Chapter 5Marketing Information Systems and

Marketing Research

A Small ProjectFind out how the campus community feels

about the food service on campus.What will you do with it? What information do

you need?Where will you get the information?How will you get the information?How can you ensure you collect quality data?

Marketing Information SystemsAssess Information Needs

Know and understand what information is needed and why

What are we going to ask or leave off?Think carefully about the cost and usefulnessGathering and providing data can be timely

and costly Obtaining Processing Storing Delivering

Developing Information (Where do you get this data?)Internal Records – examples?

Internal databases Guest history information Guest information trends Accounting records Existing Reports

Guest Information ManagementListen and Adapt

Marketing IntelligenceInternal vs. external (p.122)

Guest History Informationin the Hospitality Industry

Handwritten journals and card filesGuest comment cards

Problems vs. value of comment cards http://www.personalityhotels.com/html/picassos.htm

lListening to and speaking with guestsAutomated systemsMystery shoppersCompany RecordsPoint-of-Sale Information

Comment CardTake a look.Note what information is requested.How might you use that information?What changes might you make if you were

the manager?Would you complete this if you were a

customer?Would this be an effective questionnaire to

use?

Market ResearchProcess that identifies and defines marketing

opportunities and problems, monitors and evaluates marketing actions and performance, and communicates the findings and implications to management.

ExamplesWhat are good new markets? How do we compare to the competition?How will a new product be received?

Four Step Research Process1. Define problem and research objectives2. Develop the research plan for collecting

information3. Implement the research plan – collect and

analyze the data4. Interpret and report the findings

Step 1. Defining the Problem & Research Objectives

ExploratoryResearch

DescriptiveResearch

CausalResearch

•Test hypotheses about cause- and-effect relationships.

•Gathers preliminary information that will help define the problem

and suggest hypotheses.

•Describes things as market potential for a product or the

demographics and consumers’ attitudes.

Step 2. Developing the Research PlanDetermining Specific Information Needs

– translate research objectives into specific information needs

Gathering data –collect information that is already in existence

http://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=110

Research Plan – Gathering DataPrimary vs. Secondary

What is the difference between secondary and primary data? What would be the difficulties/problems with primary and secondary

data?

Ethnography, observation, surveys, experiment, focus groups

Indirect or direct questionsOpen-ended vs. close endedSample vs. populationIncentives

Sampling PlanA sample is a segment of the _population

selected to represent the population as a wholeTo design a sample four decisions must be made:

Who will be surveyed?How many people will be surveyed?How will the sample be chosen?

Probability or nonprobability samplesWhen will the survey be given?

We are going to survey the students at USC about campus dining. Identify the population and a sample in the campus community for this survey.

Contact Methods in Survey ResearchMailTelephonePersonal Interview

Individual (intercept) interviewIn-depth interview

Internet surveyingElectronic mailWeb page

Focus groups

Tips for Creating a Useful Questionnaire Open-ended questions reveal more

informationClose-ended questions are easier to interpret

and tabulateUse simple, direct, unbiased wordingFirst questions should create interestQuestions should follow a logical orderEasy and quick to complete

Collecting the Data

Processing theData

Analyzing theData

Research Plan

Step 3. Implementing the Research Plan

Step 4. Interpreting and ReportingFindingsResearcher Should Present Important Findings that are Useful

in the Major Decisions Faced by Management.

Step 1. Interpret the Findings

Step 2. Draw Conclusions

Step 3. Report to Management

Reporting ResultsWrite Up

ConclusionSummaryImplicationsManagers and researchers need to work

closely to interpret the dataDo the results make sense?

Things to ConsiderCollecting data in international markets

What possible problems are there? Secondary data? Samples? Language translation respondents

Collecting data in smaller organizations