Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment

1. Gathering Information and
Scanning the Environment
Marketing Management, 13th
ed
3

2. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-2
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?

3. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-3
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.

4. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-4
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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Internal Records and
Marketing Intelligence
• Order-to-payment cycle
• Sales information system
• Databases, warehousing, data mining
• Marketing intelligence system

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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 sources
• Collect customer feedback online
• Purchase information

7. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-7
Table 3.2
Secondary Commercial Data Sources
• Nielsen
• MRCA
• Information Resources
• SAMI/Burke
• Simmons
• Arbitron

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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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Needs and Trends
• Fads
• Trends
• Megatrends

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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

11. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-11
Environmental Forces
• Demographic
• Economic
• Socio-cultural
• Natural
• Technological
• Political-legal

12. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-12
Population and Demographics
• Population growth
• Population age mix
• Ethnic markets
• Educational groups
• Household patterns
• Geographical shifts

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Economic Environment
• Income Distribution
• Savings, Debt, and Credit

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Social-Cultural Environment
• Views of themselves
• Views of others
• Views of organizations
• Views of society
• Views of nature
• Views of the universe

15. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3-15
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

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Natural Environment
• Shortage of raw materials
• Increased energy costs
• Anti-pollution pressures
• Governmental protections

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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