REVIEWER (MKTG 85)
“Marketing Information and Research”
The Marketing Information System
A marketing information system is a
platform for collecting, storing, analyzing, and
distributing important marketing data received
from internal and external resources. It provides
marketers and other specialists with easy
accessibility to accurate data that helps them
make informed decisions oriented on
business growth.
4 Components of Marketing Information
System
 Internal records.
 Marketing research.
 Marketing intelligence.
 Marketing decision support system (MDSS)
Types of Marketing Decisions
 Strategic Decisions
E.g. Decisions concerning global marketing
and market acquisition.
 Control Decisions
E.g. adopting a suitable marketing strategy for
potential market acquisition.
 Operational Decisions
E.g. directing the efforts of the sales team
towards the successful application of the
marketing strategy so decided.
Examples of Marketing Information System
 Many retail stores provide their clients with
loyalty cards, and many brands offer customers
the opportunity to create their profiles in their
online store.
 Online booking services operate similarly.
They monitor their client’s habits, preferences,
and routes to gain some insights and act on
them.
Developing Market Information
Developing market information is more a
question of weeding through mountains of data to
find valuable insights. Add to this the
complication that 80% of data is unstructured
(text as opposed to numbers), and you see the
problem even the savviest analytics find in
understanding how to proceed.
According to IBM, data possesses 4 qualities
that make it difficult to analyze:
1. Velocity
2. Volume
3. Variety
4. Veracity
How to: Developing market information
Here’s the process I recommend in developing
market information into meaningful insights.
 Set goals
 Create KPIs
 Define metrics to assess KPIs
 Choose marketing information system software
 Transform data into insights with appropriate
analysis, such as pivot tables, correlations, etc.
 Use the analysis to make decisions
Defining Your Market
There are two basic markets you can sell
to: consumer and business. These divisions are
fairly obvious. For example, if you are selling
women's clothing from a retail store, your target
market is consumers; if you are selling office
supplies, your target market is businesses (this is
referred to as "B2B" sales). In some cases -- for
example, if you run a printing business -- you may
be marketing to both businesses and individual
consumers.
Define your Market
1. Make a wish list.
2. Focus.
3. Describe the customer's worldview.
4. Synthesize.
5. Evaluate.
6. Test
7. Go for It
Measuring Current Market Demand
Market demand represents how much of
a good or service consumers in the current
marketplace are willing to buy. A concept central
to business planning and pricing strategy,
companies use this metric to determine how much
their target market is willing to pay for a
particular good at any given time.
4 Types of Market Demand
1. Full demand
2. Irregular demand
3. Latent demand
4. Negative demand
How to Determine Market Demand?
Businesses and economists quantify market
demand using a variety of sources, including:
1. Market research, surveys, and case studies
2. Search engine data and social listening
3. Test runs
“SEGMENTING, TARGETING, AND
POSITIONING”
WHAT IS STP MARKETING?
STP marketing is an acronym for
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning – a
three-step model that examines your products or
services as well as the way you communicate
their benefits to specific customer segments.
THE STEP FORMULA
If you are looking for a simple way to
remember and summarize the STP marketing
concept, the acronym STEP is extremely useful:
Segmentation + Targeting Equals Positioning
SEGMENTATION
1. Geographic segmentation: Diving your
audience based on country, region, state,
province, etc.
2. Demographic segmentation: Dividing your
audience based on age, gender, education level,
occupation, gender, etc.
3. Behavioral segmentation: Dividing your
audience based on how they interact with your
business: What they buy, how often they buy,
what they browse, etc.
4. Psychographic segmentation: Dividing your
audience based on “who” your potential
customer is: Lifestyle, hobbies, activities,
opinions, etc.
TARGETING
Your ideal segment is one that is actively
growing, has high profitability, and has a low cost
of acquisition:
1. Size: Consider how large your segment is as
well as its future growth potential.
2. Profitability: Consider which of your
segments are willing to spend the most money
on your product or service. Determine the
lifetime value of customers in each segment
and compare.
3. Reachability: Consider how easy or difficult it
will be for you to reach each segment with your
marketing efforts. Consider customer
acquisition costs (CACs) for each segment.
Higher CAC means lower profitability.
POSITIONING
All the different factors that you
considered in the first two steps should have made
it easy for you to identify your niche. There are
three positioning factors that can help you gain a
competitive edge:
1. Symbolic positioning: Enhance the self-
image, belongingness, or even ego of your
customers. The luxury car industry is a great
example of this – they serve the same purpose
as any other car but they also boost their
customer’s self-esteem and image.
2. Functional positioning: Solve your
customer’s problem and provide them with
genuine benefits.
3. Experiential positioning: Focus on the
emotional connection that your customers have
with your product, service, or brand.
BENEFITS OF STP MARKETING
 Your brand messaging becomes more
personal and empathetic because you have your
customer personas and know exactly whom
you’re talking to;
 Your marketing mix becomes more
crystalized and yields higher return on
investment because you’re no longer wasting
budget on channels that your audience simply
ignores;
 Your market research and product
innovation become more effective because you
know exactly whom to ask for advice and
feedback in the development phase
STP MARKETING EXAMPLES: THE
COLA WARS
 Consumers with a positive attitude to the Coke
brand who were 100% loyal to Coke.
 Consumers with a positive attitude to the Pepsi
brand who were 100% loyal to Coke.
 Consumers with a positive attitude to both
brands, with loyalty to both, who switched their
purchases between both brands.
HOW TO CREATE AN STP MARKETING
STRATEGY: THE FULL STP MODEL?
1. Define the market
2. Create audience segments
3. Construct segment profiles
4. Evaluate the commercial attractiveness of each
segment
5. Select target audience/s
6. Develop a positioning strategy
There are several positioning strategy paths you
can follow:
 Category-based positioning
 Consumer-based positioning
 Competitor-based positioning
 Benefit-based positioning
  Price-based positioning
 Attribute-based positioning
 Prestige-based positioning
 Product Positioning Map
7. Choose your marketing mix
 Product
 Price
 Place
 Promotion
SUMMARY
Using the (segmentation targeting and
positioning) STP model, businesses can identify
their most valuable customer segments and create
products and marketing communications that
target those customers. This helps you create
engaging, personalized marketing campaigns that
convert visitors to customers at a high rate.
STP MARKETING FAQ
1. What is STP in marketing?
STP marketing (Segmentation Targeting,
and Positioning) is a three-step marketing
framework. With the STP process, you segment
your market, target your customers, and
position your offering to each segment
2. What is an example of STP?
The most classic example of STP
marketing is the Cola Wars of the 1980s. Both
Pepsi and CocaCola used STP marketing to
increase their market shares after the
introduction of New Coke
3. What are the 3 steps involved in STP
marketing?
The three main steps within STP are:
Segmenting your market (segmentation),
identifying your target market (Targeting) and
deciding on how you will position your brand
(positioning)
“Introduction to the Customer Decision
Journey”
What is marketing?
Creating, communicating and delivering
VALUE to customers, and managing
relationships with those customers to benefit the
organization and its stakeholders
Customer relationships are built on
interactions with mutual value…
Three key types of interactions tracked by
marketers:
 Transactions (purchases)
 Visits (“engagement ”) Influence/enable other
 Votes (“social influence”) transactions
We develop customer value propositions to
facilitate transactions
Customer Value Proposition: The specific
bundles we propose to help customers solve a
problem or achieve a goal, including the benefits
we claim they will receive and the costs we ask
them to pay.
Two key questions we will focus on
1. Will what we design create value for
customers?
2. How will customers find us?
“People don’t want ¼” drill bits, they want ¼”
holes”
Two drills on Amazon…
 $118.05
 $179.99
$118.05
Black & Decker SSL20SB 20-Volt MAX Smart
Select Lithium Ion Drill/Driver with extra battery
 Smart Select Clutch; Choose your project icon
and drill automatically adjusts power and speed
for optimal results
 Gear indicator; 2-speeds indicates high or low
setting
 20-volt MAX Lithium batteries deliver
extended run-time
 High torque motor delivers 175-Inch-pounds
 Ergonomic design for improved comfort and
control
 $179.99 • Compatible power supplies
DEWALT DCD760KL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch •Tools that show I’m a professional (and make
Cordless Compact Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver Kit me feel like one)
(includes second battery) • Distinctive styling consistent with me
 Lightweight design (4.0 lbs) minimizes user
fatigue Your product is a tool to help customers create
 Dual speed range 0-500/0-1700 rpm delivers value for themselves. The more you
optimal performance understand customers and what they value the
 LED work light provides increased visibility in more likely you will create value
confined spaces
 Compact track saw batteries (DC9181) are  Functional value: helps solve a problem or
compatible with the existing system of achieve a goal.
DEWALT 18v power tools produced since  Social value: connects with or distinguishes
1996 from others; expresses something about self to
 Compact size (8.2-inch) allows users to fit into others.
tight spaces;  Psychological value: interesting, enjoyable,
anxiety-reducing, satisfying.
Two different brands for two different
targeted markets with different problems to be The sensors found in smart phones and
solved or goals to be achieved Nintendo Wii controllers have migrated into
Black & Decker’s cordless 4v MAX Gyro, billed
Three DIMENSIONS of customer needs as the world’s first motionactivated screwdriver.
 Functional Tilt it right by a mere quarter of an inch and it
 Social screws clockwise to tighten; left, and it turns
 Psychological counterclockwise—all thanks to an internal
gyroscope that senses wrist motions, which are
Why does he choose specific measured by a small microprocessor that turns
products/services? those movements into changes in the drill’s speed
Because they help me and direction
• Do something (Functional)
• Express myself with others (Social) HOW does he choose?
• Experience something enjoyable LIFE – SEARCH – SOLVE
(Psychological) DMP (decision making process) How a customer
moves through a decision?
Why does he choose specific
products/services? LIFE
I need… • What’ s going on in my life?
•A drill I can use for everything • What triggers this need?
•Assurance I am buying a reliable product SEARCH
• What do I already know about how to address
Why does he choose specific this need?
products/services? • Who should I ask?
Because they help me • Where else should I look?
•Improve my business (Functional) • What is important to consider?
•Market my business (Social) SOLVE
•Avoid risks (Psychological) (and I’m a person • How satisfied am I with the product/service?
too!) • How satisfied was I with the purchase process?
• Do I get the support I need?
Why does he choose specific
products/services?
I need…
•Tools I can use all day
• Rugged
Need characteristics affect the DMP…
So they affect your marketing challenge
We’re opening a deli, we’d like Sam to find us
“I need lunch” Sam said..
What is Sam’s “decision journey” (DMP)?
Sam likes to get outside of work during his 30
minute lunch break. He usually walks with a few
of his coworkers to one of the nearby fast food
places, but lately has been packing lunches– he’d
like to eat healthier, but doesn’t want to make his
friends change their lunch routine.
Identify key decision criteria
 When Sam chooses a place to eat for lunch…
 What is non-negotiable? (“must haves”)
 Can get in and out in 30 minutes
 What other things does he consider? (potential
“differentiators”)
 Healthy food
 Friends can get food they like to
Develop competitive decision matrix
Very useful for determining and communicating
competitive situation and product development
priorities
Decision criteria affect your POSITIONING
 How you distinguish yourself from competitors
in your customer ’s mind (c) 2012 Mary
Caravella 30
 Positioning Statement
 For (our target segment), our (product/brand)
 Is (ONE important and most differentiating
decision criterion)
 Among all (competing ways of solving
targeted problem)
 Because ( single most important “supporting
evidence” )
Some direction...
1. Will what we design create value for
customers?
 Work to understand all the dimensions of
customer value: functional, social and
psychological, that customers evaluate
against costs
 Understand which product attributes are must
haves and which are differentiators
 Use brands to signal (and deliver) intangible
benefits
2. How will customers find us?
 Work to understand the customer decision
journey (DMP)
 Understand what is most likely to trigger a
search, where they are most likely to search
and what causes them to stop searching
 Use brands to create mental shortcuts related
to your positioning
*VIDEO*
What is a strategic marketing plan?
Let’s start from square one and define
what a strategic marketing plan is.
A strategic marketing plan is a formal
document that guides your team’s marketing
efforts throughout the year. It maps your annual
marketing goals to your company’s overall
business objectives, while also outlining how
you’ll spend your yearly marketing budget.
A good marketing plan clearly outlines:
 Your target market and key competitors
 Major goals for the year and how they’ll help
you get ahead
 Key results that serve as indicators for success
 How you’ll use your money and resources to
meet your goals
Keep in mind that your plan may vary
based on your industry and goals. Length and
format don’t matter as much as the details you
include. Do your research, and make it as easy as
possible for company leaders to understand how
your strategic marketing plan helps business
grow.
What’s the difference between a marketing
strategy vs. marketing plan?
A marketing strategy details how you’ll
execute a piece of your marketing plan with a
specific tactical goal in mind. You might do this
by launching an email or social media campaign,
publishing a blog series, offering a special promo,
or hosting a live event.
A marketing plan, on the other hand, is
the high-level framework that drives all your
marketing strategies. It’s a big-picture look at the
who, what, and why behind your marketing goals,
with a focus on tying them to larger
organizational objectives.
Essential elements of a strategic marketing
plan
No two marketing plans are exactly the same, but
they do share some common threads. Here are 6
important elements you’ll want to identify and
research before you build out your next strategic
marketing plan.
Business objectives
Everything you do as a marketing team
should support your company’s overall strategy
and goals. So summarize your organization’s
business objectives, and let it serve as your
marketing plan’s true north. Your team and
stakeholders should be able to clearly see how the
marketing strategies and goals you outline in your
plan align with your company’s top priorities.
SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis breaks down your
company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats. This enables you to assess both the
internal and external factors that influence your
success so you can build targeted strategies that
close gaps and drive results.
 Strengths and weaknesses: Take stock of your
organization’s inner workings. Where does
your team or company really shine? What’s
working well, and what needs to be improved?
Do you have any resource limitations?
 Opportunities and threats: Now look outward to
consider your market and competition. Where
do you have a chance to push ahead? Where are
you struggling to keep up? Are there any
market changes to consider?
Market research
Research is the core of any marketing
plan because it’s what you’ll use to shape your
goals and strategy. Don’t be afraid to dive deep
into the details here. A well-researched marketing
plan is worth the time invested.
Focusing your research energy on these
areas will equip you with a solid base for smart
marketing decisions.
Industry
It’s important to understand major
movements in the industry you’re marketing to so
you have a feel for the pulse of the market.
Thoroughly research the industry your
organization works in, and be sure to report on the
general climate, as well as any noteworthy
happenings. If your company serves any
subindustries, don’t forget to include them in
your analysis too.
Target market
Marketing to the masses rarely pays off.
That’s why narrowing down your target audience
is a must for any marketing plan. Consider it the
filter you run every marketing strategy through.
The more specific you can get, the better.
Answering questions like these can help you paint
a clear picture of your ideal buyer so you know
how to focus your resources for a bigger impact
on the people you want to reach.
 What are your ideal buyer’s key demographics
(e.g., age, location, job title)?
 What do they care about (e.g., interests,
values)?
 What are their biggest challenges or pain
points?
 Where does your ideal buyer hang out (e.g.,
Twitter, LinkedIn, industry conferences or
events)?
Competitive analysis
It’s also important to understand who and
what you’re up against when it comes to
attracting your perfect buyer. Identify the key
players in your space, and give a brief rundown
of what they’re doing to win. This groundwork
will make it easier to see how to differentiate
yourself from the competition.
Strategic marketing goals
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork,
it’s time to talk strategy. Outline your strategic
marketing goals for the year, and briefly explain
how these strategies support company-wide
goals. Use a gantt chart to establish a timeline for
each goal and monitor results along the way. This
is an easy way to set expectations and keep your
team and stakeholders in the loop.
Key marketing metrics
Metrics are where the rubber meets the
road in your marketing plan. Use your market
research to define specific KPIs or key marketing
metrics that will serve as your measure for
success. This will help you track progress so you
know if you need to change course mid-project to
ensure you hit your strategic marketing goals.
Marketing channels
Marketing channels are the vehicles
you’ll use to reach your target audience and grow
your brand. Choose your channels wisely based
on where you expect to get the most bang for your
marketing buck. Briefly explain the purpose of
each channel and how it supports your overall
marketing strategy and business goals.
Want to build a more detailed plan for
each marketing channel so you can bring your
ideas to life? Check out our free social media
strategy plan and editorial content plan templates
for more information on planning by channel.
Marketing budget
Establishing a monthly budget for your
marketing plan—and tracking it along the way—
helps you maximize ROI and identify wasted
spend before it drains your marketing dollars.
Start by listing any ongoing expenses you have so
you know what you can afford to spend on new
initiatives. Then do your best to estimate any new
costs you expect in the coming year. Don’t forget
to account for any new hires, freelance workers,
or third-party agencies you might need to rely on
to get the work done.
Free marketing plan templates and examples
Not sure where to start? We’ve got you!
Here are a few examples of how you might
structure a marketing plan so you can easily start
writing your own.
Your marketing plan may shake out
differently depending on the industry you work in
or the goals you’re focused on. Use these
marketing plan templates and samples as a guide
to jumpstart the process and come up with a
marketing plan structure that works for you.
Google Docs marketing plan template and
example
The most common way to create a
marketing plan is simply to write it out as a text
document. This format enables you to freely
elaborate on any research findings you gathered
during discovery, while also making a clear case
for the marketing goals you’ve set for the year.
We put together a free Google Docs
marketing plan template to help you save time so
you can get your planning process off the ground
faster. This marketing plan example is perfect for
documenting and sharing the full scope of your
strategic marketing plan with your team and
stakeholders.
Here’s a basic breakdown of what the Google
Docs marketing plan template covers:
 Summary
 Company mission
 Business objectives
 Market research
 SWOT analysis
 Strategic marketing goals
 Key marketing metrics
 Marketing channels
 Budget
Save a copy of the template to your
Google Drive or download it as a Word
document, and customize it to fit your own
strategic marketing plan needs.
Gantt chart marketing plan template and
examples
A plan’s no good if you set it and forget
it. That’s where a gantt chart comes in handy. Use
this free gantt chart marketing plan template to
track your strategic marketing plan all the way to
success.
 A gantt chart is a great way to lay your your project so stakeholders can see your
marketing plan out in a simple, visual timeline marketing plan progress in real time.
that’s easy to update as work progresses. It gives
you a high-level view of your plan’s major goals
and strategies, while enabling you to collaborate
on and share your plan with your team and
stakeholders.

Once you’ve fleshed out the details of your

marketing plan, you can use a gantt chart to define
and track your strategic marketing goals. For
example, you could break your marketing plan
down by quarter to show when specific objectives
will come into play and update progress as you
close in on your goal.

Ready to build a strategic marketing plan of

your own?
We’ve created a free marketing plan
template for you in TeamGantt so you can jump
right in!
Customizing the template is quick and
easy, thanks to TeamGantt’s drag and drop
simplicity. And since everything’s online, your
whole team can collaborate on activities in real
time.
Here are a few pointers to help you get
the most out of our free TeamGantt strategic
marketing plan template.
Drag and drop tasks to schedule your plan
Configuring your marketing plan is as
easy as dragging and dropping tasks—or entire
task groups—into their new rightful place. Click
and drag the edges of each taskbar to set a new
task duration.

Communicate with comments

Collaboration is easy with TeamGantt's
discussion feature. Share documents and chat
with your team directly from a
task’s Comments section. Use Notes to
communicate important information—like goals,
target audience, and budget—at the project level.
Have a more formal marketing plan
document? Attach the file or link to your project
so everyone has easy access to it.

Share a copy with stakeholders

Plans are meant to be shared, so we made
it easy to keep even the most inquisitive
stakeholders in the loop. Export your plan to a
printer-friendly PDF, or share a view-only link to