Marketing Information

Systems
 Marketing is becoming
more of a battle based on
information than one
based on sales power
Marketing Decision Support Systems
(MDSS)
It is a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools and techniques
with supporting software and hardware by which an organization
gathers and interprets relevant information from business and
environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action.
However,
• In most cases, observations may fall flat! Eyewitness to a murder?
• So, how do we understand truth?
• Questioning a person; a group of people; a whole community of persons?
• Observing one person; a group of people?
• By being a part of the object studied?
• By looking at documents, pictures, texts, symbols?
• Introspecting?
• Studying the past?
So, what is Marketing Research
• Research involves the studied use and collections of a variety of
empirical materials—case study; personal experience; introspection,
life story; interview; artifacts; cultural texts; observational; historical;
interactional and visual texts—that disclose routine and problematic
moments and meanings in an individual’s life
• Research is an activity that locates the observer in the World
• Researchers study things in their natural settings attempting to make
a sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of their meanings people
bring to them.
Meaning of Research
• The Manipulation of Things, Concepts or Symbols for the purpose of
Generalizing to understand, extend, correct or verify knowledge,
whether that knowledge aids in construction of theory or in the
practice of an art.
• Gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to create new knowledge.
• To portray as accurately as possible the characteristics of a person or object.
• To determine how many times an event occurs in association with another.
• To find out relationships between events.
Why Marketing Research
1. Guiding Marketing Planning
2. Control
3. Greater understanding of the Marketing Phenomena
4. Prediction
5. Improvement
· Benchmarking
· Quality Control
· “WHY”
· Awareness
Types of research
• Exploratory Vs. Descriptive vs. Casual
• Applied versus Fundamental
• Quantitative Vs. Qualitative
• Conceptual versus empirical
• Research which is time dependent—in-situ versus longitudinal
• Field setting versus laboratory
The Scientific Method
• Articles of Faith
• Reliance on Empirical Evidence
• Deductive versus Inductive Logic
• Use of Relevant Concepts
• Commitment to Objectivity
• Ethical Neutrality
• Generality
• Predictions based on probability
• Pubic Methodology
So, the nature of research……
• Qualitative: Answers the question what to look for; typically open
ended and exploratory
• Quantitative: Answers the question “What a small sample says, is it
applicable to the whole population?”
Deduction and Induction

• Deduction:

• Theory  observations/findings

• Induction:

• Observations/findings  theory
The Process of Deduction
• Theory

• Hypothesis

• Data collection

• Findings

• Hypotheses confirmed or rejected

• Revision of theory
The Process of Induction
• Compare theory

• Develop theory

• Look for patterns

• Form Categories

• Ask Questions

• Gather information
The Research Process
• A statement of the purpose of research in form of a problem so
formulated as to be tackled
• A description of the design of the study is presented, involving
discussion on the techniques of data collection and sampling
employed in the study
• The data analysed and the results of the study presented
• The results are interpreted and conclusions put forth
The Research Process
• Problem formulation
• Review of past studies – Secondary Research
• Hypothesis Formulation
• Research Design including sample design, instrument design,
administration design
• Implantation of the design
• Interpretation of the results
• Conclusions
• Limitations and Areas of Future Research
So, far
• Exploratory Descriptive
• What Who
• Experimental: Casual (also called experimental or confirmatory)
Criteria in of a “good” Research
• Reliability – are the measures consistent?

• Replication/ replicability – is the study repeatable?

• Validity – are conclusions well-founded?