There are four key types of systematic market knowledge systems that provide essential information for assessing markets and industries: internal records, marketing databases, competitive intelligence systems, and client contact systems. Additionally, targeted marketing research can provide insights into particular marketing challenges. Effective sales forecasting combines both top-down and bottom-up approaches, as each has unique insights, and comparing the results adds confidence if they are similar or surfaces important assumptions if different. The six evidence-based forecasting methods are statistical analysis, observation, surveys, analogy, judgment, and market tests.

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Marketing Strategy
Measuring Market Oportunities

2. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Systematic Market Knowledge Systems
Source of the market knowledge to assess markets and
industries, understand buyer behavior, and prepare forecasts
Four key kinds of systematic market knowledge systems
•Internal records: examples?
•Marketing databases: examples?
•Competitive intelligence systems: examples?
•Client contact systems: examples?
• Plus marketing research targeted at particular marketing challenges
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3. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Two Main Approaches For Sales Forecasting
Two Main Approaches For Sales Forecasting
• Top-down
• Bottom-up
• Which Is Better?
Both approaches have merits:
• Each process typically has access to different information,
and will likely result in different forecasts
• Using both methods concurrently adds confidence to the
forecast, if both methods produce similar results
• If the results of the two approaches differ, useful discussions
of the underlying assumptions will be surfaced
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4. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Six Evidence-Based Forecasting Methods
• Statistical and other quantitative methods
• Observation
• Surveys or focus groups
• Analogy
• Judgment
• Market tests
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5. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Thank You 
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