Page 51 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Marketing Management/Essentials of Marketing

Notes 7. Average value and/or volume of sale by industry
8. Average value and/or volume of sale by sales person
By comparing orders received with invoices an enterprise can establish the extent to
which it is providing an acceptable level of customer service. In the same way, comparing
stockholding records with orders received helps an enterprise ascertain whether its stocks
are in line with current demand patterns.
Marketing research systems: The general topic of marketing research has been the prime subject
of the textbook and only a little more needs to be added here. Marketing research is a proactive
search for information. That is, the enterprise which commissions these studies does so to solve
a perceived marketing problem. In many cases, data is collected in a purposeful way to address
a well-defined problem (or a problem which can be defined and solved within the course of the
study). The other form of marketing research centres not around a specific marketing problem
but is an attempt to continuously monitor the marketing environment. These monitoring or
tracking exercises are continuous marketing research studies, often involving panels of farmers,
consumers or distributors from which the same data is collected at regular intervals. Whilst the
ad hoc study and continuous marketing research differs in the orientation, yet they are both
proactive.
Marketing intelligence systems: Whereas marketing research is focused, market intelligence is
not. A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and data sources used by marketing
managers to sift information from the environment that they can use in their decision making.
This scanning of the economic and business environment can be undertaken in a variety of
ways, which are follows:

1. Unfocused scanning: The manager, by virtue of what he/she reads, hears and watches
exposes him/herself to information that may prove useful. Whilst the behaviour is
unfocused and the manager has no specific purpose in mind, it is not unintentional.
2. Semi-focused scanning: Again, the manager is not in search of particular pieces of
information that he/she is actively searching but does narrow the range of media that is
scanned. For instance, the manager may focus more on economic and business publications,
broadcasts etc. and pay less attention to political, scientific or technological media.

3. Informal search: This describes the situation where a fairly limited and unstructured
attempt is made to obtain information for a specific purpose. For example, the marketing
manager of a firm considering entering the business of importing frozen fish from a
neighbouring country may make informal inquiries as to prices and demand levels of
frozen and fresh fish. There would be little structure to this search with the manager
making inquiries with traders he/she happens to encounter as well as with other ad hoc
contacts in ministries, international aid agencies, with trade associations, importers/
exporters etc.

4. Formal search: This is a purposeful search after information in some systematic way. The
information will be required to address a specific issue. Whilst this sort of activity may
seem to share the characteristics of marketing research it is carried out by the manager
him/herself rather than a professional researcher. Moreover, the scope of the search is
likely to be narrow in scope and far less intensive than marketing research.
Marketing intelligence is the province of entrepreneurs and senior managers within an
agribusiness. It involves them in scanning newspaper trade magazines, business journals and
reports, economic forecasts and other media. In addition it involves management in talking to
producers, suppliers and customers, as well as to competitors. Nonetheless, it is a largely informal
process of observing and conversing.

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