2.

Marketing Information System

(MIS) and Marketing Research
 2.1. Definition of MIS
A system that analyzes and assesses marketing
information, gathered continuously from sources
inside and outside an organization. Timely
marketing information provides basis for decisions
such as product development or improvement,
pricing, packaging, distribution, media selection,
and promotion.
Source:http://www.businessdictionary.com
/definition/marketing-information-system.html#ixzz2liOIG
dbL

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A marketing information system is a management
information system designed to support marketing decision
making.
 Jobber (2007) defines it as a "system in which marketing data
is formally gathered, stored, analysed and distributed to
managers in accordance with their informational needs on a
regular basis."
 Kotler, et al. (2006) defined it more broadly as "people,
equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate,
and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to
marketing decision makers”.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_information_system,
accessed on Nov. 25, 2013.
-> Marketing Information System, abbreviated as MIS, means to
collect, analyze and supply marketing information to the
marketing managers. The marketing managers use this
information to take marketing decisions. MIS is a permanent
and continuous process. 3
 The Components of MIS
E.g. sales, orders,
Includes all the customer profiles,
everyday stocks, customer
information about Internal Information service reports etc
developments in the System
market gathered
from many sources,
including suppliers,
customers, and
distributors.

External
Marketing
Information
Research
System

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2.2. Marketing Research
Market research and marketing research
are often confused. 'Market' research is
simply research into a specific market. It is
a very narrow concept. 'Marketing'
research is much broader. It not only
includes 'market' research, but also areas
such as research into new products, or
modes of distribution such as via the
Internet. Here are a couple of definitions:

5
 Marketing research is the function that links the
consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through
information - information used to identify and define
marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine,
and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing
performance; and improve understanding of marketing
as a process. Marketing research specifies the
information required to address these issues, designs the
methods for collecting information, manages and
implements the data collection process, analyzes, and
communicates the findings and their implications."
 Source: American Marketing Association (AMA) -
Official Definition of Marketing Research.
 "Marketing research is about researching the whole of a
company's marketing process." Palmer (2000).
 http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-
marketing-research.html 6
 Marketing Research Process:
A set of defined stages
through which marketing Problem Definition
information is collected

Research Design

Secondary Data Primary Data

Qualitative Quantitative

Data Analysis

Create Conclusions and Present

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Step 1: Problem Definition
The starting phase is always identifying the reason or
problem for which research is to be conducted.
Example: VNA intends to offer the telephone call
service on the flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City
at the price of 15 USD for one time used.
Step 2: Research Design
 Once the initial stage of defining the problem is done,
it is important to determine who will do the research
and what will be the approaches to resolve these
problems. This involves creating a problem solving
framework and analytical models after discussing with
organization experts. In this sample case, study is
created according to the defined framework by
enforcing the relevant information.
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 Picking out the appropriate methodology:
A specific methodology is entailed by the research
professional after identifying the specific needs and
exploring the case study. It may include a combination of
specific approaches like telephone survey, web or email
survey, one-to-one interviews, secondary research etc. This
methodology acts as a blueprint of research process and
following basic steps:
 Methods for collecting and preparing quantitative
information
 Determining the need of this information
 Scaling and measuring procedures
 Designing sample Questionnaire
 Formulating case studies and sampling process
 Planning information analysis

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 Step 3: Data Collection Process
 This process includes field work and desk work for
collecting all relevant data and information.
 Field work includes interviewing the personals by
interacting them face to face by visiting them in home
or offices or arranging group meetings at any preferred
place.
 Desk work includes contacting personals over telephone
or via series of emails and web meetings. This could
take comparatively more time as compared to the field
work. Involving experienced and trained executive for
this helps in reducing data collection errors.
 The data can be collected from the primary and the
secondary sources.
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 Primary research & Secondary research
 Primary research involves collecting data via surveys, focus
groups and interviews directly from your target respondents.
 This method is typically difficult and time consuming.
However, gathering data directly from your source will help
you get firsthand accounts that are free from bias.
 To gather reliable data, you must prepare open-ended
questions that allow you to delve deeper into your
respondents’ views.
 Secondary research involves gathering data from sources
other than your target respondents. These sources may
include government agencies, textbooks, magazines and
Internet publications.
 Compared to primary research, secondary research consumes
less time. However, not all data collected may be suited to
your research problem.
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 Qualitative & Quantitative researches in
primary research
 Qualitative research seeks to explore and uncover answers
to problems that are generic in nature or not well defined.
It usually involves open-ended questions due to its lack of
structure. The most common methods for qualitative
research are focus groups with a small, non-random
sample. Qualitative research can be time-consuming, with
focus groups running well over an hour.
 Quantitative research is used when there are already
significant findings regarding the research problem. It is
usually defined by structure and formality and can include
telephone and mail surveys with a large, random sample.
QR seeks to quantify the data and typically apply some
statistical analysis.
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 Examples
 Imagine that you own a small grocery store. You notice that
more customers are buying Brand X detergent (tay rua)
over Brand Y even though the prices of the two brands are
the same.
 This baffles you since Brand Y has always been a customer
favorite. It is best to use the qualitative research method to
determine the reason behind this sudden change.
 If you are looking for internal factors on your customers’
sudden change of behavior, you must couple qualitative
with primary research since you desire to gather firsthand
information.
 However, to gauge the percentage of your customers that
shifted to Brand X, quantitative research is more
appropriate. External factors, such as brand reputation, are
best determined via secondary research. 13
 Advantages and disadvantages of
Qualitative & Quantitative research
Qualitative research Quantitative research
Advantages:
Economic and timely data Generalizability, reliability,
collection; rich data; accuracy validity
of recording market behavior,
and preliminary (so bo)
insights.

Disadvantages:
Lack of generalizability, Time consuming and costly
reliability, validity

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 Secondary data sources

Data Sources Examples

Internal data Firm’s reports, memos etc.
Syndicated data Syndicated services: e.g., the PRS Group - the Political Risk Services:
International Country Risk Guide (ICRG):
http://www.prsgroup.com/prsgroup_shoppingcart/pc-39-7-international-countr
y-risk-guide-icrg.aspx

Updated monthly, ICRG monitors 140 countries. Each 200+-page issue

provides financial, political, and economic risk information and forecasts.
ICRG's statistical tables assign values to the 22 indicators underlying ICRG's
business-oriented model for quantifying risk, examining such country-specific
elements as currency risk, political leadership, the military and religion in
politics, and corruption.
Mckinsey & Marketing:
http://www.mckinsey.com etc.

Expert advice Newspapers, interviews, reports, journals

Industry data Industry of trade associations: Vietnam Steel Association, etc.
Macro data Government and international publications: Statistics Year Book of GSO, WEF

Market research Independent market research firms

reports
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 Step 4: Data Preparation, tabulation and analysis
of results
 After the data collecting stage the collected data is edited, corrected if
required and validated. This process is the most important process in the
research as the results are generated on the basis of data preparation. So
it is required for an organization to verify the authenticity of the
collected data and edit or correct it if needed. The final data is then
segmented according to the business standards and inserted into the
CRM database in a more tabulated form so that search or combination
could be made easily.
 The entire process is properly documented with respect to organizational
standards so that it can be referred in future for decision making process
or to change or modify any specific process or module. This document
contains overall architecture of the project depicting all the processes
with the help of tables, graphs and figures to provoke impact and clarity.
 Marketing research process undeniably plays a vital role in exploring the
business. The above process if conducted in an efficient manner could
help predicting and correlating customer needs and then modeling or
modifying the business strategies accordingly.
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 Research results:
 If P =15USD/one time use; the number of people using
the service is 12 (Q). We have total return (TR):
15USD*12 = 180 USD
 If P=10 USD/one time use; the number of people using
the service is 20 (Q). We have total return (TR):
15USD*20 = 200 USD
 Operation cost/flight = 200 USD
 TR equilibrium = 1000 USD

Step 5: Create Conclusions and Present

 Oralpresentation
 Documentation

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