Marketing information includes any verbal, written or visual data that is relevant to marketing decisions.

1. The lesser amount of required and relevant information compared to larger amount of redundant information;
2. Reaching the required information as a result of dispersed information sources in the company;
3. Being unable to reach some vital marketing information since they are constrained by some managers;
4. Being unable to gather critical marketing information at the time they are needed;
5. Being unable to be sure of the accuracy and precision of the marketing information gathered.

In decision-making marketing managers do not need any form of information, but need current, reliable, accurate and relevant marketing information. 

In a general sense, a marketing information system is a way of systematically gathering and delivering effective and relevant marketing information to the right people on a continuous basis and at the right time.

A marketing information system consists of people and procedures dedicated to assessing information needs, developing the needed information, and helping decision makers use the information to generate and validate actionable customer and market insights.

• First of all, as a system it comprises principles, processes, methods, people and necessary instruments for collecting, analyzing and storing information;
• Moreover, it is a planned and systematic effort for meeting the marketing information needs;
• Furthermore, it is a continuous effort. Continuity means that the system provides the information required for the marketing decisions not based on discrete research attempts but on the basis of regular and continuous information generation.

The first function of the system is to determine the information needed in marketing decisions.

The second function of the marketing information system is to generate any kind of marketing information that might be needed in decision-making.

The third function of the marketing information system is to deliver the generated information to the people or managers who would use this information need in marketing decisions when needed.

Data consists of numbers, records, symbols, and the like about facts. Data could be obtained from events, changing circumstances, and developments that occur in the business environment; as well as from records and reports kept by the company itself. Information is related to the formation and shaping of data. In other words, information is obtained by attributing meaning to the collected data. From this point of view, information is interpretation of numbers, records, symbols, situations, etc. that make up the data. Knowledge has a deeper, richer and broader meaning than information. Information is converted into knowledge; when information is synthesized and used in decisions, it transforms into knowledge.

Internal sources of information comprise several types of records and reports such as costs, sales and revenue records prepared by the accounting department; capital flow, revenue and investors’ relations reports prepared by the finance department; raw materials and capital goods inventory records and production rate reports generated by the production department; and the marketing department’s records on sales expenditures and expenditures related to customers, advertising and other marketing communication activities.

Market intelligence covers data and information that marketing decision makers
need about market changes, and they are the result of various studies conducted for other specific purposes.

Marketing research collects information only through projects or studies that are designed and carried out in order to respond to a specific marketing situations and decisions.

• Primary data
• Secondary data

Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation that the company encounters.

• Economy
• Technology
• Competition
• Legal and political issues
• Socio-demographic factors

• Family
• Peer groups
• Opinion leaders

Product research can be carried out for testing new product concepts and opportunities, revealing customer expectations on a new product’s content or design, and comparing the performance of an existing product with its competitors.

Promotional research would assist identifying the most appropriate method for promotion; the most suitable advertising and campaign materials; the most suitable media to be used; and also testing the effectiveness of communication in achieving the objectives.

Each marketing research requires a distinct approach and a discrete effort, since each marketing research issue has unique features and covers distinctive questions and points to be answered. On the other hand, as marketing research entails the systematic and objective identification, collection and analysis of the relevant information, it involves a structured set of steps during execution. These steps that define the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study are called the marketing research process.

The marketing research process includes six main steps as problem definition, developing an approach to the problem, research design formulation, fieldwork, data preparation and analysis, and report generation and presentation.

1. Defining the information needed
2. Identifying whether the overall design is to be exploratory, descriptive or causal
3. Devising the techniques for investigation or measurement

4. Organizing an appropriate form or questionnaire for data collection
5. Determining the sampling process and sample size
6. Elaborating the steps of qualitative or quantitative data analysis

In observational studies, primary data is collected through observation
of people, actions and situations associated with the marketing problem.

Survey research, the most widely used approach for primary data collection in marketing research, is the most appropriate method for gathering descriptive information. Marketers, who want to know about consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, preferences, or buying behavior could easily find out by asking them relevant questions directly.

1. Marketing research does not make decisions.

2. Marketing research does not guarantee success.