A marketing information system is a platform for collecting, storing, analyzing, and distributing essential marketing data received from internal and external resources. It provides marketers and other experts with easy access to accurate data that helps them make informed decisions directed at business growth.
In this article, you’ll discover marketing information system benefits, analyze the components of such systems, and see some examples.
Why are marketing information systems important?
Whether you are a marketer or a business owner, sooner or later, you need to make strategic decisions to improve your product, increase your market share, attract new audiences, and handle the competition. The most reliable foundation of any decision is data. With the help of accurate information about your marketing environment, competitors, customers, and their behavior, you’ll manage to make better campaigns. The insights obtained from reports and marketing research will prevent you from playing a guessing game and wasting your time and budget in vain. The more complex your marketing information system, the more value you can get from it.
Other benefits of using a marketing information system include the following:
- conducting thorough demand and supply analysis;
- increasing competitiveness and market share;
- identifying business development opportunities;
- implementing a consumer-oriented approach;
- identifying and managing business risks;
- improving the overall marketing strategy of your company;
- keeping an eye on your competition;
- having better control over all marketing operations.
Although the benefits are tempting, implementing a marketing information system requires money, time, and a learning curve. If you are ready to get started, let's find out how to get access the necessary system components.
4 Marketing Information System Components
These components form a holistic marketing information system. So, to make the most out of it, you need to combine them effectively.
- Internal records. This type of information is the easiest to obtain inside your organization. For this purpose, you need to monitor your cash flow, employee salaries, product inventory, sales, and marketing reports, including the current and past ones. Internal records include all your performance reports’ financial, transactional, and marketing data.
- Marketing research. This essential marketing information system component allows you to present a specific problem as your current business goal and investigate all the details necessary for developing a solution. If you are considering developing a new product, conduct marketing research and come up with a solution based on your findings. Stating a problem allows marketers to direct all their efforts into collecting a particular type of data from the most meaningful sources.
- Marketing intelligence. This data type makes it possible to better understand your current business situation, market changes, trends, competitors’ strategies, recent innovations, and consumer preferences. You can get it from external resources, such as journals, magazines, competitors’ sites, marketplace overviews, press, partners, suppliers, etc.
- Marketing decision support system (MDSS). This data can be retrieved from special analytics software and services that help marketers collect, store, and analyze data to make better decisions. For example, you can use specific third-party platforms to carry out market segmentation or discover how much your competitors spend on PPC advertising on average.
Combining these four marketing information system components will help you better understand the current situation both in the market and your company and tweak your strategies accordingly.
Marketing Information System Examples
Nowadays, almost every business has a marketing information system since it helps them make better decisions and, as a result, drive sales. For example, many retail stores provide their clients with loyalty cards, and many brands offer customers an opportunity to create profiles in their online stores. Both loyalty cards and profiles help businesses collect data about clients and keep track of their purchase behavior, average checks, engagement level, items viewed, etc. With this data, companies can manage their pricing policies, create better marketing campaigns, and come up with relevant offers in the right place and at the right time.
Online booking services operate similarly. They monitor their client’s habits, preferences, and routes to gain insights and act on them. For example, airlines and hotel services keep track of the demand and increase prices when it rises. They can also offer their frequent buyers discounts during the off-season.
Congrats, now you know the benefits of having a marketing information system, its components, and some examples. Implement this approach for your business to keep pace with any market changes and increase your profits.
Last Updated: 14.04.2023
or