This chapter introduces marketing information systems and their importance for organizations. A marketing information system (MkIS) brings together disparate data into a coherent body of information to support marketing decision-making. An effective MkIS provides relevant, timely information to marketing managers through both internal reporting on metrics like sales and costs, as well as external marketing intelligence on factors like customer needs, competitors, and the business environment. The chapter outlines the key components and features of an MkIS, including how it assesses information needs, develops and analyzes data, and distributes findings to aid strategic, control, and operational marketing decisions across organizations.

1. Chapter one
Introduction to Marketing
Information
System

2. Course Description & Goals
This course helps students see the connection between information systems (IS) and the
marketing function. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by
individuals and organizations dominates the business world. There is a fundamental
change going on in the way that organizations run businesses and interact with each
other. New types of infrastructure and applications are developed and utilized such as
salesforce management, CRM (customer relationship management), ERP (enterprise
resource planning), IOS (inter-organizational systems), RFID (radio frequency
identification), to name a few. The aim of the course is to enable students to assess the
opportunities and problems that managers in a wide range of organizations face as they
attempt to use these IT applications to add value to their businesses. It also aims to help
students understand transformational changes within and across industries. These
changes have strategic implications for many businesses.

3. Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
1. Explain basic concepts for IT/IS management
2. Discuss organizational, business, marketing and strategic issues surrounding IT/IS, and
3. Analyze and evaluate uses of strategic IT/IS in practice

4. COURSE CONTENTS
Chapter One: Introduction to marketing
information systems
Chapter Two: Foundational concepts in marketing
information systems
Chapter Three: Information technology
Chapter Four: Common applications of information
technology
Chapter Five: Management of information systems
resources

5. Assessment type Weight (%)
Group assignment & presentation 30%
Test 20%
Final Exam 50%
100%
Assessment Methods

6. Reference books
1. Essentials of Management Information Systems, 8/E, Laudon
and Laudon, 2007, Prentice Hall
2. Kotler, P., (1988) Marketing Management: Analysis Planning
and Control, Prentice-Hall p. 102.
3. Agnilar, F.. (1967) Scanning the Business
Environment, Macmillan, New York, p.47

7. • A marketing informationsystem
(MkIS) is:
• Designed specifically for managingthe
marketing aspectsofabusiness
• Intended to bring together disparate
items of data into a coherent body of
information
Marketing
Information System

8. • A marketing information system
(MkIS) is a continuing and interacting
structure of people, equipment and
procedures to gather, sort, analyze,
evaluate and distribute needed,timely
and accurate information for use by
marketing decision makers toimprove
their marketing planning,
implementation, andcontrol.
Marketing
Information System

9. Marketing
Information System
• Assess the informationneeds
• Develop neededinformation
• Analyze information
• Distribute information

10. • Continuous System
• Permanent and continuous systemof
collecting information
• Basic Objective
• To provide the right informationat the
right time to the right people to help
them take rightdecisions
Featuresof
Marketing InformationSystem

11. • Computer-Based System
• Uses computer, so is up-to-date and
accurate
• Future-Oriented
• Provides information for solvingfuture
problems
Featuresof
Marketing InformationSystem

12. • Used by alllevels
• Usedby all three levels of management
• Sources
• Collects information from bothinternal
and externalsources
Featuresof
Marketing InformationSystem

13. • Collects Marketing Information
• Information about consumer
competition, marketing environment,etc.
• Helps inDecision-Making
• Supplies up-to-date and accurate
information that helps take quickand
right decisions
Featuresof
Marketing InformationSystem

21. A. Internal Reporting System
The internal reporting systems
enable a company to always
be aware of how they
are performing as a team and what
issues may need addressing.

22. Marketing managers get lots of
information from the internal-records
of the company. These records
provide current information about
sales, costs, inventories, cash flows
and account receivable and payable.
Many companies maintain their
computerized internal records.

23. The internal records that are of
immediate value to marketing
decisions are: orders received,
stockholdings and sales invoices.
Most marketing managers use
internal records and reports regularly,
especially for making day-to-day
planning, implementation and control
decisions.

24. Internal records information consists
of information gathered from sources
within the company to evaluate
marketing performance and to detect
marketing problems and
opportunities.

25. B. Marketing Intelligence
System
The marketing intelligence
systems are used to deal with the
costs of running a marketing
department and a business as a
whole. It will process all the facts
and figures delivering what needs
to be spent where and what may
be using too much money.

26. It collects information from external
sources. It provides information about
current marketing-environment and
changing conditions in the market.
This information can be easily
gathered from external sources like
magazines, trade journals,
commercial press, trade press,
census, so on.

27. This information cannot be collected
from the Annual Reports of the Trade
Association and Chambers
of Commerce, Annual Report of
Companies, etc. The salesmen’s
report also contains information about
market trends. It can also gather
information from Sales Force,
Dealers and Distributors, and
suppliers.

28. The information which is collected
from the external sources cannot be
used directly. It must be first
evaluated and arranged in a proper
order. It can be then used by the
marketing manager for taking
decisions and making policies about
marketing.

30. • systems allow a company to really find
out what their customers/potential
customers think of the current trends
and their views on certain items, or
polices.
• can also delve into a customer's habits in
the hope the company can spot a gap in
the market orservice

31. • can gather quantitative andqualitative
information
• provides information to themarketing
managers
• conducted to solve specificmarketing
problems of thecompany
• a proactive search forinformation

33. • act as a concept or theory and a lot of
campaigns will be built with this
guidance inmarketing
• tools which help the marketingmanagers
to analyze data and to take better
marketing decisions

34. These toolsare:
• Time series salesmodels
• Brand switching models
• Linear programming
• Elasticity models (price, incomes, demand, supply,etc.)
• Regression and correlationmodels
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)models
• Sensitivity analysis
• Discounted cashflow
• Spreadsheet 'what ifmodels

35. Three levels of decisionmaking:
1. Strategic decisions are characteristically
one-off situations. This level of decision
making is concerned with deciding on the
objectives, resources and policies of the
organisation.

36. 2.Control decisions deal with broadpolicy
issues. Such decisions are concerned
with how efficiently and effectively
resources are utilised and how well
operational units areperforming.

37. 3.Operational decisions concern the
management of the organisation's
marketing mix.These involve making
decisions about carrying outthe "specific
tasks set forth by strategic planners and
management.

39. Marketing
Information System
Marketing
Research
Meaning to collect, analyze
and supply relevant
marketing
information to the
marketing managers
systematic process
of collecting and
analyzing
information to solve
a specific marketing
problem
Purpose to provide relevant
information to
marketing managers
and enable them to
make effective
marketing decisions
to solve a specific
marketing problem.
Scope Wide Narrow

40. Marketing
Information
System
Marketing
Research
Reports gives four types
of reports namely,
plan-reports,
periodic-reports,
triggered-reports
and demand reports
provides only one
report called as
‘MR Report’
Orientation Future Oriented Past & Present
Oriented
Problems solve many different
marketing problems
at one time
only deals with a
single marketing
problem at one
time

41. Marketing
Information
System
Marketing
Research
Data collected more
frequently, usually
almost daily
not collected
frequently
Operation permanent and
continuous system
not a continuous
system.
Computers heavily based on
the use of
computers
hardly makes use
of computers

43. MkIS helps managers to recognize
marketing trends. The changing
trends may be in respect of prices,
product design, packaging,
promotion schemes, etc.

44. MkIS provides the information
necessary to develop marketing
strategy. Provides the foundation
for the development information
system-dependent e-commerce
strategies.

45. Effective market planning is
required in terms of product
planning, pricing, promotion
and distribution.

46. A firm has to take quick
decision for this purpose; it
requires fast flow of
information which is facilitated
by a properly designed MkIS.

47. In every aspect of marketing, there
is need to make constant and
correct decisions. A properly
designed marketing information
system promptly supplies reliable
and relevant information.

48. MkIS makes it possible to
tap business opportunities
as it can supply required
and reliable data.

49. Marketing intelligence refers to information
of the events that are happening in the
external environment, i.e., changes in
customer tastes, expectations, competitor’s
strategies, gov’t. policies, international
environment, etc. with the help of MkIS
specialists, it is possible to collect marketing
intelligence which is vital to make effective
marketing decisions.

50. A firm which is well
equipped with MkIS will be
able to realize the need to
change the line of
business.

51. Firms, which are largely
decentralized can gather
information which is scattered at
many centers or departments and
integrate it for effective decision
making.

52. MkIS provides support for product
launches, enables the coordination of
marketing strategies, and is an integral
part of sales force automation (SFA),
customer relationship management
(CRM), and customer service systems
implementations.

53. MkIS brings together many
different kinds of data,
people, equipment, and
procedures to help an
organization make better
decisions.

54. MkIS can organize data
collection and store these
important data for over
several time periods.

55. ESSENTIAL REQUISITES OF A GOOD MKIS

56. Unified and centralized:
 MkIS must be unified and centralized.
Facilitate decision making:
 MkIS must facilitate decision making.
Quick and accurate information:
 MkIS must provide quick and accurate
information.
Economical:
 MkIS must be economical.

57. Selective:
 MkIS must be selective.
Future-oriented:
 MkIS must be forward looking i.e. future-
oriented.
Supply information regularly:
 MkIS must supply information regularly.
Use new techniques:
 MkIS must use new techniques for
collecting, analyzing, storing and supplying
information.

58. End of chapter one