{"id":7126,"date":"2016-09-29T18:06:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/masterybusiness2xngcxmasterspring2016\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=7126"},"modified":"2024-05-03T15:43:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T15:43:24","slug":"the-importance-of-marketing-information-and-research","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/the-importance-of-marketing-information-and-research\/","title":{"raw":"The Importance of Marketing Information and Research","rendered":"The Importance of Marketing Information and Research"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Explain how segmentation and targeting relate to marketing strategy<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Marketing Strategy Follows From the Segmentation and Targeting Process<\/h2>\r\nOnce your target market and customers have been identified, effective marketing moves to develop a strong knowledge base of those customers: the kind of knowledge that gives\u00a0you unique insights into what they want and how to satisfy them better than the competition. The most reliable source of fresh customer insights is good\u00a0<strong>marketing information<\/strong>. Useful marketing information may\u00a0come from a variety of sources both inside and outside your organization.\u00a0Marketing information is generated by a variety of different activities, including marketing research.\r\n\r\n<strong>Marketing research<\/strong> is a systematic process for identifying marketing opportunities and solving marketing problems, using customer insights that come out of collecting and analyzing marketing information.\u00a0The mechanics of marketing research must be controlled so that marketers uncover the relevant\u00a0facts to\u00a0answer the problem at hand. Control over this fact-finding process is the responsibility of the marketing research director, who must correctly design the research and carefully supervise its execution, to ensure it yields the customer insights the organization needs.\r\n\r\n<strong>A marketing information system<\/strong> is a combination of people, technologies, and processes for managing marketing information, overseeing market research activities, and using\u00a0customer insights to guide marketing decisions and\u00a0broader management and strategy decisions.\r\n<h2>Refining Knowledge of Target Market Segments and Customers Is Power Against\u00a0the Competition<\/h2>\r\nThe business environment is increasingly competitive. With something as simple as a Google search, customers have\u00a0unprecedented opportunities to explore alternatives to what any single company offers. Likewise, companies have ample opportunity to identify, track, and lure customers away from their less-vigilant competitors. A regular infusion of fresh customer insights can make all the difference between\u00a0keeping customers and\u00a0losing them. Marketing information and research are essential tools for marketers and the management team as they align marketing strategy with customer wants and needs.\r\n\r\nConsider the following\u00a0examples:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Before introducing\u00a0OnStar, the first-ever embedded wireless service in cars, GM used marketing research to understand what types of applications would make consumers most interested in subscribing to the service and how much they would pay for it. Of all the benefits OnStar could offer, the research helped GM prioritize how the initial service would provide value, focusing on driver assistance and security. Research also helped determine\u00a0OnStar pricing to help the company\u00a0build a large subscriber base quickly.<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[footnote]Vincent P. Barabba, <em>Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround<\/em>, pp 46\u201350, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&amp;pg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&amp;pg<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Enterprise systems provider PeopleSoft recruited a diverse set of universities as early-adopter \"Beta\" partners to provide input as it designed a new student information system for higher education. This marketing research helped PeopleSoft create a versatile system that\u00a0could support the needs of a variety of colleges and universities, ultimately leading to strong receptivity and market share when the new system became widely available.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[footnote]Proquest, \"First We Built, Now We Buy: A Sociological Case Study for Enterprise Systems in Higher Education,\" pp\u00a0292\u2013203, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=rgIAaigKQBIC&amp;pg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=rgIAaigKQBIC&amp;pg<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span><\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>What Characteristics of the Target Customer Should Marketers Investigate To Develop Marketing Strategies?<\/h2>\r\nAn easy\u2014and truthful\u2014answer to this question is \"everything.\" There is no aspect of marketing to which information and research do not apply. Every marketing concept and every element involved in the marketing management process can be subjected to a great deal of careful marketing research and inquiry. Some important questions include:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Who is the customer?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What problems is the customer trying to solve with a given purchase?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What does s\/he desire in the way of satisfaction?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How does the customer get information about available choices?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Where does s\/he choose to purchase?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Why does s\/he buy, or not buy?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>When does s\/he purchase?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How does s\/he go about seeking satisfaction in the market?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nSeeking answers to these\u00a0questions yields insights into\u00a0the customer's needs, perceptions, and behaviors. From here, appropriate marketing strategy and corresponding tactics can be developed for the business to act upon. Another area in which research is critical is profitability. Organizations\u00a0need to forecast sales and related costs in order to understand\u00a0how their operations will\u00a0be profitable. They also need to plan\u00a0competitive marketing programs that will produce the desired level of sales at an appropriate cost. The analysis of past sales and interpretation of cost information are important in evaluating performance and providing useful facts for future planning. All these activities rely on marketing information and a rigorous marketing research process to produce insights managers can trust and act on.\r\n<h2>Ongoing Marketing Research Leads to More Successful Marketing Strategies<\/h2>\r\nIn most business situations, marketers and managers must choose\u00a0among two or more courses of action. This is where fact-finding, marketing information, and research into the target market segment and target customer enter to help make the choice.\r\n\r\nMarketing information and research\u00a0address the need for quicker, yet more accurate, decision making by the marketer. These tools put\u00a0marketers close to their customers to help them understand who their customers are, what they want, and what competitors are doing. When different stakeholders have very different views about a particular marketing-related decision, objective information and research can inform everyone about the issues in question and help the organization come to agreement about the path forward. Good research should help align\u00a0marketing with the other areas of the business.\r\n\r\nMarketers should always be tapping into regular sources of marketing information about their organization and industry in order to monitor what's happening generally. For example, at any given time marketers should understand how they are doing relative to sales goals and monitor developments in their industry or competitive set.\r\n\r\nBeyond this general level of \"tuning in,\" additional market research projects may also be justified. As a rule, if the research results can save the company more time, money, and\/or risk than it costs to conduct the research, it is wise to proceed. Ultimately, successful marketing strategies are developed on the basis of focused and continued research of customers identified by disciplined segmentation and targeting.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/83e5c6f5-1be1-4d14-8282-4de8b0fcd81d\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Explain how segmentation and targeting relate to marketing strategy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Marketing Strategy Follows From the Segmentation and Targeting Process<\/h2>\n<p>Once your target market and customers have been identified, effective marketing moves to develop a strong knowledge base of those customers: the kind of knowledge that gives\u00a0you unique insights into what they want and how to satisfy them better than the competition. The most reliable source of fresh customer insights is good\u00a0<strong>marketing information<\/strong>. Useful marketing information may\u00a0come from a variety of sources both inside and outside your organization.\u00a0Marketing information is generated by a variety of different activities, including marketing research.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marketing research<\/strong> is a systematic process for identifying marketing opportunities and solving marketing problems, using customer insights that come out of collecting and analyzing marketing information.\u00a0The mechanics of marketing research must be controlled so that marketers uncover the relevant\u00a0facts to\u00a0answer the problem at hand. Control over this fact-finding process is the responsibility of the marketing research director, who must correctly design the research and carefully supervise its execution, to ensure it yields the customer insights the organization needs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A marketing information system<\/strong> is a combination of people, technologies, and processes for managing marketing information, overseeing market research activities, and using\u00a0customer insights to guide marketing decisions and\u00a0broader management and strategy decisions.<\/p>\n<h2>Refining Knowledge of Target Market Segments and Customers Is Power Against\u00a0the Competition<\/h2>\n<p>The business environment is increasingly competitive. With something as simple as a Google search, customers have\u00a0unprecedented opportunities to explore alternatives to what any single company offers. Likewise, companies have ample opportunity to identify, track, and lure customers away from their less-vigilant competitors. A regular infusion of fresh customer insights can make all the difference between\u00a0keeping customers and\u00a0losing them. Marketing information and research are essential tools for marketers and the management team as they align marketing strategy with customer wants and needs.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the following\u00a0examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Before introducing\u00a0OnStar, the first-ever embedded wireless service in cars, GM used marketing research to understand what types of applications would make consumers most interested in subscribing to the service and how much they would pay for it. Of all the benefits OnStar could offer, the research helped GM prioritize how the initial service would provide value, focusing on driver assistance and security. Research also helped determine\u00a0OnStar pricing to help the company\u00a0build a large subscriber base quickly.<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Vincent P. Barabba, Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround, pp 46\u201350, https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&amp;pg\" id=\"return-footnote-7126-1\" href=\"#footnote-7126-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Enterprise systems provider PeopleSoft recruited a diverse set of universities as early-adopter &#8220;Beta&#8221; partners to provide input as it designed a new student information system for higher education. This marketing research helped PeopleSoft create a versatile system that\u00a0could support the needs of a variety of colleges and universities, ultimately leading to strong receptivity and market share when the new system became widely available.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Proquest, &quot;First We Built, Now We Buy: A Sociological Case Study for Enterprise Systems in Higher Education,&quot; pp\u00a0292\u2013203, https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=rgIAaigKQBIC&amp;pg\" id=\"return-footnote-7126-2\" href=\"#footnote-7126-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Characteristics of the Target Customer Should Marketers Investigate To Develop Marketing Strategies?<\/h2>\n<p>An easy\u2014and truthful\u2014answer to this question is &#8220;everything.&#8221; There is no aspect of marketing to which information and research do not apply. Every marketing concept and every element involved in the marketing management process can be subjected to a great deal of careful marketing research and inquiry. Some important questions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who is the customer?<\/li>\n<li>What problems is the customer trying to solve with a given purchase?<\/li>\n<li>What does s\/he desire in the way of satisfaction?<\/li>\n<li>How does the customer get information about available choices?<\/li>\n<li>Where does s\/he choose to purchase?<\/li>\n<li>Why does s\/he buy, or not buy?<\/li>\n<li>When does s\/he purchase?<\/li>\n<li>How does s\/he go about seeking satisfaction in the market?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Seeking answers to these\u00a0questions yields insights into\u00a0the customer&#8217;s needs, perceptions, and behaviors. From here, appropriate marketing strategy and corresponding tactics can be developed for the business to act upon. Another area in which research is critical is profitability. Organizations\u00a0need to forecast sales and related costs in order to understand\u00a0how their operations will\u00a0be profitable. They also need to plan\u00a0competitive marketing programs that will produce the desired level of sales at an appropriate cost. The analysis of past sales and interpretation of cost information are important in evaluating performance and providing useful facts for future planning. All these activities rely on marketing information and a rigorous marketing research process to produce insights managers can trust and act on.<\/p>\n<h2>Ongoing Marketing Research Leads to More Successful Marketing Strategies<\/h2>\n<p>In most business situations, marketers and managers must choose\u00a0among two or more courses of action. This is where fact-finding, marketing information, and research into the target market segment and target customer enter to help make the choice.<\/p>\n<p>Marketing information and research\u00a0address the need for quicker, yet more accurate, decision making by the marketer. These tools put\u00a0marketers close to their customers to help them understand who their customers are, what they want, and what competitors are doing. When different stakeholders have very different views about a particular marketing-related decision, objective information and research can inform everyone about the issues in question and help the organization come to agreement about the path forward. Good research should help align\u00a0marketing with the other areas of the business.<\/p>\n<p>Marketers should always be tapping into regular sources of marketing information about their organization and industry in order to monitor what&#8217;s happening generally. For example, at any given time marketers should understand how they are doing relative to sales goals and monitor developments in their industry or competitive set.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this general level of &#8220;tuning in,&#8221; additional market research projects may also be justified. As a rule, if the research results can save the company more time, money, and\/or risk than it costs to conduct the research, it is wise to proceed. Ultimately, successful marketing strategies are developed on the basis of focused and continued research of customers identified by disciplined segmentation and targeting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_83e5c6f5-1be1-4d14-8282-4de8b0fcd81d\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/83e5c6f5-1be1-4d14-8282-4de8b0fcd81d?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_83e5c6f5-1be1-4d14-8282-4de8b0fcd81d\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-7126\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Practice Question. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Robert Danielson. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Chapter 3: Marketing Research: An Aid to Decision Making, from Introducing Marketing. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: John Burnett. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Global Text. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/solr.bccampus.ca:8001\/bcc\/file\/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191\/1\/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf\">http:\/\/solr.bccampus.ca:8001\/bcc\/file\/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191\/1\/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-7126-1\">Vincent P. Barabba, <em>Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround<\/em>, pp 46\u201350, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&amp;pg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&amp;pg<\/a> <a href=\"#return-footnote-7126-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-7126-2\">Proquest, \"First We Built, Now We Buy: A Sociological Case Study for Enterprise Systems in Higher Education,\" pp\u00a0292\u2013203, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=rgIAaigKQBIC&amp;pg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=rgIAaigKQBIC&amp;pg<\/a> <a href=\"#return-footnote-7126-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":26,"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Chapter 3: Marketing Research: An Aid to Decision Making, from Introducing Marketing\",\"author\":\"John Burnett\",\"organization\":\"Global Text\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/solr.bccampus.ca:8001\/bcc\/file\/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191\/1\/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Practice Question\",\"author\":\"Robert Danielson\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"aaaf796c-0c27-467c-b171-4f224ed958c4, 085c3861-b0bc-4815-828d-554998efd6ea","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-7126","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":7046,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15393,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7126\/revisions\/15393"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/7046"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7126\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=7126"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=7126"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=7126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}