Chapter 03 - Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment



Information, we as a community gather lots of information in our daily lives for making decisions on many issues or situations. If we need to inquire about something further, we look for more information from different sources to make sure that we are going to take the correct decision. The same thing happens in the business world also. Businesses need to take important decisions on different aspects of their routine business transactions. Hence, they need accurate and trustworthy information from different sources to make their decision-making process easier. “Marketing Information System - (MIS)” comes to play, to make this process of collecting information much easier for the marketers.  

 

A Marketing Information System consists of people, equipment and procedure to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers. Mainly, MIS has four components as follows: 

  • Internal records 
  • Marketing intelligence 
  • Marketing research 
  • Marketing decision support system  

 





 

When marketers need to construct a new marketing plan, launching a new product, removing an existing product etc., they need a lot of information regarding the matter before making any decision or starting the new process. They can use different sources of information to evaluate the matter/issue to take any actions to overcome the same. It may be not only that organization, but that information will be important to different stakeholders of the organization like suppliers, distribution companies, employees in other departments etc., to plan for their processes and allocate resources accordingly.  

 

Sources of competitive information  

  • Independant customer goods and service review forums 
  • Distributor or sales agent feedback sites 
  • Combination sites offering customer reviews and expert opinions 
  • Customer complaint sites 
  • Public blogs 
  • Interviews 
  • Annual reports 

 

What do marketers do with information? 

Marketers can do wonders with hands full of information, in the markets, because marketers are the people who create wants to the customers. They produce thousands of options for one need instead of making one or two options which lead the customers to think several times before making a purchase decision in a highly competitive market. On the other hand, marketers make trends in the market by using the information they get from different sources. There are 3 types of needs and trends. They are: 

  • Fad 
  • Trend 
  • Megatrend  

 

It is not only making trends with goods and services, but also some organizations make some business activities as trends like “Go Green Concept”.  

 

Example  

Due to the industrial revolution, many issues have arisen with climate change and other environmental issues. All the countries have introduced new rules and regulations on environmental protection and related issues, which should be adhered to by all the companies and citizens in that country. As a result of this new legal requirement, most of the business organizations concentrate on corporate social responsibility and implement Sustainable and Eco–friendly practices to their businesses. In these sustainable and eco-friendly practices, businesses are adopting environmentally responsible strategies to minimize their impact on the environment which comply with the country's legal requirements. This initiative will lead to reducing the cost of production through the recycling process, enhancing the company reputation among people, and as a result the company will be able to increase their sales. Marketers can use this initiative in their promotional campaigns to differentiate them from their competitors and attract more environmentally conscious customers to the organization. Marketers can also change their products' packaging by using eco-friendly materials, which will help those who produce eco-friendly raw materials to the markets.  





This sustainable and eco-friendly practices will emphasize the whole supply chain to be aligned with this concept since the organization needs to continue and maintain the same for the future by keeping their standards in a high level while delivering the desired value to their customers.  

 

References  

  1. Avgeropoulos, I (n.d.). Marketing Planning: Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment (PPT). Chapter 3 - Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment.pptx (sharepoint.com)  

 

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