Chapter 3

Gathering information and

scanning the environment

Dr. Nguyen Thien Hung

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Objective outline
What are the components of a modern marketing
information system?
What are useful internal records?
What is involved in a marketing intelligence
system?
What are the key methods for tracking and
identifying opportunities in the macro
environment?
What are some important macro environment
developments?

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Contents

Component of a
modern Internal records Analyzing the The Other major
marketing and marketing macro- demographic macro-
information intelligence environment environment environments
system

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 Section 1

Component of a
modern marketing
information system

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MIS Provides Information on Buyer Preferences and
Behavior: Dupont’s Pillow Study

Pillow Segments
23% - stackers
20% - plumpers
16% - rollers or folders
16% - cuddlers
10% - smashers

• Dupont to sell more pillows packaged as pairs,

as well as to market different levels of softness
or firmness
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What is a Marketing Information
System (MIS)?
A marketing information system consists of
people, equipment, and procedures to gather,
sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed,
timely, and accurate information to marketing
decision makers.

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Feasible MIS

What managers think

they need

What they really need

What is economically
feasible
How?

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Table 3.1 Information Needs Probes
What decisions do you regularly make?
What information do you need to make these decisions?
What information do you regularly get?
What special studies do you periodically request?
What information would you want that you are not
getting now?
What are the four most helpful improvements that
could be made in the present marketing information
system?

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 Section 2

Internal records and

marketing intelligence

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Internal Records and Marketing
Intelligence

Sales
The Order-to- Information
Payment Cycle Systems

Databases,
The marketing Data
Intelligence Warehousing,
System and Data
Mining

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Steps to Improve Marketing Intelligence

• Train sales force to scan for new developments

• Motivate channel members to share intelligence

• Network externally

• Utilize a customer advisory panel

• Utilize government data resources

• Purchase information

• Collect customer feedback online

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Best Buy’s Use of MIS
Best Buy segments its
customers into highly
differentiated segments
known by archetypes like:
“Buzz” (the young
technology buff),
“Barry” (the suburban
soccer mom)
“Jill” (the wealthy
profession guy)
“Ray” (the family man)

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Table 3.2 Secondary Commercial Data
Sources

Nielsen SAMI/Burke

MRCA Simmons

Information
Arbitron
Resources, Inc.

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Sources of Competitive Information

Independent customer goods and service review forums

Distributor or sales agent feedback sites
Combination sites offering customer reviews and expert
opinions
Customer complaint sites
Public blogs

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 Section 3

Analyzing the macro-

environment

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Needs and Trends

Fad

Trend

Megatrend

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3-16
Trends Shaping the Business Landscape
Xu hướng định hình bối cảnh kinh doanh

Macroeconomic trends
• Profound shifts in centers of economic activity
• Increases in public-sector activity
• Change in consumer landscape

Social and environmental trends

• Technological connectivity
• Scarcity of well-trained talent
• Increase in scrutiny of big business practices
• Increase in demand for natural resources

Business and industry trends

• Emergence of new global industry structures
• Ubiquitous access to information
• Management shifts from art to science
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 Environmental Forces
Demographic Economic Socio-Cultural

competitors
Macroenvironment

Marketing
Supplier company customer
intermediaries

Publics Microenvironment

Natural Technological Political-Legal

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 Section 4

The demographic
environment

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Population and Demographics
Population growth
Population age mix
Ethnic markets
Educational groups
Household patterns
Geographical shifts

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Vietnam-Population & its Growth

Basic statistics Inhabitants %

Total population (July 2014 est.) (*) 92,477,857

Male 46,205,449 49.97%
Female 46,272,408 50.03%
% annual increase rate 1.03%

Annual increase number 1,007,118

Population Country ranks : 15/236

(*): source: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/vietnam, estimated at

July’2013
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Vietnam- Age mix
Age groups
0-14 years 15-64 years 65 years and over
5.6%
24.6%

69.8%

(*): source: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/vietnam, estimated at

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Vietnam- Ethnic markets
Ethnic makeup
Kinh Tay Thai
1% Muong Khome
Hoa Nun Hmong Other
1%
1%1% 4%
1.5%
1.8%
1.9%

85.7%

(*): source: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/vietnam, estimated at

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Vietnam – education group
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 93.4%
male: 95.4%
female: 91.4% (2011 est.)

(*): source: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/vietnam, estimated at

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Vietnam – shifts in population
urban population: 31% of total population
(2011)
rate of urbanization: 3.03% annual rate of
change (2010-15 est.)

(*): source: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/vietnam, estimated at

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 Section 5

Other major macro-

environments

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Economic Environment
Income Distribution: five
different income
distribution patterns of
countries
Very low income
Mostly low income
Very low, very high
incomes
Low, medium, high
incomes
Mostly medium incomes.
Savings, Debt, and Credit
Debt-to-income ratio

Levi’s has responded to changes in

income distribution by offering an
upscale line and a mass market line
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Social-cultural environment
Views of Themselves

Views of Others

View of Organization

View of Society

Views of Nature

Views of The universe

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Interest in Nature:
A Growing Trend

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Table 3.3 Most Popular American Leisure
Activities
Reading
TV watching
Spending time with family
Going to movies
Fishing
Computer activities
Gardening
Renting movies
Walking
Exercise
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Listening to music
Natural Environment
Shortage of
raw materials

Increased
energy costs

Anti-pollution
pressures

Governmental
protections
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Toyota Experienced Success
with Green Cars

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Figure 3.1 Consumer Environmental
Segments
True Blue Greens (30%)

Greenback Greens (10%)

Sprouts (26%)

Grousers (15%)

Apathetics (18%)
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Keys to Avoiding
Green Marketing Myopia
Consumer Value Positioning
Calibration of Consumer Knowledge
Credibility of Product Claims

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Technological Environment

Pace of change

Opportunities
for innovation

Varying R&D
budgets

Increased regulation
of change
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Political-Legal Environment

Increase in
business legislation

Growth of special
interest groups

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 Section 6

Marketing debate &

discussions

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Marketing Debate

 Is consumer behavior more a function

of a person’s age or generation?

Take a position:
1. Age differences are fundamentally
more important than cohort effects.
or
2. Cohort effects can dominate age
differences.

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Age groups and cohorts
Age group classification: Cohort classification:
Preschool children Depression (1912-1921)
School age children World War II (1922 – 1927)
Teens Postwar (1928 – 1945)
Young adult age 20-40 Leading-Edge Baby
Middle-aged adults 40-65 Boomer (1946-1954)
Older adults age 65 and up Trailing-Edge Baby
Boomer (1955-1965)
Generation X Cohort (1966
Cohorts are groups of individual who are born
in the same time period and travel through life
-1976)
together. N generation Cohort (born
The “defining moments” they experience as from 1977)
they become adults can stay with them for a
lifetime and influence their values,
preferences, and buying behaviors
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• Age differences are fundamentally more important
than cohort effects
People are the “age” they think they are.
We have experienced some fundamental
changes in consumer lifestyles and the definition
of “family.”
These changes suggest that people are and can
adapt to different products regardless of their
chronological age.
Today a vast number of aging baby boomers, for
example, do not think of themselves as
approaching middle age; as a result represent a
growing market for age defeating products.40 of 45
• Age differences are fundamentally more important
than cohort effects (2)
This is true with other age groups, as the
advances in medicine, technology, and income
have redefined what the “age” number really
means to people.
In marketing today, the marketing of a product
or service can be designed to fit differing age
groups by its positioning and advertising.
Key examples include cruise line advertising
and marketing to “active adults” encompassing
a wide range of activities and locations
previously thought of for the “youth” market.41 of 45
• Age differences are fundamentally more important
than cohort effects (3)
Conversely, with the delay in child bearing and child
rearing by some generations, activities that were once
thought of as for middle age or empty nesters can be
remarketed to appeal to these groups as well.
Some generations have decided to explore the world
before settling down with children and a mortgage.
All of these changes open up vast amounts of
marketing opportunities to enterprising firms and
individuals.
Marketing to one’s perception of “age” rather than to
the physical definition of age is an exciting new arena
for marketers.
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• Cohort effects can dominate age
differences
Age and cohorts are more important than age
differences.
People still pass through life as part of a “group”
and experience the newness of life through
cohort experiences and relate to others within
their identifiable group.
Marketing to cohorts extends the ability of the
marketer to capitalize on share emotions,
experiences, trends, and fads that have or had
made lasting impressions on the cohort.
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• Cohort effects can dominate age
differences (2)
Technology has changed so much in the last few
decades and has influenced subsequent
generations about expectations and potential,
that one must market to the cohorts in order to
identify with their experiences.
People within a particular cohort seek
information for purchase decisions from
influencers within their cohort.
Marketers must identify these influencers and
tailor messages that affect their review of
products and gain favor with them. 44 of 45
Marketing Discussion

 What brands do you feel

successfully speak to you?
 Effectively target your age group?
 Which ones do not?
 What could they do better?

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