. It must be selective in knowing the exact requirement of each department and departmental executives. The information so presented must be use- oriented in that it is handy and just to be the requirement of users.

6. It is fast in communication: The modern managers are to make not only sound decisions but quick decisions. Therefore, the marketing information system must be speed-grade to assure fast movement of assimilated and analyzed data at different levels to facilitate timely decisions. Quick decisions result in prompt actions. The marketing information system is to adjust its level of sophistication and speed of the processing and reporting wings so that our manager can sense and exploit the business opportunities and get ready to meet challenges of business threats associated with the incoming opportunities.

7. It is future oriented: What we were and what we are? Are not very important. What is more important is-What we will be? Marketing information system is an on- going process of data collection, processing, storing and retrieving is more future oriented. It is to anticipate and prevent and to solve the problems. It is both a corrective and preventive process. Moreover, it believes in the dictum “prevention is better than cure”. It works industriously to guarantee a steady flow of information regularly the right information to the right people at right time at right cost to make future worthy.

THE COMPONENTS OF MIS

A highly developed marketing information system has four major components or division namely :

1. Internal marketing information.2. Marketing intelligence.3. Marketing research and4. Management science.

The marketing information systems and its subsystems

The explanation of this model of an MIS begins with a description of each of its four main constituent parts: the internal reporting systems, marketing research system, marketing intelligence system and marketing models. It is suggested that whilst the MIS varies in its degree of sophistication - with many in the industrialized countries being computerized and few in the developing countries being so-a fully fledged MIS should have these components, the methods (and technologies) of collection, storing, retrieving and processing data notwithstanding.

1. INERNAL MARKETING INFORMAION: Internal marketing system is also called as internal accounting system. The internal accounting system involves using marketing data available from within the company as a means of indicating the cost effectiveness of the firm. The internal forces and their relationship to good information management influencing the decision making of marketers are that marketing has become more complex with widened gamut, it need faster and sounder decisions, it warrants efficient use of resources- particularly time , treasure and talent when they are getting short and use of inexpensive data made possible by information explosion caused by computer technology. The details on internal sales, costs, inventories, cash- flow, account

receivables and payable, time availability and so on are provided by internal accounting system.

By analyzing this information, the marketing managers can spot significant opportunities and problems.

The major components of internal records system are:

1. The order to payment cycle: In, fact it is the very heart of internal records system. Sales representatives, dealers, and customers send orders to the firms. The department sales prepares invoice and transmit copies to various department. Out of stock items are records. Shipped items are accompanied by the shipping and billing document that are send to various relevant department.

These steps are to be done correctly and quickly. It is because the customers favor those firms which promise timely delivery. customers and representatives fax or email their order. Computerized warehouse quickly fill in those order. Billing department sends out invoices as fast as possible. An increasing number of company are using Internet and extranets to improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the order-to-payment cycle.

2. Sales information system: Marketing executives in need of accurate and timely reports on the current sales, Thus Reliance Fresh unit knows the sales of each product by store and total daily sales. This enables to transmit night orders to suppliers for new shipment of replacement stock. These companies have the opportunity of shaping the data its larger suppliers to bring about stock adjustment at faster place. Modern organization, large format retailers in India follow such

systemic method to manage supply chain and inventories like Wal-mart P&G of western world. It is a must to have careful interpretation of data on sales to avoid wrong signals.

Technological gadgets are revolution sing sales information system and allowing the sales raps to have up-to-date-the second information. Most of the companies in India provide lap-tops, mobile phones and Internet communication facilities to keep track to sales collection, inventory levels and order position. These assist the companies to have up-to-date information and improve the productivity of its sales-force.

3. Data bases and Data Warehousing Data Bases:

In the present day world each marketing company has well-organized data-bases.

Data base marketing is not a substitute for traditional marketing activities. Data-base marketing is a way of improving the performance of those activities through the effective use of customer’s information. Collecting using data on your customers and your marketing helps you to gain a better understanding of the market so that you can utilize sales and marketing techniques in more precise, cost-effective way.

Data base marketing uses computer systems and to provide information for planning and controlling sales and marketing efforts. The computer system provides the ability to store and manipulate large amount of data from diverse sources and present information in a convenient, accessible and useful format. Data can come from a variety of internal and external sources and can be constantly up-dated, expanded and refined to provide a precise, up-to-date view of markets and individual

customers. Software tools are available to analyze the data to provide information in a way that improve decision-making and response to business opportunities.

The key aspects of marketing are: Understanding Customers, Managing Customers Service, Understanding the market, Understanding the competitors, Managing Sales-Operation, Managing Marketing Campaigns, Communicating with Customers.

Data-Warehousing

A data warehouse is the main repository of an organization’s historical data, its corporate memory. It contains the raw-material for management’s decisions support system.

Mr. Bill Inmon an early and influential practitioner has formally defined a “data ware house” in the terms:

Subject Oriented, meaning that the data in the data base is organized so that all the data elements relating to the same real-world event or object are linked together:

time variant, meaning that to change the data in data base are tracked and recorded so that reports can be produces to showing changes over time;

Non-Volatile, meaning that data in the data base is never over-written or deleted-once committed, the data is static, read only, but retained for future reporting; and

Integrated, meaning that data in the base contain data from most or all of an organization’s operational applications, and that data is made consistent.

Data warehouse become a distinct type of computer data base during late 1980’s and early 1990. They were developed to

meet the growing demand for management information and analysis that could not be met by operational system.

2. MARKETING INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM: Whereas marketing research is focused, market intelligence is not. A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and data sources used by marketing managers to sift information from the environment that they can use in their decision making. This scanning of the economic and business environment can be undertaken in a variety of ways, including2

Unfocused scanning

The manager, by virtue of what he/she reads, hears and watches exposes him/herself to information that may prove useful. Whilst the behavior is unfocused and the manager has no specific purpose in mind, it is not unintentional

Semi-focused scanning

Again, the manager is not in search of particular pieces of information that he/she is actively searching but does narrow the range of media that is scanned. For instance, the manager may focus more on economic and business publications, broadcasts etc. and pay less attention to political, scientific or technological media.

Informal search

This describes the situation where a fairly limited and unstructured attempt is made to obtain information for a specific purpose. For example, the marketing manager of a firm considering entering the business of importing frozen fish from a neighboring country may make informal inquiries as to prices and demand levels of frozen and fresh fish. There would be little structure to this search with the manager making inquiries with traders he/she happens to encounter as well as with other ad hoc contacts in ministries, international aid agencies, with trade associations, importers/exporters etc.

Formal search

This is a purposeful search after information in some systematic way. The information will be required to

address a specific issue. Whilst this sort of activity may seem to share the characteristics of marketing research it is carried out by the manager him/herself rather than a professional researcher. Moreover, the scope of the search is likely to be narrow in scope and far less intensive than marketing research

Marketing intelligence is the province of entrepreneurs and senior managers within an agribusiness. It involves them in scanning newspaper trade magazines, business journals and reports, economic forecasts and other media. In addition it involves management in talking to producers, suppliers and customers, as well as to competitors. Nonetheless, it is a largely informal process of observing and conversing.

Some enterprises will approach marketing intelligence gathering in a more deliberate fashion and will train its sales force, after-sales personnel and district/area managers to take cognizance of competitors' actions, customer complaints and requests and distributor problems. Enterprises with vision will also encourage intermediaries, such as collectors, retailers, traders and other middlemen to be proactive in conveying market intelligence back to them.

3. MARKETING RESEARCH SYSTEM: The general topic of marketing research has been the prime ' subject of the textbook and only a little more needs to be added here. Marketing research is a proactive search for information. That is, the enterprise which commissions these studies does so to solve a perceived marketing problem. In many cases, data is collected in a purposeful way to address a well-defined problem (or a problem which can be defined and solved within the course of the study). The other form of marketing research centre not around a specific marketing problem but is an attempt to continuously monitor the marketing environment. These monitoring or tracking exercises are continuous marketing

research studies, often involving panels of farmers, consumers or distributors from which the same data is collected at regular intervals. Whilst the ad hoc study and continuous marketing research differs in the orientation, yet they are both proactive.

4. MANAGEMENT SCIENCE: “Marketing Science” or “Marketing Management science” or “Management Science” is nothing but “Operation Research” which is law test addition to this marketing information system. Operation research is the application of scientific methodology and quantitative techniques to business and other operation problems. Operation researchers use mathematical method in their analysis. Method is essential a representation of part of the real world. Marketing executive is greatly assisted in making complex decision in the areas of new products development, marketing-mix, media selection, queuing problems in retail organization, location of warehouses, inventory control, allocation of market expenses and such other issues.