exam 2 Flashcards
Know the various sources of Marketing Information Systems (MIS) Data (i.e., internal company
data, marketing intelligence, marketing research, and acquired databases)
Internal Company Data
Information generated from within the company
Used to produce reports on marketing activities
Examples: sales data by date, product category, brand, or
customer; data on stock-outs, defective products, etc.
Market Intelligence
Gathered via monitoring of everyday data sources,
observations, and discussions with sales
representatives.
Example: news articles, trade publications, web sites
Market Research
Marketing Research refers to the process of collecting,
analyzing, and interpreting data about customers,
rivals, and the business environment
Acquired Databases
Externally sourced databases can be used to collect
various types of useful information
Noncompeting businesses – magazine publishers, utility
companies
Government databases – census, auto registration,
license information
Know the difference between syndicated and custom research.
Syndicated research - general information that research
companies collect on a regular basis and sell to other firms.
Custom research – research conducted for a single firm to
provide specific information its managers need.
Know the difference between MIS and MDSS
MIS is a process that first determines what information is
needed and then gathers, sorts, analyzes, stores, and
distributes relevant and timely information to users.
MDSS consists of data and software that allows managers
to conduct analyses and find information they need.
To make good decisions, marketing managers need
timely access to quality information.
A firm’s MIS stores and analyzes data from a variety of
sources and generates reports (e.g., 80-20 report)
A firm’s MDSS makes it easier to access the MIS and find
answers to specific “what-if” questions by examining
complex relationships (e.g., perceptual mapping)
Know the difference between data and information
Data are raw unorganized facts that need processing
Example: # of visitors (traffics) to a website
Information is interpreted data
Example: Traffic to our website from TX is up while traffic from
NY is down
Know the steps of the marketing research process (define the research problem, …, prepare the
research report)
Define the research problem, determine the research design, choose the method to collect primary data, design the sample, collect the data, analyze and interpret the data, prepare the research report
Know the difference between primary and secondary data
Secondary Data
Internal data originates from inside the organization.
Sources of internal secondary data include:
Company reports (e.g., sales invoices, accounts receivable
reports, quarterly sales reports, sales activity reports);
previous company research; sales person feedback (e.g.,
expense reports); customer feedback (online registration,
customer letters/comments, mail-order forms, credit-card
applications, warranty cards)
Primary data refers to data collected by the firm to
address a specific question
When a company needs to make a specific decision,
secondary data may not be enough.
May include demographics, psychological info,
awareness, attitudes, and opinions.
Know the difference between internal and external sources of secondary data
Internal data originates from inside the organization.
Sources of internal secondary data include:
Company reports (e.g., sales invoices, accounts receivable
reports, quarterly sales reports, sales activity reports);
previous company research; sales person feedback (e.g.,
expense reports); customer feedback (online registration,
customer letters/comments, mail-order forms, credit-card
applications, warranty cards)
External data originates from outside the organization.
Sources of external secondary data include:
Published research; trade associations, syndicated research;
government sources
Know the difference exploratory, descriptive, and causal primary research methods.
Exploratory Research
Exploratory research is useful for gaining better
understanding of the problem
Examples: identify new strategies, new product
opportunities, consumers attitude about a product, etc.
Systematically investigate marketing problems
Results are expressed in quantitative terms from a
large representative sample
Example: means, percentages, frequency, etc.
Can be done using cross-sectional or longitudinal
designs
Causal Research
Attempts to identify cause-and-effect relationship
Often involves experiments
Utilizes independent and dependent variables
Example: a marketer may be interested in learning the
degree to which sales volume (dependent variable) will
change, if the price (independent variable) of a product
is raised.
Know the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
Cross-sectional studies systematically use instruments
(e.g., questionnaires) to collect information from
consumer samples at a single point in time.
Longitudinal studies attempt to track changes over time,
by collecting data from the same set of consumers at
multiple points in time.
Know the difference between survey and observation method of primary data collection.
Primary data collection falls into two broad
categories
Survey methods - involve some kind of interview or other
direct contact with respondents who answer questions.
Observation methods - situations in which the researcher
records consumer behavior.
Know the various survey research techniques (e.g., mail, telephone, face-to-face, and online)
Survey methods are used to interview respondents.
Mail questionnaires are typically delivered to respondents’
homes or places of businesses.
Telephone interviews are a faster way to collect data.
Unfortunately, only homes with phones can be surveyed.
Face-to-face interview takes place as part of a mall intercept
study, in which researchers recruit shoppers in malls or other
public areas.
Online questionnaires are surveys conducted over the
Internet due primarily to lower costs and quicker
turnarounds,
Know the various observational research techniques (e.g., personal, unobtrusive, and
mechanical)
Researcher records consumer behaviors, often without
their knowledge
Personal observation - researcher watches consumers
actions as they take place.
Example: Researcher watching people shop
Unobtrusive measures - researchers measure traces of
physical evidence that remain after some action on the part
of the consumer has been taken.
Example: “garbology”
Mechanical systems – researchers record behavior using a
machinery (e.g., video camera).
Example: traffic counter, people meter
Know the difference between passive and active online research
Online research is the fastest, cheapest, most
versatile, but least representative method
Two major types of online research
Passive - gathering information from online surfing (e.g.,
cookies) and via online sources (e.g., hashtag searches)
Active - enticing consumers to answer questionnaires or
participate in focus groups
Know the main determinants of research quality (i.e., validity, reliability, and representativeness)
Three key considerations:
Validity (accuracy) - the extent to which the research
actually measures what it was intended to measure.
Reliability (consistency) - the extent to which research
measurement techniques are free of random errors.
Representativeness - the extent to which consumers in
the study are similar to a larger group in which the
organization has an interest.
Self-selection bias is a threat to representativeness
Know the difference between probability and nonprobablity sample
Probability sampling - each member of the population has
some known chance of being included
Nonprobability sampling - a sample in which personal
judgment is used to select respondents
