Global Information Systems and Market Research

1. Global Information Systems and Market Research Chapter 6 Global Marketing

2. Information Needs of Global Marketers • Understand the importance of information technology and marketing information systems • Utilize a framework for information scanning and opportunity identification • Understand the formal market research process • Know how to manage the marketing information collection system and market research effort Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

3. Managing Information for Global Marketing • Management Information System (MIS) – provides a means for • Gathering • Analyzing • Classifying • Storing • Retrieving • Reporting relevant data Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

4. Tools of MIS • Intranet • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) • Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) • Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) • Data Warehouses Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

5. Table 6-1: Subject Agenda • Market Potential • Demand estimates, consumer behavior, review of marketing mix • Competitor Information • Corporate, business, and functional strategies • Foreign Exchange • Balance of payments, interest rates, attractiveness of country currency Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

6. Table 6-1: Subject Agenda (cont.) • Prescriptive Information • Laws, regulations, rulings concerning taxes, earnings, dividends in both host and home countries • Resource Information • Availability of human, financial, physical, and information resources • General Conditions • Overall review of sociocultural, political, and technological environments Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

7. Scanning Modes • Surveillance • Informal information gathering • VIEWING – general exposure to information • MONITORING – paying special attention and tracking a story as it develops • Search • Formal information gathering • INVESTIGATION – seeking out secondary data • RESEARCH – conducting primary research Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

8. Preventing Information Overload • Global organizations need • Efficient, effective system to scan and digest published sources of information in all countries in which it conducts business • Daily scanning, translating, digesting, abstracting, and electronic input of information into MIS Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

9. Formal Market Research • Global Marketing Research is the project-specific, systematic gathering of data in the search scanning mode on a global basis Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

10. Environmental Factors Affecting Global Marketing Research • Researchers must be prepared for new parameters of doing business • “Cultural megashock” may occur • With many markets comes many interacting factors • Research may have to broaden view of competitors Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

11. AC Nielsen Corp IMS Health Research International USA NFO Worldwide Gartner Group Video Research United Information Group Information Resources VNU Marketing Information Services Largest Global Research Companies Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

12. Steps in the Research Process • Identifying the research problem • Developing a research plan • Collecting data • Analyzing data • Presenting the research findings Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

13. Identifying the Research Process • What information do I need? • Existing Markets – customer needs already being served by one or more companies; information may be readily available • Potential Markets • Latent market – an undiscovered market; demand would be there if product was there • Incipient market – market will emerge as macro environmental trends continue • Why do I need this information? Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

14. Developing A Research Plan • Do we need quantitative or qualitative data? • What is the information worth (versus what will it cost to collect)? • What will it cost if we don’t get the information? • What can be gained from the information? Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

15. Collecting Data • Secondary Data • Statistical Abstract of the United States • Statistical Yearbook of the United Nations • World Factbook • The Economist • The Financial Times • Syndicated studies • And much more Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

16. Collecting Data (cont.) • Primary Data Collection Methods • Survey research • Interviews • Consumer panels • Observation • Focus groups Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

17. Special Considerations for Surveys • Benefits: • Data collection from a large sample • Both quantitative and qualitative data possible • Can be self-administered • Issues • Subjects may respond with social desirability • Translation may be difficult • Use back and parallel translations to ensure accuracy and validity Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

18. Sampling • A sample is a selected subset of a population that is representative of the entire population. • Probability samples • Non-probability samples Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

19. Analyzing Data • Demand Pattern Analysis • Income Elasticity Measurements • Market Estimation by Analogy • Time-series displacement • Comparative Analysis • Cluster Analysis Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

20. Presenting the Findings • Report must clearly address problem identified in Step 1 • Include a memo or executive summary of the key findings along with main report Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

21. Global Issues in Marketing Research • Many country markets must be included • Markets with low profit potential justifies limited research expenditures • Data in developing countries may be inflated or deflated • Comparability of international statistics varies greatly • Limits created by cultural differences Keegan and Green, Chapter 6

22. Emic analysis Ethnographic in nature Studies culture from within Uses cultures’ own meanings and values Etic analysis From the outside Detached perspective that is used in multi-country studies Enhances comparability but minimizes precision Enhancing Comparability of Data Keegan and Green, Chapter 6