Using Marketing Information System to Perfection

What is the difference between a good marketer and an average marketer? Probably the most vital one is the ability to anticipate the demands and trends in the targeted market; it is in fact the essence of marketing. Marketing manager, who can foresee coming trends or demands, is a piece of good fortune for the business. Given these forecasts are based on actual information and figures, rather than just gut feelings. The businesses that can “smell the blood” (anticipating changes) and “go for the kill” (prepare for the upcoming boom in demand) always manage to get their hands on the biggest share of market.

To help managers foresee the change in market or customer’s preferences, you need a sound information system, which is known as marketing information system. Marketing information system collects the relevant data; organize it into something meaningful, make recommendations based on these figures and than stock it up for future use. Any marketing information system that lacks in any of these three departments is nothing but an encumbrance for the business.

Among these three components, the first one is also the most important one, because the effectiveness of the entire system depends on the availability and correctness of information. There are two types of resources, normally used for collecting data. Primary resources, where the company carries out the research itself, through different means (interviews, observing consumers behavior, etc) and the secondary resources, where research work of some outside party is used (e.g. government or some research specialist firms). All of these resources have their own pros and cons and the people involved in the decision making should choose the source carefully, consistent with the quality of the data required and the cost.

Then comes the organizing part, where this raw data is sorted out and organized into something purposeful. If the information was collected through primary resources, then this task of organizing the information should not be much of a problem, however if secondary resources were used, it may take some time to segregate required bit of information. Even that has been made easy by powerful computers and data stored in electronic forms.

Last part is deriving results and making decisions based on these figures. This is done mostly by the management, but the success of these decisions is based entirely on the figures originated from the marketing information system. As you can see, marketing information system is a basic requisite for the most important decisions; still many businesses continue to operate without a proper MkIS.

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Globalization & making global strategies for your business

Globalization presents a whole new set of opportunities, a totally different type of threats and so many alternate options to do business. It is going to affect your business one-way or the other, that’s why the sooner you start thinking in a global perspective the better. Globalization has made the future even more uncertain for the businesses, raising the bar to a new level. If your business was somewhat secure in the old domestic setup, you should get ready for some competition coming from across the borders. Being the best in your country is not enough anymore. You need to look for improvement constantly, as a business and as an individual to be able to survive.

On the positive side globalization is not all about threats and insecurities; it also provides so many new lucrative markets and opportunities at the same time. But to avail these benefits you need to be proactive. Unlike most businesses that just go with the happenings; you should make a global strategy and then stick to it.

Internal & External Considerations:

Internal & external assessment is the first step towards making a global strategy. It starts from deciding if your product or service has got the potential to make it at international level. If the answer is in yes, then you must go for it. Other factors include available resources (capital, technology, and skills), environmental factors, global inflation, trade barriers or the alternates available worldwide. An example of these alternates is how globalization has made it so easy to outsource some of your tasks to a firm located in some low cost zone and save significant amounts.

Set Goals:

Keep in mind the availability of finance or the requisite like supplies in the host country, when setting goals. Don’t overlook the hurdles like host Government policies, political uncertainties or global inflation in your excitement of going global. Set priorities and the level of risk your business is capable of taking.

Long Term Planning

The formulation of long-term plan requires the managers to look into all departments, starting from entry method to diversification targets, product marketing and distribution. If you have been running or managing a business locally for some time, it may take time and effort before your mind can adapt an international approach while planning. It may be hard at first, but then that’s something you can hardly ignore in this age of globalization.