Chapter 3 Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment

Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment

Prepared By,Mr. Nishant Agrawal

Chapter Questions• 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?

MIS Systems Provide Information on Buyer Preferences and Behavior:

Dupont’s Pillow Study

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

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.

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?

Internal Records

Order-to-PaymentCycle

Databases,Warehousing,

Data Mining

MarketingIntelligence

System

Sales Information

System

Marketing Intelligence

Train and motivate sales force to scan for new developments

Motivate channel members to share intelligence

Network internally and externally

Utilize a customer advisory panel

Utilize government data resources

Purchase information

Collect customer feedback online

Table 3.2 Secondary Commercial Data Sources

Nielsen

Information Resources, Inc.

MRCA

Arbitron

Simmons

SAMI/Burke

Collecting Marketing Intelligence on internet

• 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

Analyzing the Microenvironment

Needs and Trends

Fad

Trend

Megatrend

• Fad is unpredictable ,short lived. A company can cash in on a

Fad but getting it right requires luck and good timing.

• A Megatrend is a large social, economic, political and

technological change is slow.

Trends Shaping the Business Landscape

• Profound shifts in centers of economic activity

• Increases in public-sector activity

• Change in consumer landscape

• Technological connectivity

• Scarcity of well-trained talent

• Increase in demand for natural resources

• Emergence of new global industry structures

• Ubiquitous access to information

• Management shifts from art to science

• Increase in scrutiny of big business practices

6 Major Forces in Broad Environment

Demographic

EconomicPolitical-Legal

Socio-CulturalTechnological

Natural

Demographics Environment

• Population growth

• Population age mix

• Ethnic markets

Ex. In Japan everyone

is mostly Japanese.

• Educational groups

• Household patterns

Population Age Groups

Preschool

School-age

Teens

25-40

40-65

65+

Schwab’s Chinese-language Web site

Household Patterns

Economic Environment

Income Distribution

• Pattern in income distribution

• Very Low income

• Mostly low income

• Very low, very high income

• Low, medium high income

• Mostly medium income

Social-Cultural Environment

Views of ourselves

Views of others

Views of nature

Views of organizations

Views of society

Views of the universe

Interest in Nature: A Growing Trend

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• Listening to music

Natural Environment

Shortage of raw materials

Increasedenergy costs

Anti-pollutionpressures

Governmentalprotections

Toyota Experienced Success with Green Cars

Figure 3.1 Consumer Environmental Segments

True Blue Greens (30%)

Greenback Greens (10%)

Sprouts (26%)

Apathetics (18%)

Grousers (15%)

Keys to Avoiding Green Marketing

• Consumer Value Positioning

• Calibration of Consumer Knowledge

• Credibility of Product Claims

Technological Environment

Pace of change

Opportunitiesfor innovation

Varying R&D budgets

Increased regulationof change

Political-Legal Environment

Increase in business legislation

Growth of specialinterest groups

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.or2. Cohort effects can dominate age differences.

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?

Assignment

1. Briefly explain the various methods for

gathering market information.