Questions

1. Describe the decision-making unit (DMU) for IDM technology.

2. What would be the choice criteria considered by a company that is investing in IDM technology?

3. What aspects of Qumas's marketing approach have contributed to its success?

4. Should Qumas revise its marketing approach in light of the changes taking place in the industry?

Chapter 4. Marketing Research and Information Systems Marketing Spotlight

The Internet has rapidly become the world's number one source of information and is proving to be an invaluable tool for market researchers. The first point of contact is usually one of the thousands of search engines available. The biggest names here are the portals like www.yahoo.com, www.msn.com, www.lycos.com and www.altavista.com, as well as some of the more specialist search engines such as www.google.com, www.askjeeves.com and www.dogpile.com. In fact, there are so many search engines available that sites like www.searchengines.com have been set up to advise on the most appropriate engine to use based on your requirements. Researchers looking for particular information on products or industries might also try some of the general information websites such as www.about.com while more specific queries on all aspects of marketing may well be answered by a visit to www.knowthis.com. Several central marketing research websites are also available, such as www.marketresearch.com, the International Market Research Mall at www.imrmall.com, www.researchinfo.com and www.irn-research.com. These sites have large databases of information and publications from leading research firms around the world, which is either available for purchase or may be free in some cases. Finally, gaining access to the information provided by the leading market research and competitive intelligence firms, such as Euro monitor, Mintel and the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), has been made easier as their sites all offer the facility to search for and download the required market reports.

We live in an information age and now more than ever business success revolves around the ability to collect, analyse and use information. (See Table 4.1 for the size of the market research industry in Europe, and Figure 4.1 for information on re­search expenditure by sector.) As we have seen, a prerequisite for the adoption of a marketing orientation is knowledge about customers and other aspects of the marketing environment that affect company operations. Managers can obtain this information either by informal or formal means. Casual discussions with customers at exhibitions or through sales calls can provide valuable informal information about their requirements, competitor activities and future happenings in the industry. More formal approaches include the conduct of marketing research studies or the development of marketing information systems. This chapter focuses on these formal methods of information provision. First, we shall describe the different types of marketing research and the approaches used to conduct research studies. Then we will look at the process of marketing research and its uses in more detail. Finally, we will examine the development of marketing information systems.