PROJECT REPORT

Supervised By:Shubham Mishra

Submitted By:- Prof. Saloni P Diwan

Roll no:-44

Assistant Professor,

Implementation of an IT based Marketing information

system in a high tech company
Submitted to kurukshetra University
kurukshetra.
In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of the Degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
(MARKETING)
(2013-2014)

University School of Management College, Kurukshetra

1

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled MARKETING INFORMATION
SYSTEM submitted to the Punjabi university, Patiala is a record of an original work done by
me under the guidance of Prof. SALONI P DIWAN our project guide and this project work is
submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor
Of Business Administration. The results embodied in this project have not been submitted to any
other University or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.

Students Signature

PREFACE
In todays era of cut-throat competition BBAs and MBAs are sure to have an edge over their
counter parts.
During graduation in Business Administration program, students come in direct contact with the
real corporate world through industrial training. BBA program provide its students with an indepth study of various managerial activities that are performed in any organization.
A detailed research/analysis of managerial activities conducted in marketing department that
gives the student a conceptual idea of what they are expected to manage, how to manage and
how to obtain the maximum output through minimum inputs of resources available and how to
create the awareness about the services that are offered by the company.
As a MBA student, I have taken my industrial training at THINKNEXT, Mohali and completed
my research work at Mohali.

SHUBHAM MISHRA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
3

Project is a fruitful outcome of the hard work of many persons. Through this report I would like
to express my gratitude towards those whose support and co-ordination have been an essential
ingredient of this project. I would like to say that it was a great pleasure and privilege to have got
the opportunity of visiting Think next technologies. I would like to thank my faculty incharge
Prof. Ekta, for accompanying me during the industrial visit and our project guide Prof. Jasmine
Tiwana, and Dr. Jasleen Kaur (HOD) of management department for initiating such a visit.
I would like to give special thanks to Miss Nitika Tiwari our trainer at Think next technologies. I
am sure the knowledge and experience gained during the training will be of immense value for
my growth in the field of Bachelor of Business Administration.

SHUBHAM MISHRA

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE.NO.

No.
(1) 1.1

Introduction

32-44

1.2

MIS Models

45-47

1.3

MIS Functional Components

48-57

1.4

Marketing Intelligence

58-64

1.5

Marketing Research

64-71

1.6

Marketing Decision Support System

72-81

1.7

Decision Making

82-88

1.8

Risks Associated In MIS

89-93

(2)

Review of Literature

94-97

(3)

Research Methodology

98-102

(4)

Data Analysis And Interpretation

103-115

(5)

Findings And Recommendations

117-118

Conclusion

Bibliography

120-121

Annexure

122-126

119

Overview of Indian IT Sector

Information technology is playing an important role in India today & has transformed India's
image from a slow moving bureaucratic economy to a land of innovative entrepreneurs. The IT
sector in India is generating 2.5 million direct employments. India is now one of the biggest IT
capitals of the modern world and all the major players in the world IT sector are present in the
country
The Indian it industry is growing steadily despite the global meltdown in the year 2009. When
the whole of the world witnessed the negative growth Indian it industry still managed to register
a growth of 5.5%. The industry is about to register the historic landmark of us $50 billion export
this year.
Indian IT sector is growing substantially with its
1. Expansion into varied verticals.
2. Well differentiated service offerings.
3. Increasing geographic penetration.

Indian IT sector
The IT sector in India holds the distinction of advancing the country into the new-age economy.
Today India is the world leader in information technology and business outsourcing. Indian IT
Company has globally established their superiority in terms of cost advantage, availability of
skilled manpower and the quality of services. They have been enhancing their global service
delivery capabilities through a combination of organic and inorganic growth initiatives.

Information technology (IT) industry in India has played a key role in putting India on the global
map. IT industry in India has been one of the most significant growth contributors for the Indian
economy. The industry has played a significant role in transforming Indias image from a slow
moving bureaucratic economy to a land of innovative entrepreneurs and a global player in
providing world class technology solutions and business services. The industry has helped India
transform from a rural and agriculture-based economy to a knowledge based economy.
Information Technology has made possible information access at gigabit speeds. It has made
tremendous impact on the lives of millions of people who are poor, marginalized and living in
rural and far flung topographies. Internet has made revolutionary changes with possibilities of egovernment measures like e-health, e-education, e-agriculture, etc. Today, whether its filing
Income Tax returns or applying for passports online or railway e-ticketing, it just need few clicks
of the mouse. Indias IT potential is on a steady march towards global competitiveness,
improving defense capabilities and meeting up energy and environmental challenges amongst
others.

COMPANY PROFILE
Thinknext is an organization headquartered in Australia, (a reputable name in the Web World
by providing all services of WEB SOLUTION products.) A 2-year old, IT based web
development company offering website design and web programming services. Thinknext assists
a global clientele, with fully customized and comprehensive services at the most competitive
rates. Thinknext, is at present, the most rapidly growing online web solutions company in
7

Austraila and India, providing IT enabled services, consultation and outsourcing to companies
spread in more than. Our advanced delivery model blends technology practices with functional
expertise to help you improve your business processes and boost performance. The professional
website design, Website development, logo design, Flash design, and SEO services of the
company can go a long way in determining the success of companys business. Company offers
their clients a repertoire of services like ecommerce website creation and portal development,
brand marketing on leading ad networks, digital marketing, web analytics and much more.
Companys talented and experienced team of professionals comprises web 2.0 development
executives who offer advanced solutions for publishers and advertisers. Company creates
professional and dynamic pages for their clients using intelligent and smart practices. Company
also double up as a digital marketing agency that serves leading brands, corporate clients, as well
as other players. The cost-effective and customized web development and online media solutions
of the company are tailor-made to suit specific needs and requirements of the clients.

Top management of the company

The top management of the company includes following names:

CEO: - Mr. Anil Soni

Managing Director:- Varinder Singh
Co-founder/ Strategic Director:- Abishek Soni

Structure of the company:

The company has well defined structure. It has following departments.

HR department
Purchase department
Finance department
Marketing & Sales department
IT department
Research & Development department
8

Vision:
The vision of the company is providing cost effective and cost beneficial services by converting
their valued money into the attractive and creative as well as best quality designed web solutions.

Mission:
Company provide client satisfaction by giving them best quality output and responsive web
solutions. Thinknext believes in Creating edges with creativity and exploring web with
interactive ideas and then implementing them on websites.

Proactive:
The company knows the critical success factors, when undertaking a project and proactively
manages the risks while maintaining effective communication throughout the project.

Proficient:
The company display proficiency, bringing key capabilities, insights, experience and
recommendations on leading edge enabling tools and technology for clients business needs for
the web.

Profitable:
The companys client repeat business and success stories are testament that we are a profitable
investment for them.

Strong Relationships between clients

One of our biggest priorities of all is close collaboration with companys clients. Whatever the
size of clients company is, for his proposed project, the company takes steps to ensure that the
project is carefully tracked and monitored, from the initial user analysis to the final stage of
usability testing. This is certainly a thoroughness of approach that has been appreciated by our
clients down the years, who have included business owners, consultants and team leaders alike.
It gives users all the more reason to contact Think Next when their firm next requires a high
quality software solution that brings with it a significant ROI.

Quality Policy
The quality policy of Thinknext is to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction through their
commitment of delivering them high quality product and services by fully meeting their
requirements and exceeding quality standards and processes that are continually measured and
improved.

Quality Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

Increase client satisfaction

Continually improve the work environment
Increase efficiently of development processes
Achieving Best in class technical Solutions

Thinknext Tech-Support
Its plan on being world class tech support service provider committed to ensuring their
customers satisfaction. They believe in building long term relationship with clients and executive
alike. The company follows a well thought out, systematic, innovative and collaborative
approach that ensures consistent delivery and utmost satisfaction to their residential customers
and Small and Medium Enterprises. Companys technical experts have years of training under
their belt and have handled challenging and resolved critical customer issues in record time.
100% satisfaction or money back guarantee is provided. Company ensures that they resolve and

10

satisfy their customers issue and never give unless 100% customer satisfaction is received. They
are confident about their services and that is why they back their services with a 100% guarantee.
It is a leading remote/online technical support provider. They offer our online services for fixing
issues related to desktops, laptops of all the major brands to home users, small offices, and large
scale enterprises. The companys technical support is available 24 x 7 for any of clients
computer related issues. All the customer needs to do is to explain the trouble he/she is facing
with their computer to the company on their 24/7 helpline number and then companys
technicians will start working towards resolving them.

1. What we do
The companys remote support services will assure clients computer issues and problems are
fixed securely in real time. The remote support of the company is completely secure as user can
view the commands used by companys technician for troubleshooting. A certified technician
will effectively resolve issues related to installation or uninstallation of programs, upgrade, PC
optimization, computer performance and many more.

2. Work process
The technical support is available 24 x 7 for any of users computer related issues. All the user
needs to do is explain the trouble you are facing with your computer to us on our 24/7 helpline
number and our technicians will start working towards resolving them.

3. Quality Assurance
100% satisfaction or Money Back Guarantee is provided. The company ensures that they could
resolve and satisfy their customers issues and never give unless 100% customer satisfaction is
received. They are confident about our services and that is why we back our services with a
100% guarantee.

5. What we can deliver

11

At the same time you can follow the instructions given by our technician over the phone to
resolve issues you are facing with your computer or laptop.

Services:
Think next technologies India is a web design and development company based in Australia and
India. A fully integrated ITEs firm provides world-class web design services to their global
clientele spread across in major countries including USA, UK, Australia, and several throughout
Asia. Think next technologies India provides a wide range of highly cost-effective and
customized web services to companies in varied industries such as entertainment, fashion, music,
finance, environment, business, commerce, IT and telecommunications, travel and tourism,
hospitality, education, etc. The companys affordable web services are ideal for small, medium
and large scaled private and corporate organizations and also start-up businesses and aspiring
entrepreneurs.
Think next technologies India is Your One-stop Shop for Comprehensive Web Services!
The comprehensive list of web design and development services of the company includes
graphics design, brochure design, corporate identity design and custom logo design services,
custom web programming, blog customization and e-commerce solutions, Flash designs, search
engine optimization services and much more.

1. Website Design Services:

At Think next technologies India, creative talent meets technical expertise to produce smart and
effective designs with high appeal and usability value. They understand their clients needs to be
different from regular selling or informative sites, increase visitor inflow and decrease bounce
rates. The professional web designers of the company employ fresh innovative ideas and
advanced designing tools to produce optimized and profit generative websites for users. The
website design services of the company are focused on producing uniquely appealing and resultoriented websites for clients specialized business.

12

Some popular websites designed the company are:1. www.sikhsanjog.com

2. www.laslawoffice.com
3. www.hendrikhomes.com
4. Eatallnite.com

2. Web Programming: Every online business is different from the other, even similar niche
websites. Think next technologies India understands and respects individual client needs and
provides custom web programming services to serve unique web requirements. The team of
qualified professionals uses strategic planning and smart development processes to produce
operationally efficient and productive websites. Their aim is to provide their customers with
quick, smart and practical solutions for their website. Think next technologies Indias custom
web programming services cause dramatic and measurable growth in clients website.

3. Flash Design:
Creative heads at Think next technologies India exploit Flashs vector technology to produce
beautiful and eye-catching designs for their clients. From Flash intros, banners, logos and
advertisements to full-blown Flash websites, they give customers website the interactive zing it
desires. The creative Flash design services help transform clients website into an effective
communication interface.
13

4. Logo Design:
Think next technologies India's logos are designed to successfully introduce your company to its
consumers and competitors. The logos of the company are stylish and aesthetic bearing superb
color scheme and graphical detailing that create long-lasting impressions. Our logo design
services give your brand a simple, creative, and appealing quality capable of significant impact
on viewers. We guarantee quality logo design at minimal rates only at Think next technologies
India.
Some popular logos designed by the company are:-

14

5. SEO Services:
Search engines decide the fate of clients website; how their website fairs in the web's fiercely
competitive market will be determined by how search engines treat it. Developing websites that
conform to search engine standards is crucial to customers business success. Think next
technologies India's search engine optimization (SEO) services help your website attain high
ranks in organic search results. Higher ranks mean greater visibility for your site, and increased
visitor inflow and prospect to customer conversion. The systematic approach of the company to
SEO and use of white-hat techniques ensure the best results for clients website

6. CMS Web Development:

Content Management Systems facilitate the management and personalization of clients website's
content without using HTML or any programming language. CMS allows quick and easy
updates and maintenance of your data and is the ideal solution for small to large websites with
dynamic content. The customized CMS interfaces incorporate some of the more sophisticated
features of a good CMS system allowing adding, changing, and editing content, and more. If the
client is looking for custom CMS development to manage his/her content, we have the perfect
solution for you.
15

7. Blog Customization:
Think next technologies design, implement themes and optimize blogs of the clients to make it
communicative, effective and increase its visibility. The customized theme designs of the
company not only help to seal first impression, but also successfully tap and retain the target
audience of the clients website.

8. E-Commerce Designs/Development:
Every one love to do E-shopping in such a hectic scheduled life, so Think next technologies
facilitate such thing by utilizing some special tools and creating E-Commerce websites
where user can purchase whatever they desire. What kind of a business doesn't promote and
sell its' products online? Ecommerce websites are a necessity for increasing your profit by
reaching out to the internet world. Online purchasing is very convenient for customers, and the
vendors benefit from this immensely. Think next technologies provides their clients attractive,
quality designs, which can boost site's popularity, increase sales and get more and more return
customers. The company can customize and develop online shop in the way, the user needs,
make it easy-to-use and attractive to the clients, SEO optimize it, and provide hosting and
support for clients shop! Think next technologies creates and develops premium-quality, custom
made ecommerce designs. They believe that any shop deserves to look professional and
attractive for its' buyers. The company gives guaranteed professional services and individual
16

approach for each and every kind of online shop project. Think next technologies can also
integrate their clients current website design with shopping
cart design to achieve a more consistent look for all of
websites pages. They strive to provide best online services
for clients ecommerce web site and give them professional
advice on any ecommerce related project. They always
make sure they are able to meet clients needs before the
order

process,

by

sending

out

comprehensive

questionnaire to each and every client.

That's way; company can guarantee that client will receive 100% high-quality service. There are
various types of online Ecommerce applications, Zen Cart, Cube Cart, Magneto, Joomla
shopping cart, as well as much custom-made Ecommerce software. While most of them have
pre-made templates, it is not advised to use a pre-made template, if client want to give his\her
customers a unique experience online and have them remember clients shop. And this is what
Think next technologies can create for their client.

9. Mobile Application Development:

Undeniably the next big thing in the evolution of e-business is MOBILE APPLICATION
development. Times have truly changed and its imperative for any business to quickly adapt with
the latest technological developments and it has become utmost important to adopt excellent
applications to drive customers businesses to new verticals. Think next technologies, offers all
new innovative business solutions. They focus on developing latest Mobile Apps and provide
full cycle development solutions from building a prototype, to support of an existing product. A
survey was conducted which concluded that mobile applications service for the enterprises
helped better and faster decision making along with shortening cycles. They guarantee
beautifully carved and easy to use GUIs to help clients customers to get the best of their
products. In mobile application development, security has always been a big concern, we
provide expertise in Smartphone application platforms like Java, Android and I phone.
Services we offer-:
17

Client-server applications
Security Applications
Enterprise applications
Communication applications
Entertainment applications
Utility and productivity applications
Multimedia applications
Social Media applications

Think next technologies is a professional android application development company having

dedicated android application developers team who has the expertise on android and are serving
clients to build custom application on android, worldwide. The company has proficient expertise
in creating android application. Think next technologies is professional android application
development company having dedicated android application developers. The technical team of
the company is efficient enough to build third party custom applications that can run on android
platform. They approach every field of android app development in a unique and comprehensive
manner. The team gives the confidence to take on the toughest challenges and deliver
outstanding android apps that client would love. The company has team, who has the expertise
on android and are serving clients to build custom application on android, worldwide.

10. I-Phone Application Development:

Since I-Phone launched it grabbed thousands of people attention businesses and end users to
explore its unique features which has revolutionized the mobile applications spectrum. Think
next technologies are having dedicated and skilled iPhone Application Developers, who are
capable of developing innovative iPhone applications with a range of various features .The
company provide their clients the complete package of developing application from the scratch
to the working features. The technical team really works hard to make all the related ideas
prolific and lucrative for clients business. They also use various graphic tools to make apps
eye-catching.

11. Website Hosting:

18

Think next technologies offers hosting of websites; no guarantees can be made as to the
availability or interruption of this service. Think next technologies cannot accept liability for
losses caused by the unavailability, malfunction or interruption of this service. Think next
technologies reserves the right to refuse to handle in any way, material which may be deemed
offensive, illegal or in any way controversial. Fees relating to web hosting or domain names
must be paid prior to the expiration date of the said service. If the fees remain unpaid at the time
of expiration, Think next technologies can cancel the said service and not liable for any data lost
as a result of the cancellation.

12. Copyright:
1) All copyright, trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in the website and its
content (including without limitation the website design, text, graphics and all software and
source codes connected with the Website) are owned by or licensed to Think next technologies or
otherwise used by Think next technologies as permitted by law.
2) In accessing the website client will have to agree that he/she will access the content solely for
clients personal, non-commercial use. None of the content may be downloaded, copied,
reproduced, transmitted, stored, sold or distributed without the prior written consent of the
copyright holder. This excludes the downloading, copying and/or printing of pages of the website
for personal, non-commercial home use only.

Silent features of the company:

Skilled and innovative team.

Successful in developing many iPhone Apps
Trust worthy coding
19

Thoroughly tested apps

Flawless Apps
Guaranteed of Apps

Think next technologies has been a crucial "driving" factor in the outsourcing market with
respect to web designing companies in the international as well as domestic sectors. In today's
corporate scenario, building relationship with the clients remains a mainstay. At Think next
technologies, company has an in-house professional web designing contingent to cater clients
design requests. Unleashing the power of multimedia, they can make a huge difference to the
progress of clients company. Think next technologies design clients sites with the latest
technologies, some of which are listed below:
1. HTML5, CS5, PHP, .NET
2. ADOBE Flash
3. Dreamweaver
Think next technologies offers one of the best web designing services in Mohali .They have
developed around a 1000 websites with amazing features.

Terms and Services

1. Acceptance of Terms:
The client cannot use the website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by terms and
conditions of the company. If client do not accept these terms and conditions he/she should must
stop using the website else it will be termed as your acceptance.

20

2. General:
Think next technologies will carry out work only where a written purchase order is provided by
mail.
3. Changes to Website:
Think next technologies reserves the right to:
1) Change or remove (temporarily or permanently) the website or any part of it without notice.
Think next technologies shall not be liable to client for any such change or removal.
2) Change these terms and conditions at any time, and clients continued use of the website
following any changes shall be deemed to be clients acceptance of such change.

Company Services:

Phone Business Application Development

iPhone Multimedia Application Development
iPhone Internet Apps Development
iPhone GPS Based Application Development
iPhone Entertainment Application Development
iPhone Gaming Application Development

Website Maintenance:
Let Your Website Speak For You... Manage It Like Your SALESMAN..!!
Think next technologies offer fast and efficient website maintenance services. They will update,
enhance, backup and repair the website quickly and efficiently, while client can go on running
his/her business. They will maintain the quality of website by keeping it fresh for return clients.
If the client needs to add more images, new banners, new calendar events, change the content of
the site, backup any important data, add new plug-in and functionality, the company will do it for
you. The website maintenance services are professional and affordable with quick turnaround
21

and delivery times. They always have custom solutions to website functionality problems at an
affordable cost. Think next technologies offer professional help with any bugs or misfortunes
which may happen to users site, affordable site monitoring. The site monitoring is effective and
professional. As soon as company receives maintenance requests, the sites get updated or fixed
right away. All the website development and maintenance is being performed in a secure way,
with non-disclosure of the passwords or any site information.

Maintenance and Marketing Promotion:

Think next technologies is like cherry on the top of the well iced cake. They provide to their
esteemed clients. Their experts always keep clued-up about current market needs so that their
clients application will never be obsolete. Their slogan for mobile app development is WE
DEPLOY YOU EMPLOY the applications which are the end results of hard work of their
experienced and highly qualified technical experts and their persistent participation. This
company provides their clients free maintenance of their websites for one year.
This company mainly does online promotion of their IT based products and services. Think next
technologies is the first company in north India which comes with the concept of electronics
design. This company mainly promotes their offerings through online marketing.
Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that
use the Web and email to drive direct sales via electronic commerce, in addition to sales
leads from Web sites or emails. Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are
typically used in conjunction with traditional types of advertising like radio, television,
newspapers and magazines

Specialized Areas of Internet Marketing (Think next technologies)

Think next technologies does marketing into more specialized areas such as Web marketing,
email marketing and social media marketing:
1) Think next technologies promotes their offerings mainly through web marketing which
includes e-commerce Web sites, affiliate marketing Web sites, promotional or informative Web

22

sites, online advertising on search engines, and organic search engine results via search engine
optimization (SEO).
2) Email marketing involves both advertising and promotional marketing efforts via e-mail
messages to current and prospective customers.
3) The social media marketing of the company involves both advertising and marketing
(including viral marketing) efforts via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
and Digg.
With the increase of blogs popping up and search engines putting more emphasis on content,
Think next technologies focus on staying above the crowd.
Think next technologies take advantage of the marketing power of LinkedIn for their business,
there are some steps for how this company uses the marketing power of Linkedln:-

1. Establish an Optimized Presence

It all starts with brand page. Given the huge adoption of LinkedIn within the business
community, theres a good chance for clients who are already researching our company on
LinkedIn, so its important to make sure that companys web page makes a good impression.
Some key areas of companys business page are:

Images
Profile copy
Products / Services

2. Attract a Following
Company increases their following on LinkedIn by providing value to the community. Regularly
posting interesting and useful content is a great way to do this, but we also interact with others
content. LinkedIn is not only broadcast media .Company grow their audience is creating one or
more LinkedIn groups. Think next technologies have grown very active LinkedIn groups which
are paying huge dividends in terms of brand exposure, market research, and the opportunity to
engage with our target audience in a very natural and helpful way.

3. Empower Advocates
23

In traditional media, brand content is broadcast to an audience. In social media, content is

broadcast to an audience who also has an audience. By engaging with the right people in social,
Our company is able to achieve much greater reach through exposure to audiences outside their
immediate circles. This kind of marketing is hard to put a price on. The key is finding advocates
who not only know and love our brand, but who will amplify our content to their circles on their
own volition. The best place for any business to start looking for brand advocates is under their
own roof. Happy employees can be our best brand advocates.

4. Amplify Through Paid Promotion

LinkedIn advertising provides more amplification to our presence and generate leads.
The keys to effective LinkedIn advertising are:
Targeting: LinkedIn advertising provides a multitude of flexible targeting options, from very
broad to uber-specific, including by region, industry, title, company or group.
Compelling offer: We always keep audience at the forefront of our mind when planning out our
LinkedIn advertising offers. Meatier content like whitepapers or E books tend to do well with the
LinkedIn community.
Testing: We always test variations of our ad copy, imagery, fulfillment, targeting options and
bids. Minor tweets can make a big difference in impressions, clicks and conversions, and
regularly testing variations will help you get the most value from our ad spend.

5. Analyze and Refine

LinkedIn has powerful analytics capabilities built into the platform, including their recently
launched Content Marketing Score and Trending Content reports, which together help to
quantify the impact of your content across areas of LinkedIn (groups, influencer posts, sponsored
updates, etc), rank us against competitors and show which topics are resonating with specific
audiences.
Those are all extremely valuable insights that can help us:

We optimize our content plan for maximum relevance to our audience.

We identify areas of LinkedIn for which we should spend more effort.
24

We benchmark our performance and find areas for improvement

Measure and optimize competitive advantage of the company.

INDUSTRIAL

TRAINING

SEGMENT

(THINK

NEXT

TECHNOLOGIES)
Technology has been advancing at an incredible pace. As organizations worldwide fight to keep
pace with this change, there has been enormous demand for skilled professionals which is far
exceeding current supply. With increasing levels of automation cutting across industry barriers,
employers are looking for high level computer qualifications as a minimum skill to effectively
manage changes in this fiercely competitive environment. To cover this opportunity effectively
and take up the challenge of an exciting global software career, you need to start working
towards it today.

25

In todays diabolically competitive scenario, only the cream of the crop emerges successful. Our
curriculum has been structured and designed by our research department working closely with
industry leaders and understanding the needs and requirements of the employees. Our firm
maintains an excellent standard of training, not only unfold the cryptic world of computer
technology, but also develop a culture of creative computing. It is this approach that has enabled
Think next technologies to emerge as a firm of pro-eminence. This company provides the high
end IT training segment offers an exciting training, which will expand your career horizons
beyond geographical boundaries. Your career is assured forever.
Think next technologies Mohali, conducts campus visits and placement drives in different
colleges and universities for spreading awareness about their industrial training segment in their
company. The companys marketing team is highly skilled and qualified. The marketing team of
the company took us for campus visit in different colleges and provided us practical experience
of their marketing strategies. They conduct different technical seminars and career awareness
programmes for students of different streams.

Think next technologies provides industrial training in Java, .Net, php. For management students
they provide training in marketing, Finance, HR. This company has highly qualified and
experienced trainers who provide in-house training to the students so that they can be able to
understand the complexities.

26

CHAPTER: - 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 (I) INTRODUCTION (MIS)
Marketing deals with customers more than any other business function, where building customer
relationship based on customer value and satisfaction is the heart of modern marketing.
Marketing is defined as the process of creating, distributing, promoting, and selling the goods,
services, and ideas to facilitate satisfying exchange relationship with customers in a dynamic
environment.
According to Kotler and Keller (2009), financial success depend on marketing ability, since
finance operations, accounting and other functions will not really matter if there is no demand
for the companys products and services. Moreover, the competition is increasing day by day in
27

the very fast growing global marketing, and marketing is affected by internal and external
environment forces. Due to those changes, marketing management is a necessity which is
defined as the art and science of choosing target market, winning customer loyalty, and attracting
new customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.
Marketing managers have to know what to sell, when to sell and how to sell the goods and
services and in-order to do so, the managers have to get certain information to be able to make
the right marketing decision. The value of information increases since it becomes one of the
most valuable assets in ranking the competitive rivalry of the modern markets. The marketing
managers have to make marketing decisions such as service to provide, price of the service,
promoting the service and the place to sell the service. This means that the firms need a
systematic organization and development of Marketing Information Systems (MIS) which can
effectively collect, process and diffuse the necessary information available both to the internal
and external levels. MIS have been seen as a support system for the firms' marketing
management with its decision making process; in addition, to the management perspective,
marketing information system can be an essential tool for the entire market organization. Kotler
and Keller defines the Marketing Information Systems as an interacting structure of people,
equipment and procedures to gather sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute, timely and accurate
information for use by marketing decision makers to improve their marketing planning,
implementation, and control". An efficient MIS captures the status of and the relevant changes in
the marketplace while simultaneously ridding the reporting environment of redundant
information.

MIS help in analyzing product features with customer data, evaluating channel and pricing
options, creating and testing promotion plans, gaining instant feedback on concepts and plans,
and moving marketing plans rapidly into production. Kotler and Keller (2012) model of a
Marketing Information System has four parts, which are Internal records, Marketing Intelligence,
Marketing Research, and Marketing Decision Support System (MDSS).
Internal records are the most used information in all the companies around the world such as
reports of orders, sales, prices, costs, inventory levels, receivables, payables and so on. When
28

analyzing these data the managers can spot the opportunities and threats facing the firm. Market
intelligence system is a set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain their everyday
information about pertinent developments in the marketing environment. Marketing intelligence
is viewed in its totality as a continuing and interacting structure of people, equipment, and
procedures to gather, sort, analyze and distribute pertinent, timely and accurate information for
use by marketing decision makers to improve their marketing planning, implementation and
control. Kotler (2006) defines marketing research as the systematic design, collection, analysis
and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.
According to Proctor (2005), the marketing research follows certain steps in the procedure to get
the desired and accurate results.
Marketing Decision Support System (MDSS) is a set of core applications in the MIS that
provides computer-based tools, models, and techniques to support the marketing decision
making process. In the general case, MDSS is optimized for queries of historical data. MDSS
data typically are derived from both internal and external market sources.
"Marketing information system technology is IT within the marketing information system (MIS).
The distinction is important as MIS do not have to contain any IT, they can be completely
manually based. In reality most MIS within financial institutions contain some IT, although the
sophistication varies greatly". However, when using the technology it will be easier to connect
all the departments together, at the same time there will be no redundant information. This will
lead to better decision making by the firms when faced by either day to day problems, or for a
certain problem. According to the above information, all the components of the MIS have a
relation with the decision making process. The research will concentrate on the use of the MIS
technology in the Think next technologies company in all the departments but specialized in
marketing department.

(II) Definition
Marketing Information System (MIS) was first seen by Cox and Good (1967) as a set of
procedures and methods for the regular planned analysis and presentation of information for use
in making marketing decisions. The purpose of the earliest marketing systems was to gather, sort,

29

analyze, evaluate and distribute pertinent, timely and accurate information for marketing
decision makers to improve their planning, implementation and control .
Cox (1979), defined MIS as a structured, interacting complex of persons, machines and
procedures designed to generate an orderly flow of pertinent information, collected from both
intra- and extra-firm sources, for use as the basis for decision making in specified responsibility
areas of marketing management.
"An MIS is an organized set of data that is analyzed through reports and statistical
routines and models on an ongoing basis. The data are transformed into information that
allows the marketing manager to make better decisions and perform better planning and
budgeting"(OBrien et al., 1995).
"An MIS is a computerized system that is designed to provide an organized flow of
information to enable and support the marketing activities of an organization", (Harmon,
2003).
All of these descriptions envisioned the MIS as an information processor, gathering data and
information from the marketing environment, processing that data and information, and
providing the results to marketing managers in the form of management information. The
managers would act on the information and make decisions that affect the environment as well as
the firm's operations (Li et al., 1993).

(III) Benefits and Importance of MKIS

One of the very first benefits that a company derives from the use of IT-based MKIS is
improvements in the reporting system. Information processing becomes faster and the
companys management is able to relate pertinent information from different sources within the
organization. Such information would be almost impossible to bring together in a meaningfully
and integrated fashion without the necessary IT infrastructure. The purpose of MIS applications
is to integrate inputs from various organizational functions into a holistic and meaningful map of
companys activities, depicting its interactions with suppliers, customers, and so on. As a result
30

of doing this in a timely fashion, decision making is enhanced by relying more on facts than gutfeeling and intuition. This is a major prerequisite for developing realistic and successful
marketing plans (McDonald and Payne, 2005), which in turn affects both the companys
marketing planning process and the outcome of this process. Such improvements in the
marketing planning effort have, among many other consequences, a positive direct effect on
marketing operations. As companies assimilate the IT-based MIS, they eventually become
capable of transforming marketing intelligence into concrete benefits for their customers, which
in turn allows them to improve their marketing operations. MKIS gives the management the
opportunity to make better decisions by providing a flow of information continuously, such as
prices, advertising expenditures, sales, competition, and distribution expenses.
MIS has been a tool for analyzing both internal and external effectiveness of marketing and for
controlling marketing activities and environment. MIS can be seen as a natural expansion of
traditional market research. From the planning point of view, analyzed data in MIS are used as a
basis for planning, but planning itself is done in other systems and often manually.
Implementation and control of these plans is then performed with the help of management and
operational MIS. The MIS can enable marketers to collaborate with customers on product
designs and requirements. MIS systems are designed to be comprehensive and flexible in nature
and to integrate with each other functionally. They are formal, forward looking and essential to
the organizations ability to create competitive advantage. The MIS is the firms window on the
world and, increasingly, it is the primary customer interface.
An MIS can support managers in their marketing decision due to the fact that MIS provide
integration between functional departments or divisions. MIS plays a major role in the
international marketing decisions support system. MIS involves data collection, data
management, data storing and retrieving, processing data into useful information, and
disseminating information to people inside the firm who need the information. An MIS organizes
the data that has been available to the firm in order for it to be available when needed. Most of
the companies have information processing specialists who are assigned for making standard
reports from the available data to help managers make better decisions."Intelligent Marketing
31

Information System has the potential to address some of the pressing concerns facing marketers
today. It could help in analyzing product features with customer data, evaluating channel and
pricing options, creating and testing promotion plans, gaining instant feedback on concepts and
plans, and moving marketing plans rapidly into production".
According to Harmon (2003), the primary benefits of the MKIS can be useful in the areas of
functional integration, market monitoring, strategy development, and strategy implementation.

Functional integration: The MIS enables the coordination of activities within the

marketing department and between marketing and other organizational functions.

Market Monitoring: Through the use of market research and marketing intelligence
activities the MIS can enable the identification of emerging market segments, and the
monitoring of the market environment for changes in consumer behavior, competitor

activities, new technologies, economic conditions and governmental policies.

Strategy Development. The MIS provides the information necessary to develop
marketing strategy. It supports strategy development for new products, product
positioning, marketing, pricing, personal selling, distribution, customer service and

partnerships and alliances.

Strategy Implementation. The MIS provides support for product launches, enables the
coordination of marketing strategies, and is an integral part of sales force automation
(SFA), customer relationship management (CRM), and customer service systems
implementations. The MIS enables decision makers to more effectively manage the sales
force as well as customer relationships.

There are three roles for the marketing information system according to Assael (1993), which are
data collection, analysis, and dissemination. The MIS must be able to collect relevant data from
different sources such as customers, competition, and government. At the mean time, the MIS
must be able to analyze the data, and disseminate the data to the management and the
departments in the firm.

(IV) The need of (MIS)

The reasons for the need of marketing information system can be summarized in the following
points: 32

Competitive pressures:
They require the Organizations to have the ability to compete, to produce, and to market
developed products more quickly than before. The steady increase in consumer expectations and
what they expect of products, in terms of its ability to satisfy their needs, and the consequences
of less serious or inaccurate decision taking due to the lack or inaccuracy of the information
upon which the decision will be built, and its impact on the organization's success and
sustainability.
The emergence of large markets:
the widespread production and distribution contributed to the emergence of large markets, and
their requirements of a large number of intermediaries between producers and final consumers,
these intermediaries become a barrier to the flow of data that can guide the development of
marketing decisions related to the consumers needs and desires, as a result the widening gap
between producers and final consumers reinforce the importance of marketing information
system in bridging this gap.
The information revolution:
Each organization has more than one source of information, but the problem lies in how to use
and manage this information, with the development of computers and other operating data
equipment, it has become quick and inexpensive for management to run and analyze vast
amounts of marketing data and provide information necessary for effective decisions.

(V) The concept of MIS is explained below:

A system that analyzes and assesses marketing information, gathered continuously from
sources inside and outside an organization and helps the decision makers to improve their
marketing, planning, implementation and control. The concept of marketing information
systems has been around for many years. Early systems were paper-based systems but,
with the emergence of computers with large storage capacities and later microcomputers
with similar features, marketing information systems have become more "electronic" in
nature. MIS (marketing information systems) can be classified under five headings

33

Planning systems - which provide information on sales, costs and competitive activity,
together with any kind of information which is needed to formulate plans.

Control systems - these provide continuous monitoring of marketing activities and

enable marketing executives to identify problems and opportunities in the marketplace.
At the same time, they permit a more detailed and comprehensive review of performance
against plans.

Marketing research systems - such systems allow executives to test decision rules and
cause/effect hypotheses. This permits the assessment of the effects of marketing actions
and encourages improved learning from experience.

Monitoring systems - these systems provide management with information concerning

the external environment in which they are operating.

Market measurement and sales forecasting.

Quantitative aspects of market research.

There are many different factors collected and analyzed by MIS, such as:

Production, distribution and delivery costs

Profit vs. costs (ROI)
Effectiveness of advertising/special offers/discounts
Target market penetration
Market share
Competitive information
Financial indicators
Demographic data
Other additional factors

(VI) Activities of (MIS)

The various activities of MKIS are:

34

1. Strategic planning: it is concerned with deciding the objectives, policies and resources of the
organization. This level of decision making predicts the future and the environment of the
organization.
2. Management and control: Such decisions are concerned with how efficiently and effectively
the resources are utilized and how well the operational units are performing.
3. Transaction processing: This includes sales order and quotations for product sales.
4. Operational control: Determining which units or individuals in the organizations will carry
out the task, establishing criteria of completion and resource utilization, evaluating outputs.

(VII) Functions of (MIS)

The various functions of marketing information system are as follows:1. The market identification function: - The determination of potential buyers and their
characteristics is vital in order to satisfy their needs and desires, while achieving organistional
objective in terms of profit or some other measure of corporate performance. This enables the
marketer to know:

Where the buyers are located

When do they buy
In what quantity do they buy

2. The purchase motivation function: An assessment of various social, economic and

psychological forces which influence the purchase behavior of the market is made.
3. The product adjustment function: This function includes all such activities which are
necessary to match the product/services offerings with the market.
4. The physical distribution function: The actual movement of goods from the points of
production to the points of consumption is considered in this function.
5. The communication function: This function includes decisions on advertising, personal
selling, sales promotion, publicity, packaging issues etc.
35

6. The transaction function: It includes all such activities which are needed to facilitate the
transfer of title of ownership of goods/services between the parties in a transaction.
7. The post transaction function: In this function, feedback about the performance of the
product/service is obtained from the customer, so that customer satisfaction can be ensured.
8. The organized data collection: Lots of data can be collected from the market. But the main
word here is organized. Organizing data is very important else the data is meaningless. Thus
MIS helps to organize database thereby improving productivity.

(VIII) Types of Marketing Information

A Marketing Information System supplies three types of information:
1. Recurrent Information: The data that MIS supplies which includes data such as sales,
Market Share, sales call reports, inventory levels, payables, and receivables. Which are made
available regularly? Information on customer awareness of companys brands, advertising
campaigns and similar data on close competitors can also be provided.
2. Monitoring Information: The data obtained from regular scanning of certain sources such as
trade journals and other publications. Here relevant data from external environment is captured
to monitor changes and trends related to marketing situation. Data about competitors can also be
part of this category
3. Problem related or customized information: Developed in response to some specific
requirement related to a marketing problem or any particular data requested by a manager.
Primary Data or Secondary Data (or both) are collected through survey Research in response to
specific need.

(IX) Factors helped in the spread of (MIS)

As seen of the benefits and importance of MIS, there are some reasons why MIS is widely
spread and used by the organizations. According to Alzabi (2010), there are five factors helped in
the spread of MIS:
1. Restrictions on the time allocated for the manager to make decisions and the speed needed to
make many decisions.
2. The diversity and complexity of marketing activities and its increase in depth.
36

3. Information revolution and stunning development in information technology and computers.

4. The growing discontent of consumers due to the lack of adequate knowledge of management
of their expectations needs and desires.

(X) Designing MIS

Companies must design effective marketing information systems that give managers the right
information, in the right form, at the right time to help them make better marketing decisions
(Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). There is no one MIS that is suitable for all companies, that is the
reason why the companies design their system on a way that will best fit the needs. There are
some factors that have to be taken in consideration when building the MIS. These factors are
1. How to reach and get the needed data?
2. A continuous flow of information, and input it in the system in a timely fashion.
3. The ability to provide the reports to the management in a way that will help in the decision
making process.
4. The system must be flexible, which means that the system will be able to have some
modifications whenever needed.
5. The system designer should be one of the decision makers in the firm.
Modern marketing organizations, with their focus on the Internet, exhibit different characteristics
than their old economy brethren. They create and manage the customer interface where
interactions are more virtual than face-to- face. They leverage IT technology to integrate and
coordinate with customers and business partners to rapidly achieve measurable business results.
The emphasis is given on the rapid conversion of knowledge into customer value which depends
on the ability to develop, deploy, and manage powerful new marketing information systems
(MIS). The key to competitive advantage depends on the firms ability to convert knowledge into
customer relationships reduced time to market and lower costs.

37

1.2 MIS Models

Kotler (2012) defines the Marketing Information Systems as an interacting structure of people,
equipment and procedures to gather sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute, timely and accurate
information for use by marketing decision makers to improve their marketing planning,
implementation, and control" .

I. Kotler model for MIS

38

(Perreault and McCarthy, 2003), "A Marketing Information System is an organized way of
continually gathering and analyzing data to provide marketing managers with information they
need to make decisions. Perreault and McCarthy added that in some of the companies an MIS is
setup by the marketing managers, where in other companies the system is setup by a group that
provides information to every department inside the firm.

II. McCarthey and Perreault (1993) specified the elements of the MIS to be as
shown below:-

39

Pride and Ferrell (1987), defined MkIS as "the framework for the day-to-day managing and
structuring of information gathered regularly form sources both inside and outside an
organization".

III. Albaum and Duerr MIS model

40

All the above models include collecting information and analyzing the data. Kotlers MIS model
will be used in this research. To survive in highly competitive companies need to be able to
develop the marketing function and scale it up on Internet time with best-of-class decision
support solutions for customer relationship management, sales force automation, market
research, marketing communications, logistics, and product development. The purpose of this
paper is to provide an overview of the MIS as it is evolving into an Internet-based system.

1.3 FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS (MIS)

41

I. As shown in Figure, a MKIS consists of four major components:

(1) User interfaces
(2) Applications software
(3) Databases
(4) Systems support.
1. User Interfaces.
The essential element of the MKIS is the managers who will use the system and the interfaces
they need to effectively analyze and use marketing information. The design of the system will
depend on what type of decisions managers need to make.

User interfaces
Application software

Marketing
Databases

System support

(MKIS)

functional components

42

2. Applications Software.
These are the programs that marketing decision makers use to collect, analyze, and manage data
for the purpose of developing the information necessary for marketing decisions. Examples
include the marketing decisions support software (MDSS) and customer management software
for on-line sales and customer service.
3. Marketing Databases.
A marketing database is a system in which marketing data files are organized d stored. Data may
be collected from internal and external sources. Internal sources largely result from transactions.
They provide data from e-commerce sites, sales results, shipping data, inventories, and product
profitability. External sources include market research, competitor intelligence, credit bureaus,
and financial institutions. Data can be organized in a flat file (Text file with one data record per
line) or a relational database (Data is stored in tabular form where each row represents one entity
and each column represents one characteristic of that entity).
4. System Support.
This component consists of system managers who manage and maintain the systems assets
including software and hardware network, monitor its activities and ensure compliance with
organizational policies. This function may also include a help desk for system users.

II. System components of MIS

Technology
The new technology is surrounding us in all aspects of life nowadays. The computers are one
major technological innovation that is helping most of the people. The people use it to
communicate, the students use them to learn and the firms use them to store and analyze
information. The technology has changed over the years and will continue to change.
Information technology is a term that generally covers the harnessing of electronic technology
for the information needs of a business at all levels.

43

Development of Computing Technology

The electronic are modern invention, although their manual predecessors go back to several
centuries, where Pascal and Leibnitz developed the first calculating machine in the seventeenth
century (Curtis and Cobham, 2005). Curtis and Cobham (2005) added that the first generation of
the electronic computer was built in the 1940s, the second generation was built in the 1960s
using the solid transistors, the third generation was the minicomputers, and the fourth generation
is the microchip generation. There are many tools that managers use to cope with the change;
Information technology is one of these tools. Any computer-based information system includes
hardware, software, networks, telecommunications and data. On the other hand, others divided
the technological part into either hardware or software.

III. Information Technology components

Hardware
44

"Hardware refers to the physical components within a computer system

(Boddy et al.2005). Laudon and Laudon (2010) defined hardware as the physical equipment used
to inputting the data and outputting the results. They also added that the hardware consists of
input, output, and storage devices; computer processing unit, and the media to link the devices
together. At the same time, Haag and Cummings (2010) simply defined hardware as the physical
devices that form the compute. The hardware consists of the following devices:

Input Devices: Any tool used to enter information or command.

Output Devices: Any tool that recognizes the results of the process.
Storage Devices: Tools used to store information for later use.
Central Processing Unit: Control the computer system and manipulates data.

Communication Devices: Link computer with computer networks.

Management issues regarding hardware

The management issues regarding hardware to four main points:
1. Whether to use the latest hardware.
2. Which applications will have the greatest effect on productivity?
3. Whether to provide the mobile staff with personal computers.
4. Whether to invest directly in computer systems, or by the service.

Software
"Software is a set of instructions written in a specialized language that controls the operation of
the computer." The software is detailed programmed instructions that control and coordinate the
computer hardware components in an information system. Curtis and Cobham (2005) defined
software as "the general term for instructions that control the operation of the computer". The
software is divided into two main groups :
1. System Software: Programs that manage the resources of the computer, and handles tasks
specific to technology management.
2. Application Software: Software that enables the user to perform specific tasks, and solve
certain problems.
Management issues regarding software
45

Whether to buy software off-the-shelf or having a custom made software

How fully to involve users in such decisions.
Should the departments use common software or custom made software for their needs?

The technology helps in using the data much more effectively than analyzing the data manually.
The technology made easier for the users to communicate and use the available data in every
department in the firm. In addition, with the high storing capacity available the firm will be able
to design data warehouse that can store information about customers, vendors, and activities.

Internal Records
Marketing managers rely on internal reports of orders, sales, prices, costs, inventory levels,
receivables, payables, and so on. By analyzing this information they can spot important
opportunities and problems". Most marketing information systems rely heavily on internal
records and data. Firms around the globe build extensive internal databases, which are defined as
"the electronic collections of information obtained from data sources within the company. This
information is useful for the marketing manager to identify the marketing opportunities and
problems, evaluate performance, and plan programs. Many companies build extensive internal
data base, electronic collections of consumers and market information obtained from data source
within the company network. Marketing managers can readily access and work with information
in the data base to identify marketing opportunities and problems, plan programs, and evaluate
performance. Internal data bases usually can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other
information sources. The internal records are data generated from company transactions which
are processed in a systematic manner that can be linked to management decisions on marketing
mix changes.

IV. Use of Internal Records

46

Information gathered from sources within the company to evaluate marketing performances and
to detect marketing problems and opportunities. Most marketing managers use internal records
and reports regularly, especially for making day-to-day planning, implementation and control
decisions. Internal records information consists of information gathered from sources within the
company to evaluate marketing performance and to detect marketing problems and
opportunities.
An organization usually begins by gathering data about its own internal operations, and plans. If
the proper transaction processing systems and corporate data bases have been put into place, this
data should be readily available to support planning and control activities.
Internal data are also used to compare actual results to plans and, through this monitoring, allow
managers to initiate appropriate action. How do actual sales compare to the sales forecast? How
does actual production compare to the schedule? Companies build up extensive internal
databases: computerized collection of information obtained from data sources from the company.
Marketing managers rely on internal reports on orders, sales, prices, costs, inventory levels,
receivables and payables to identify marketing opportunities and problem and to evaluate
performance.

V. Purpose of Internal Records

Internal records are used by all the firms to store and retrieve the information needed for decision
making. In addition, there are other purposes for having a database inside the firm, some of those
purposes are:

Customer Satisfaction
Creative and effective marketing strategy
Integrated marketing strategy
Realities of the organization
Strength and weaknesses
Competitive advantage

VI. Internal Data Elements

47

The data inside the company can be gathered from many different sources. All the transactions
and customers are part of this data. The data can be gathered from:

Accounting data
Sales: planned vs. actual
Costs and expenses

Profits and returns

Marketing data
Target market(s)
Marketing mix
Marketing activities
Employee data
Salespersons
Customer service representatives
Other marketing staff

Stakeholder data
Suppliers (current and ex-)
Intermediaries (current and ex-)

VII. The order to payment cycle

The order to payment cycle is considered as the heart of the internal record system. The firm
receives orders from sales representatives, dealers, and customers. Those orders have to be
managed as quick and accurate as possible. Many firms use the Internet and extranets to improve
the speed accuracy and efficiency of the order to payment cycle. The sales department prepares
invoices, while the accounting department keeps records of sales, costs and cash flows,
manufacturing reports on production schedules, shipments and inventories. The customer service
department keeps records of consumer satisfaction or service problems. Moreover, the shipped
items generate shipping and billing documents those have to be transmitted to various
departments. In this way, sales representatives provide immediate feedback on sales and
marketing managers have access to up-to-the-minute reports on current sales and reseller
reaction. However, although internal data bases can be accessed cheaply and quickly, they also
present problems. They can be incomplete, and tend to age quickly. On their own, they don't
provide enough information.

48

VIII. Database Marketing

The companies organize their information into customer, product and salesperson databases, and
then combine their data. The decision makers in the firms should receive these data in a timely
fashion in-order to make better decisions. The analysts can combine the data to get information
about neglected customer segments, recent customers, and other useful information. The new
technology made easier for the firms to keep track of millions of customers, and millions of
transactions easily and more efficient (Farese et al., 2003). A marketing database, therefore, can
be described as a collection of data, such as customers' names, addresses and purchases, which
provides marketers with information that enables them to make better decisions in working
toward accomplishing the companys objectives .
All database marketing starts with customer information that is organized into a single,
retrievable marketing database. The database is usually compiled from internal sources such as
orders, catalog inquiries, e-mail requests for information, trade show leads, warranty cards, and
other promotional efforts. Database marketing takes advantage of information in the marketing
database to develop and implement action plans to enhance marketing results.

IX. Benefits of database marketing

Database marketing can vastly improve the economics of the marketing process through
targeting the right message to the appropriate audience. There are four primary reasons to begin
implementing database marketing:
1. Improve profitability: Database marketing can target marketing efforts and allocate
resources, which will help in improving the efficiency and increasing the profit margin.
2. Increase sales: Database marketing goal is to take advantage of new market opportunities,
and reduce waste and unprofitable segments.
3. Improve communications: Keeps record of all communications with customers to be able to
use the information for better development.
4. Improve product development: With a customer database, the firm should talk to these
customers to determine why they may not purchase the product.
There are even more reasons why the company should have database marketing, some of them
might be:
49

 Evaluate sales territory.

Identify most profitable and least profitable customers.
Identify most profitable market segments and target efforts with greater efficiency and
effectiveness.

1.4 MARKETING INTELLIGENCE

I. Introduction
As they manage their businesses and compete in a global market, decision makers face many
questions every day. Is the business healthy? Who are my best customers? What supplier should
50

I choose? Where are we quarter-to-date? Do we deliver products consistently on time? Do we

have the right mix of people? Effectively managing the performance of the business means
knowing what questions to ask and having the facts readily at hand to answer them. This is what
business intelligence (BI) delivers. BI, at its core, is the ability to access data from multiple
sources within an enterprise and deliver it to business users for analysis.
Business intelligence tools and systems play a key role in the strategic planning process of a
firm. These systems allow the firm to gather, store, access, and analyze corporate data to aid in
decision making.
Business Intelligence

Accounting Intelligence
Marketing Intelligence
Management Intelligence
Financial Intelligence

II. Marketing Intelligence Definitions

According to American Marketing Association, marketing is defined as the activity, set of
institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings
that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The marketing concept does
not focus on one aspect of marketing, but recognizes the roles of non-marketers in the marketing
process such as customers, vendors, or external agencies who regulate marketing. While
marketing centers around satisfying customer needs, an organization would often face the
requirement of obtaining information on customer needs. Marketing intelligence helps
organizations in this process and revolves around gathering customer level information that
would assist in business decision making and policy analysis.
Competitive intelligence provides knowledge of competitors, their marketing strategies,
objectives, research activity, their strengths and weaknesses and other information.
Organizations are increasingly seeking to better understand how they can leverage their value
propositions in the marketplace. It is generally a new research area at international level, several
studies has being concentrated in US firms. Although the needs for competitive intelligence in
organizations are growing and decision makers are starting to recognize the role an importance
of competitive intelligence.
51

III. What Is Marketing Intelligence?

Market intelligence (MI) is "the process of acquiring and analyzing information in order to
understand the market (both existing and potential customers); to determine the current and
future needs and preferences, attitudes and behavior of the market; and to assess changes in the
business environment that may affect the size and nature of the market in future." Market
intelligence system is a set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain their everyday
information about pertinent developments in the marketing environment.
Marketing Intelligence has the capacity to be at the forefront in contributing to the development
of a business environment through strategic research, risk and policy analysis, credit-rating
documentation, storage, publication, reporting, and communication of reliable, timely, and
objective business information. It incorporates information from customer analysis and industry
analysis as well as general market conditions. Marketing intelligence calls for understanding,
analyzing and assessing the internal and external environment related to a companys customers,
competitors, markets, and industry to enhance the decision-making process. This would require
the integration of competitive intelligence, marketing research, market analysis, and business and
financial analysis information. Marketing intelligence is viewed in its totality as a continuing and
interacting structure of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze and distribute
pertinent, timely and accurate information for use by marketing decision makers to improve their
marketing planning, implementation and control.

Components of Marketing Intelligence

Marketing managers collect marketing intelligence using too many different ways. They can
collect intelligence by reading books, newspapers, and trade publications. In addition, the
managers might talk to customers, distributers and suppliers to collect intelligence. Some
managers go even further to collect the intelligence; they meet with other companys managers.

Need for Marketing Intelligence

52

Marketing research plays a critical part in a marketing intelligence system. It aids in improving
management decision making by providing relevant, accurate, and timely information. The
fundamental purpose of marketing intelligence is to help marketing managers make decisions
they face each day in their various areas of responsibility, including pricing.
Market intelligence serves four primary purposes these are:
1. Competitors' assessment and tracking.
2. Early warnings of opportunities and threats.
3. Support for strategic planning and implementation.
4. Support of strategic decision-making.
The need for marketing intelligence will increase over the years, because all the firm are in a
great need of all kind of information that will help in maintaining a good position among the
competitors. Global marketing is playing a major role in the big size businesses around the
world, which will make the demand for the intelligence even more.

Benefits of embracing market intelligence

The benefits of embracing market intelligence are:
Clarity regarding the competition
Deliver the value that customers seek
The ability to:
Articulate institution qualities succinctly
Change perceptions
Update or modify market empathy and understanding
Provide the in-depth picture
Differentiate your offer
Create your own market space
Enable a true 3D vision of the organization
Improving Marketing Intelligence
There are eight steps to improve the quality and quantity of marketing intelligence. First, train
and motivate the sales force to spot and report new developments; because they are the
53

companys eyes and ears, they are in an excellent position to pick up information missed by
other means. Second, motivate distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries to pass along
important intelligence; because they are closer to the customer and the competitor. Third, hire
external experts to collect intelligence; this can be done by sending shoppers to the company's
stores to find out how the employees deal with the customers. Fourth, network internally and
externally; where the firm collects the information by attending open house and trade shows, red
competitors' published reports, and collect competitors' ads. Fifth, set up a customer advisory
panel; where the members might include most spoken, most sophisticated, and most
representative customers. Sixth, take advantage of government-related data sources. Seventh,
Purchase information from outside research firms and vendors and finally, collecting marketing
Intelligence on the Internet.

IV. Information Process of Marketing Intelligence

A continuous flow of information is the lifeblood of a good market intelligence system information about new technologies, markets, customers, the economic and regulatory
environment etc. Both formal (routine reporting, factual) and informal information (gossip,
opinions) must be tapped.
Information Management Process
With many professionals having external information delivered to their desktops, from online
services such as Reuters or MAID, and increasingly from the Internet is easy to believe that users
have all the information they need on tap. However, this is raw information and will need
transforming into intelligence. Before that, however, this information must be classified, stored
and made accessible - applying good practice principles of Information Resources Management
(IRM).

Intelligence Development Processes

54

A good intelligence system is more than information. It is a recurring cycle of linking the needs
of decision makers to the processes of turning information into actionable intelligence. Think
next technologies have very active marketing intelligence system at their all branches throughout
their country

This requires human interpretation, communicating and sharing of information and perspectives
between internal and external experts.
Computer Systems
A comprehensive MIS will combine many of the features of decision support systems, EIS,
online databases and library systems. It is therefore likely to include many of the following:

For gathering information: CD-ROMs, online data-base access, data feeds, email,
Internet access, filters, intelligent agents etc.

For storage and retrieval: Database/document management facilities, text retrieval,

search engines, intelligent agents

For processing and analysis: modeling and visualization software, groupware, group
decision support systems (GDSS)

55

Organizational Focus
Although many professionals do much of their own information gathering and analysis, there
still needs to be a clear focal point of MIS responsibility. This may be a named individual or a
small group who have the distinctive skills needed (such as those promulgated by SCIP - the
Society for Competitor Intelligence Professionals). Its role is to ensure a cohesive approach
and effective interdepartmental co-ordination.

1.5 MARKET RESEARCH

I. Introduction
The information is really needed by the decision makers to make better decisions. However, the
information needed to solve a certain problem might not be suitable for another situation.
Marketing research is responsible for gathering the information needed for a certain situation or
56

a given problem. Most of the firms nowadays have a special marketing research department, and
the budget for the department might be considered very high compared to other departments.
Some firms do not have a marketing research department, but they rely on outside marketing
research firms.

II. Definition
Marketing research is the systematic and objective search for, and analysis of, information
relevant to the identification and solution of any problem relevant to the firm's marketing activity
and marketing decision makers". Marketing research is a process of gathering information
needed for a given situation regarding the firm (Pride and Ferrell, 1987). Marketing research is
designing, collecting, and reporting of data and findings regarding a specific marketing situation
facing the company. Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of
data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services. Marketing research is the
function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through informationinformation used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; to generate,
refine, and evaluate marketing actions; to monitor marketing performance; and to improve
understanding of the marketing process.
Looking at all the definitions above, they all conclude that marketing research is a systematic
way of gathering and analyzing the information needed by the managers for a given situation in
order to help in the decision making process.

III. Marketing Research Firms

There are firms that specialize in marketing research. Kotler and Keller (2009) divided
marketing research firms into three categories:
1. Syndicated-service research firms: These firms are specialized for gathering information
about consumers and trade information and then sell the information to the firms.
2. Custom marketing research firms: The companies hire these firms for special and specific
projects.
57

3. Specialty-line marketing research firms: These firms provide specialized projects, such as
selling field interviewing services to other firms.

IV. Types of Marketing Research

The market research can be divided into three types:
1. Exploratory research: Marketing research to gather preliminary information that will help
define problems and suggest hypotheses.
2. Descriptive research: Marketing research to better describe marketing problems, situations,
or markets, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of
consumers who buy the product.
3. Causal research: Marketing research to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships.

V. Marketing Research Process:

The marketing research process consists of five steps according to Pride and Ferrell (1987).
Those steps are shown in the figure given below.

Pride and Ferrell Marketing Research Process

Kotler and Keller (2009) have a similar model for the research process: however, they have
added a six step which is making the decision. The model is shown in figure below.

Kotler Marketing Research Process

58

As seen in the above figures, the marketing research process follows the same steps according to
different authors. To be able to understand the process, each step would have to be analyzed.

Step 1: Defining the problem

The first and hardest step in the marketing research process is the first process. The process of
formulating the problem has been assumed to be a subjective and creative process.

The

managers might know that there is something wrong, without knowing exact and specific cause
of it. The managers have to be very careful not to be too broad or too narrow when defining the
problem. The problem has to be defined in a way where it reflects a specific need from the
market research; however, not all the problems can be very specific. The marketing manager and
the researcher must work closely together to define the problem carefully and agree on the
research objectives. The managers best understands the decision for which information is
needed; the researcher best understands marketing research and how to obtain the information.
After defining the problem carefully, the research objective must be set. The objectives of the
marketing research can be divided into three types:
1. Exploratory research
2. Descriptive research
3. Causal research

Step 2: Developing the plan

This stage of marketing research is where the development of the most efficient plan for
gathering the needed information for the research and the cost of the research. However, in the
first model the second stage is developing hypotheses where the objective statement of the
marketing research should include the hypotheses which are drawn from previous studies or
expected research findings (Pride and Ferrell, 1987). The research plan outlines sources of
existing data and spells out the specific research approaches, contact methods, sampling plans,
and instruments the researchers will use to gather new data.

Step 3: Collecting the needed information

The research design must be able to specify what types of data to collect and how they will be
collected (Pride and Ferrell, 2003). The collection of the needed data for the research relies on
59

two kinds of data which are primary data and secondary data. The primary data consists of
information gathered for the specific purpose of the research; however, the secondary data
consist of information that has been collected elsewhere for or for another purpose . The
researchers can use both primary and secondary data.
Data sources

The researchers always start by gathering secondary data, where the companys internal database
is a very good start. The companies also buy secondary data from outside sources, or they can
use the internet to collect the data.

Step 4: Analyzing the information

After collecting data, the marketers need to interpret the findings of the research. Moreover, the
interpretation of the findings will be easier if the data analysis methods have been planned
carefully by the marketers earlier in the research process (Pride and Ferrell, 2003). Kotler and
Keller (2010) intended, the next step after collecting the data is extracting the findings by
tabulating the data and developing frequency distributions. The researcher now compute
averages and measures of dispersion for the major variables and apply some advanced statistical
techniques and decision models in the hope of discovering additional findings.

Step 5: Reporting the findings

The last step in the research process is reporting the research findings. However, the researcher
must take a clear, objective look at the findings to make sure that the research findings answer
the research questions. The researcher must be able to present findings those are relevant to the
major marketing decisions. The researcher has to play a more proactive role in translating data
and information into insights and recommendations. The researcher have to make sure not to
60

overwhelm the management with fancy statistical techniques and undefined numbers; however,
the presented findings should be useful in the decision making process for the management.

VI. Marketing Research Outcomes:

The first step of marketing research is defining the problem, that is the reason why marketing
research plays a major role in the decision making process. For all the firms around the world,
there are reasons for making a research; however, there are reasons that can be shared for most of
them. Marketing research can be used by the firms to uncover new uses of the existing products
by the customers. Cox (1979) also added that another use for marketing research is to improve
the operations for existing products. Marketing research is essential in providing marketing
managers information to identify marketing opportunities and to develop strategies to benefit
from these opportunities. The first role of marketing research is providing the informational base
to introduce new products, the second role the research can uncover opportunities for existing
products. The improvements in a marketers ability to make better decisions for the firm are the
measurement for the success of the marketing research that the firm conducts. The function of
marketing research in the companies those market their goods abroad is to provide the necessary
information for effective planning of future foreign market marketing activity, control of
international market operations, and evaluation of the results. Marketing research specifies the
information needed to address marketing issues, designs the method for collecting information,
manages and implements the data-collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the
findings and their implications.
There is a strong relationship between marketing research and the marketing management. For
the marketing research to fulfill its role, the information gathered by the marketing research
should be passed to the marketing management to help in the decision making process.

VII. Marketing Research Risks

When conducting marketing research there are some risks that the firm must be aware of. First,
making the wrong assumption about the research needed: second, conducting the wrong kind of
research; third, misinterpreting the data after finishing the research.
61

1.6 MARKETING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (MDSS)

I. Introduction
As the marketing environment becomes more complex and competitive the need for tools to
assist the marketing decision maker could not be greater. DSS can be used to improve the quality
and timeliness of marketing decisions by improving the effectiveness of decision making.
Decision support systems are interactive, computer-based systems that aid users in judgment and
choice activities. They provide data storage and retrieval but enhance the traditional information
access and retrieval 46 functions with support for model building and model-based reasoning.
They support framing, modeling, and problem solving. Typical application areas of DSSs are
management and planning in business, health care, the military, and any area in which
management will encounter complex decision situations. Decision support systems are typically
used for strategic and tactical decisions faced by upper-level management decisions with a
reasonably low frequency and high potential consequences in which the time taken for thinking
through and modeling the problem pays of generously in the long run.
Decision support systems are gaining an increased popularity in various domains, including
business, engineering, the military, and medicine. They are especially valuable in situations in
which the amount of available information is prohibitive for the intuition of an unaided human
decision maker and in which precision and optimality are of importance. Decision support
systems can aid human cognitive deficiencies by integrating various sources of information,
providing intelligent access to relevant knowledge, and aiding the process of structuring
decisions. They can also support choice among well-defined alternatives and build on formal
approaches, such as the methods of engineering economics, operations research, statistics, and
decision theory in addition to employing artificial intelligence. Proper application of decisionmaking tools increases productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness and gives many businesses a
comparative advantage over their competitors, allowing them to make optimal choices for
technological processes and their parameters, planning business operations, logistics, or
investments.

II. MDSS Definitions

62

The concepts involved in DSS were first expressed in the early 1970s by Scott Morton under the
term management decision systems. He defined the system as interactive computer-based
systems, which help decision makers utilize data and models to solve unstructured problems
(Cassie, 1997). The concept of a Decision Support System DSS is extremely broad and its
definitions may vary according to the point of view of the author. A decision support system
(DSS) is an interactive computer system that is easily accessible to, and operated by noncomputer specialists to assist them in planning and decision-making functions.
A decision support system (DSS) is "a computer-based information system that supports business
or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and
planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing
and not easily specified in advance".
A marketing decision support system is "a decision support system for marketing activity. It
consists of information technology, marketing data and modeling capabilities that enable the
system to provide predicted outcomes from different scenarios and marketing strategies, so
answering "what if?" questions.

III. DSS Overview

No matter what kind of information is available and where it has come from. All the available
information must be analyzed and reported to the management to help in the decision making
process. MDSS help decision-makers utilize data and models to solve unstructured problems
based on management science, decision theory, systems science, behavioral science, computer
science, and information technology. They are used to improve the quality and timeliness of
marketing decisions by improving the effectiveness of decision- making. They focus on
supporting, rather than replacing, managerial judgment, and ultimately, it is the harmony created
between the strategic analysis of the system and the intuition of the manager that helps achieves
a synergy during the decision-making process.
63

IV. Components of DSS

Model Management: The models create new information that decision makers need to plan
product lines and inventory levels. The model management consists of both the DSS models and
the DSS model management.
Data Management: Data management components performs the function of storing and
maintaining the information that you want your DSS to use.". Both DSS information and DSS
database management system form the data management.
User Interface: The user interface management component allows the communication with the
DSS. It consists of the user interface and the user interface management system.

Components of DSS

64

MDSS consist of the same essential set of componentsthe same identifiable generic
architecturethat characterizes virtually any DSS. These components include the user-system
interface subsystem, the database management subsystem, and the model base management
subsystem.

V. DSS Taxonomies
Beginning in about 1980 many activities associated with building and studying DSS occurred in
universities and organizations that resulted in expanding the scope of DSS applications. These
actions also expanded the field of decision support systems beyond the initial business and
management application domain. These diverse systems were all called Decision Support
Systems. From those early days, it was recognized that DSS could be designed to support
decision-makers at any level in an organization. Also, DSS could support operations decision
making, financial management and strategic decision-making. Power (2007) differentiates

65

communication-driven DSS, data-driven DSS, document-driven DSS, knowledge driven DSS,

and model-driven DSS.
1. Model-Driven DSS: A model-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of
financial, optimization and/or simulation models. Simple quantitative models provide the most
elementary level of functionality. Model-driven DSS use limited data and parameters provided
by decision makers to aid decision makers in analyzing a situation, but in general large data
bases are not needed for model-driven DSS.
2. Data-Driven DSS: a data-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a time-series
of internal company data and sometimes external and real-time data. Simple file systems
accessed by query and retrieval tools provide the most elementary level of functionality. Data
warehouse systems that allow the manipulation of data by computerized tools tailored to a
specific task and setting or by more general tools and operators provide additional functionality.
3.

Communication-Driven

DSS:

Communications-driven

DSS

use

network

and

communications technologies to facilitate decision-relevant collaboration and communication. In

these systems, communication technologies are the dominant architectural component. Tools
used include groupware, video conferencing and computer-based bulletin boards (Power, 2007).
4. Document-Driven DSS: A document-driven DSS uses computer storage and processing
technologies to provide document retrieval and analysis. Large document databases may include
scanned documents, hypertext documents, images, sounds and video. A search engine is a
primary decision-aiding tool associated with a document-driven DSS.

VI. Characteristics of DSS

There are too many different definitions to the term DSS; however, they all come to the same
conclusion and having the same characteristics.

DSS Characteristics
66

The decision maker has to get immediate answers for the questions regarding the semi or
unstructured decisions.ss Most of the semi-structured decisions are possible if the decision
maker has immediate access to ad hoc data retrieval and report-generation facilities. DSS are
flexible, so users can add, delete, combine, change, or rearrange basic elements providing fast
response to unexpected situations. This capability makes possible timely and quick ad hoc
analyses.
DSS is adaptive over time. The decision maker should be reactive, being able to confront
changing conditions quickly and adapt the DSS to meet these changes. DSS supports a variety of
decision making processes and styles: there is a fit between the DSS and the attributes of the
individual decision. In addition, the decision maker has complete control over all steps of the
decision making process. A DSS aims to support and not replace the decision maker. The
decision maker can override the DSS recommendations.
67

VII. The benefits of MDSS

DSS was traditionally aimed at managers to assist in high-level decision-making. The application
is much wider and has been applied across the spectrum of business and industry. Any given
DSS can be tailored to provide features across a spectrum of users, firstly to ensure the system is
accessible at the right level for different audiences and secondly to provide only the information
appropriate for confidentiality and security purposes. Marketing problems are characterized by
specific issues such as the behavioral phenomena, the complexity of the problems and the
uncertainty of the environment which can be addressed by DSS characteristics identified by
Turban (Cassie, 1997). Cassie (1997) added "marketing is much more involved in behavioral
phenomena cultural, social and psychological than other functional areas of business".
Marketing problems such as forecasting, launching a new product and marketing planning, are
subject to many variables and tend to be complex.
According to Cassie (1997):
DSS provides support to several interdependent and/or sequential decisions.
Advanced DSS are equipped with a knowledge component that enables the efficient and
effective solution of very difficult problems.
A DSS usually utilizes models for analyzing decision situations. The modeling capability
enables experimenting with different strategies under different configurations. Such

experiments can provide new insights and learning.

DSS assist in solving a semi-structured problem and improved the performance of the

decision maker.
The ability to look forward, rather than simply assessing the past. Historical data can be
used as a basis for problem solving, and frequently is, but future influences and

occurrences must be taken into account.

The MDSS is without doubt a tool that increases the effectiveness of decision making
within the marketing environment.

VIII. Limitations of MDSS

68

MDSS can provide excellent decision support to marketing managers, it is quite apparent that
the full potential of MDSS has yet to be reached. In fact, researchers and marketing practitioners
alike have found that MDSS frequently fall short of their promise and that users often become
dissatisfied with the results (Li and Davies, 2001).
Although marketing is often viewed as one of the lifeblood activities of an organization, it has
been one of the last and least successful to benefit from the DSS revolution. In other words, the
MDSS is less evolved than those DSS used to support decision- making in other functions.
While current marketing decision support systems offer tremendous assistance for data retrieval
and analysis, less support is available for the decision support itself . MDSS currently rely on
limited quantitative models, and they are therefore not as good at handling missing data or
situations requiring expertise . This shortcoming can be addressed somewhat, however, by
combining basic MDSS models with the advanced intelligence technology. Researchers have
also frequently found that MDSS developers tend to pay more attention to technological aspects
rather than the nature of the strategic marketing decisions and managerial needs. Fortunately,
involving decision-makers more throughout the development process can reduce this problem.
Perhaps the biggest and most expensive shortcoming an MDSS can have is that it is not used. On
the other hand, an accepted MDSS that caters to the needs of its users is more likely to be
applied in all stages of the decision- making process, and it can thus lead to improved marketing
decisions. This is true, in spite of the limitations that currently exist in the MDSS realm.

IX. Relationship between DSS and MIS

DSS is an outgrowth of the MIS, there are basic similarities between them. They are both
computer-based and designed to supply information to marketing managers (Stoner and
Freeman, 1992). However, there are some important advantages to a DSS. First of all, a DSS is
geared to information manipulation and not essentially to data.
A DSS is operated directly by its users; when they need access to information, they can
immediately consult their own on-line system without having to wait days or week for result
from the MIS department. Once manager call up the required data through a DSS, they can
manipulate it directly, asking questions and reformatting the data to meet their specific needs
69

without having to explain what they want to the MIS staff. Managers can thus be certain that
they will get the information they need when they need it. In addition, direct manipulation of
data has the advantage of greater security for sensitive information. MIS emphasizes standard,
periodical reports and cannot respond well to non-routine, unstructured, or ad hoc situation. MIS
departments may be unfamiliar with the decisions made in such situations; because they often
have a tremendous backlog of requests for data they may be unable to respond quickly to
additional special requests. DSS helps marketing managers make non-routine decisions in
unstructured situations. Most previous work has focused on incorporating the latest techniques
and technologies, often giving much less attention to whether these support systems are actually
compatible with managers' needs; there has been little consideration of how to take advantage of
managers' strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Previous research has paid very little
attention to the importance of managers' judgment, and how to couple it with strategic analysis.
Each specific technique or technology employed has its own particular strengths and weaknesses
that make it suitable for some situations and not effective for others. A single support technique
often fails precisely to fit the decision-making parameters, and to meet the wide range of
information, modeling and conceptual needs of marketing strategy formulation. Any particular
strategic analysis model used has its own advantages and limitations. A single strategic analysis
model is sometimes difficult to adapt to specific circumstances, and can only illuminate part of
the strategic landscape. No one tool on its own is adequate in dealing with the complexity of
marketing.
Although marketing strategy development involves a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity,
previous support systems seem to have done very little in helping managers deal with uncertainty
in developing marketing strategy.

The four principal factors contributing to managers' dissatisfaction are:

1) Individual systems currently used are limited in support capabilities.
70

2) Systems used cannot couple strategic analysis with managers' judgment.

3) Particular strategy analysis models employed are limited in scope.
4) The systems used cannot cope with uncertainty.
In addition, respondents reported that the main factor holding companies back from using or
making greater use of computer based systems in support of marketing strategy development is
the lack of appropriate computer-based support systems. The survey also revealed that the
computer-based support that marketing directors need most are:
1. Appropriate support systems;
2. Strategic analysis tools and models;
3. Relevant strategic information analysis and interpretation; and
4. Strategic analysis knowledge and skills assistance.
Having identified managers' needs for computer- based support in developing marketing strategy
and the gaps between those needs and the current provision of computer-based systems, it should
be possible to develop the computer-based systems needed to satisfy managers' perceived needs
for support and to fill the existing gaps.
New roles for computer-based systems are proposed as the following:

Provide and interpret strategic information for the process of developing strategy.
Provide strategic analysis assistance and organized methods of strategy development to

guide the strategy formulation process.

Offer domain expert knowledge at key aspects of key stages of strategy formulation.
Make recommendations for managers in selecting marketing strategy.
Help managers cope with uncertainty and ambiguity in the process of developing
marketing strategy.

Help managers understand marketing strategy factors and how they interact. Provide
mechanisms to couple systematic analysis with managers' judgment

Help strategic thinking.

Help scrutinize the proposed strategies against unintended biases.

According to Etzel, Walker, and Stanton (2007):

MIS and DSS both rely on a wide variety of data.

71

They are both able to analyze data.

Unlike MIS, a manager using DSS can interact directly with data to produce customized

reports.
A DSS complements instead of replaces MIS by adding speed and flexibility to the

research process.
DSS has cost as a major drawback, which currently limits its use to large firms.

1.7 DECISION MAKING

I. Introduction:
Is the Problem really the problem? Problems are often the symptom and not the true problem.
Whenever more than one possible action is available, a decision must be made. If you have to
72

decide based only on one thing, making a decision is easy. A decision is a conscious choice from
among two or more alternatives. All of us make many such decisions daily. At work we choose
from alternative ways to accomplish an assigned task. Managers and researchers have tried to
improve the outcomes of decisions by using more formal, systematic approaches to decision
making, the act of consciously choosing from alternative. A decision is easy to make when one
option will clearly bring about a better outcome than any other. Decisions become more difficult
when more than one alternative seems reasonable and when the number of alternative is great.
Decision-making is a conscious human process, a particular course of action from among a set of
possible alternatives. To decide means to come to a conclusion or resolution, decision-making
defined as the conscious and human process, involving both individual and social
phenomenon based upon factual and value premises, which concludes with a choice of one
behavioral activity from among one or more alternatives with the intention of moving toward
some desired state of affairs.
To make a decision means that:
1. The person has started a series of behavioral reaction in favor of something.
2. The person made up his mind to do a certain thing or action.
3. To make a judgment regarding what a person must do for a certain condition after evaluating
several alternatives
Decisions are a big part of everything managers do. Planning, organizing, leading and
controlling are the basic management functions. Each of these calls for decisions, which plan to
implement, what goals to choose, which people to hire. A basic understanding of decision
making is essential because most information systems are designed to support decision making
in one way or another.

II. The significance of decision making

Decisions are the core transactions of all the firms. In addition, there are at least three ways
where successful organization out decide the competitor.
1. The firm makes better decisions
73

2. The firms make faster decisions

3. The firm implements the decisions more than competitors.
"The facility to predict decision-making performance of individual managers is of significance,
not only for executives and scientists, but for society itself".

III. Decision making and problem solving

The terms decision making and problem solving are used interchangeably. However, problem
solving involves of overcoming a certain obstacle in the path toward the goal. At the mean time,
decision making is defined as choosing from different solutions to achieve the best results. A
decision is a choice from among the available alternatives. Decision making is the process of
developing and analyzing alternatives and making a choice. Decisions dont always involve
problems. On the other hand, problem solving always involves making decisions. Managers
make decisions every day, and these often decide the success or failure of their firms.
According to Rue and Byares (2009), Decision making in its narrowest sense, is the process of
choosing from various alternatives. A problem is any deviation from some standard or desired
level of performance. Problem solving, then, is the process of determining the appropriate
responses or actions necessary to alleviate a problem.
Decision-making is represented as a problem-solving process preceded by a separate problemfinding process.
Problem-solving is the use of information, knowledge, and intuition to solve a problem that has
previously been defined.
A Problem exists when there is a major difference

IV. Types of Decisions

Structured Decisions
When an optimal solution can be reached following certain steps, the problem is called a
structured one, since the steps are known, and they must be followed the same way, these yields
74

to getting the same solution for the same problem all the time. Operational management and
team leader end to execute and handle the structured decision.
Unstructured decisions
A problem can be classified as an unstructured problem when reaching an optimal solution does
not follow a certain set of steps or there is no algorithm to follow. The senior management of the
company is responsible for making the decisions for the unstructured problems, because the
problem requires many sources of information, and the evaluation procedure is not easy. In
addition, this kind of decision depends on the personal experience of the decision maker.
Semi structured decisions
According to Effy (2009), "a semi structured problem is one that is neither fully structured nor
totally unstructured. Middle management in the firms is responsible for making the semi
structured decisions. However, they face more structured decisions, but their decisions include
unstructured components.

V. Classification of Decision
Programmed decisions
When the decision maker knows the situation, and the decisions are repetitive, the decision can
be called a programmed decision. Each decision that can be reached by an established or
systematic procedure is a programmed decision. Programmed decisions are repetitive and
routine. When classifying the decision, it was found that 90% of managerial decisions are
programmed decisions.

Non programmed decisions

Non programmed decisions have no precedent, which means that the decision maker is faced by
a new situation. Those decisions are unstructured and require a more creative approach by the
decision maker. Intended Non programmed decisions are unique and novel. Non programmed
75

decisions are the kind of decisions that the managers are paid to address, and they rely heavily on
judgment and on the strategic development and survival of the firm.

VI. Conditions for making decisions

The available information for the decision maker plays a major role in the impact of the decision.
The impact of the decision is the factor that decides if the decision made was the best choice.
Certainty: This situation occurs when a decision maker knows exactly what will happen, and
knows the exact outcome of his decision.
Risk: The situation of risk is "situation that occurs when a decision maker is aware of the
relative probabilities of occurrence associated with each alternative.
Uncertainty: When the decision maker has little information about a certain condition, or no
reliable information to evaluate the outcomes, this means that the manager is operating in a
situation of uncertainty (Rue and Byars, 2009).

VII. The decision making process

The process of making a decision, of getting from the first signifying that a choice is there to be
made to making the choice, can be understood as a response partly the problems raised by the
subject of decision and partly to the interest implicated by it. Efficient decision-making involves
76

a series of steps that require the input of information at different stages of the process, as well as
a process for feedback.
In business, there can be dozens, hundreds, or even millions of different courses of action
available to achieve a desired result. The problem is deciding on the best alternative. Herbert
Simon, a Nobel Prize winner, also described the managers decision process in the same three
stages. The intelligence stage involves searching the surrounding environment for certain
conditions those are in need for making a decision. The design stage is where to inventing,
developing and analyzing possible actions. The final stage is to choose from the different
alternatives and implementation step is responsible for testing the solution and try to make it
better.
The manager who approached decision making rationally have to:
1. Have complete information about the situation.
2. Perfectly define the problem.
3. Identify all the criteria and weigh all of them.
4. Know all possible alternatives and assess each one.
5. Choose the best alternative.
Thus, the rational decision making process should include:1. Define the problem: Managerial decision making is sparked by identifying the problem. In
addition, identifying the problem correctly is really hard.
2. Identify and weigh the criteria: Some criteria are more important than others, which leads to
the fact that the managers weigh some criteria more than weighing another one.
3. Develop alternatives: To develop good and reliable alternatives is a very complex situation.
This is where managers differ from each other.
4. Analyze the alternatives: This step requires forecasting the future which makes it the most
difficult step in the process.

1.8 RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MIS

Risk reflects the potential, the likelihood, or the expectation of events that could adversely affect
earnings or capital. Management uses MIS to help in the assessment of risk within company.
77

Management decisions based upon ineffective, inaccurate, or incomplete MIS may increase risk
in a number of areas such as credit quality, liquidity, market/pricing, interest rate, or foreign
currency. A flawed MIS causes operational risks and can adversely affect an organization's
monitoring of its fiduciary, consumer, fair. Since management requires information to assess and
monitor performance at all levels of the organization, MIS risk can extend to all levels of the
Management Information. Additionally, poorly programmed or non-secure systems in which data
can be manipulated and/or systems requiring ongoing repairs can easily disrupt routine work
flow and can lead to incorrect decisions or impaired planning.

I. Assessing Vulnerability to MIS Risk

To function effectively as an interacting, interrelated, and interdependent feedback tool for
management and staff, MIS must be "useable." The five elements of a useable MIS system are:
timeliness, accuracy, consistency, completeness, and relevance. The usefulness of MIS is
hindered whenever one or more of these elements is compromised.
Timeliness
To simplify prompt decision making, an institution's MIS should be capable of providing and
distributing current information to appropriate users. Information systems should be designed to
expedite reporting of information.
The system should be able to quickly collect and edit data, summarize results, and be able to
adjust and correct errors promptly.
Accuracy
A sound system of automated and manual internal controls must exist throughout all information
systems processing activities. Information should receive appropriate editing, balancing, and
internal control checks. A comprehensive internal and external audit program should be
employed to ensure the adequacy of internal controls.
Consistency

78

To be reliable, data should be processed and compiled consistently and uniformly. Variations in
how data is collected and reported can distort information and trend analysis. In addition,
because data collection and reporting processes will change over time, management must
establish sound procedures to allow for systems changes. These procedures should be well
defined and documented, clearly communicated to appropriate employees, and should include an
effective monitoring system.
Completeness
Decision makers need complete and pertinent information in a summarized form. Reports should
be designed to eliminate clutter and voluminous detail, thereby avoiding "information overload."
Relevance
Information provided to management must be relevant. Information that is inappropriate,
unnecessary, or too detailed for effective decision making has no value. MIS must be appropriate
to support the management level using it. The relevance and level of detail provided through
MIS systems directly correlate to what is needed by the board of directors, executive
management, departmental or area mid-level managers, etc. in the performance of their jobs.

II. Achieving Sound MIS

The development of sound MIS is the result of the development and enforcement of a culture of
system ownership. An "owner" is a system user who knows current customer and constituent
needs and also has budget authority to fund new projects. Building "ownership" promotes pride
in institution processes and helps ensure accountability. Although MIS does not necessarily
reduce expenses, the development of meaningful systems, and their proper use, will lessen the
probability that erroneous decisions will be made because of inaccurate or untimely information.
Erroneous decisions invariably misallocate and/or waste resources. This may result in an adverse
impact on earnings and/or capital. MIS which meets the five elements of usability is a critical
ingredient to an institution's short- and long-range planning efforts. To achieve sound MIS, the
organization's planning process should include consideration of MIS needs at both the tactical
and strategic levels. For example, at a tactical level MIS systems and report output should
79

support the annual operating plan and budgetary processes. They should also be used in support
of the long term strategic MIS and business planning initiatives. Without the development of an
effective MIS, it is more difficult for management to measure and monitor the success of new
initiatives and the progress of ongoing projects. Two common examples of this would be the
management of mergers and acquisitions or the continuing development and the introduction of
new products and services. Management needs to ensure that MIS systems are developed
according to a sound methodology that encompasses the following phases:
Appropriate analysis of system alternatives, approval points as the system is developed or
acquired, and task organization.
Program development and negotiation of contracts with equipment and software vendors.
Development of user instructions, training, and testing of the system.
Installation and maintenance of the system.
Management should also consider use of "project management techniques" to monitor progress
as the MIS system is being developed. Internal controls must be woven into the processes and
periodically reviewed by auditors. Management also should ensure that managers and staff
receive initial and ongoing training in MIS. In addition, user manuals should be available and
provide the following information:
A brief description of the application or system.
Input instructions, including collection points and times to send updated information.
Balancing and reconciliation procedures.
A complete listing of output reports, including samples.
Depending on the size and complexity of its MIS system, an institution may need to use different
manuals for different users such as first-level users, unit managers, and programmers.

CHAPTER:-2
LITERATURE REVIEW
80

LITERATURE REVIEW
(Child, 1987) More and more, companies are facing the need to control an ever larger and
rapidly changing marketing environment. The information processing requirements of
companies are expanding as their competitive environment becomes more dynamic and volatile.
To handle the increasing external and internal information flow and to improve its quality,
companies have to take advantage of the opportunities offered by modern information
technology (IT) and information systems (IS). Managing marketing information by means of IT
has become one of the most vital elements of effective marketing
(Knauer, 1992, and Mangold et al, 1999) Customer and market information should be
considered as vital elements in creating customer satisfaction, as the information regarding the
services that the organization supplies are not sufficient itself. In the mean time, alertness is
required about the perceived service quality of those competitors who provide similar services
and about new service applications in health care. One of the sources to be used by MkIS is the
positive (and negative) impression of the patients who have benefited from the organization's
services. Research indicates that word-of-mouth communication (WOM) has a significant effect
on consumer purchasing behavior. A study conducted by the US Office of Consumer Affairs
indicated that, on average, one dissatisfied customer can be expected to tell nine other people
about the experiences that resulted in the dissatisfaction. Satisfied customers, on the other hand,
relate their story to an average of five other people.
(Talvinen and Saarinen, 1995) The globalization of the marketplace in recent years has
intensified business competition throughout the world. Today's marketing executives are facing
an ever expanding and rapidly changing marketing environment. They are receiving more
information from both internal and external sources through the help of improved computer
technology and databases.

81

(Robinson and Kleiner, 1997) One of the basic problems faced by the organizations operating
in different sectors lies in the issue of gathering valid and reliable marketing information that
will enable the organization to smoothly manage the changes occurring in the market. Forming
one of the prerequisites for the organization to survive in the market, this concept requires that
all marketing decisions be handled within a framework of decision support system, which
regulates the flow of information.
(Li et al., 2001) There is a definite need for marketing executives to process more data and
information for decision making at all levels of managerial activities. In order to handle the ever
increasing amount of internal and external information and to improve decision quality, the need
to establish Marketing Information Systems (MIS) in one's company is never before so great.

(Zabada et al., 2001, 9) Consumers are demanding more value at lower price, and at the same
time asking for more freedom of choice of providers. Such a trend creates a situation where
acquiring and maintaining a market share becomes more dependent on the will of consumers.
(McLeod and Schell, 2001) Marketing managers have to know what to sell, when to sell and
how to sell the goods and services and in-order to do so, the managers have to get certain
information to be able to make the right marketing decision. The value of information increases
since it becomes one of the most valuable assets in ranking the competitive rivalry of the modern
markets. The marketing managers have to make marketing decisions such as service to provide,
price of the service, promoting the service and the place to sell the service (McLeod and Schell,
2001).
According to Kotler and Keller (2009) financial success depend on marketing ability, since
finance operations, accounting and other functions will not really matter if there is no demand
for the companys products and services. Moreover, the competition is increasing day by day in
the very fast growing global marketing, and marketing is affected by internal and external
environment forces.

82

(Kotler and Keller, 2012) Due to those changes, marketing management is a necessity which is
defined as the art and science of choosing target market, winning customer loyalty, and attracting
new customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.
(Kotler and Keller, 2012) MIS have been seen as a support system for the firms' marketing
management with its decision making process; in addition, to the management perspective,
marketing information system can be an essential tool for the entire market organization.

CHAPTER: - 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
83

I. Research Problem
Marketing is more than just selling and promoting, marketing information system technology
can be useful for the IT companies, especially large ones in-order to get the firm to higher ranks.
Studies about computer-based marketing information systems technology in India has not been
done yet. Moreover, we do not know exactly if the IT sector in India use the marketing
information system technology when making decisions. This study focuses on the role of
Marketing Information System Technology in the decision making processes in the Think next
technologies company.

II. Research objectives

To identify the role of MIS technology on decision making process.

The extent to which the new technology of Marketing Information System affects the

decision making processes.

To assess the role of internal records in the decision making process.
To identify the components and outcomes of the marketing intelligence used by the

banks and their role on the decision making process.

To clarify the sources of information for marketing research, and the marketing research

role in the decision making process.

To identify the role of MDSS in the decision making process.
To assess the role of personal traits on the role of MIS in the decision making process.
To assess the role of organizational traits on the role of MIS in the decision making
process.

III. Research Variables

Independent variables

Internal Records
Marketing intelligence system
Marketing research system
Marketing decision support system (MDSS)
Marketing Information System Technology

Dependent variable
84

The role of Marketing Information Systems technology in the Decision making

processes

IV. The hypothesis of the study

The field study was designed to test a main hypothesis and a number of subsidiary assumptions,
as follows:
The main hypothesis:
H0: There is no significant relationship between the components of making information system
(the internal records, the marketing research, the marketing intelligence) and marketing decisionmaking in Think next technologies.
The First sub- hypothesis:
H01: There is no significant relationship between the internal records as a component of the
making information system and marketing decision-making in this company.
The Second sub-hypothesis:
H02: There is no significant relationship between the marketing research as a component of the
making information system and marketing decision-making.
The Third sub-hypothesis:
H03: there is no significant relationship between the marketing intelligence as a component of
the making information system and marketing decision-making.

V. Methodology of the study

Population and Sample
The population of the study is composed of clients of the company. Comprehensive survey is
used to obtain data from the population. The researcher adopted a purposeful sample of
managers and staff in these companies to obtain data for the study, they are: marketing managers,
and marketing information systems sections staff. Hence, managers and staff referred to earlier,
Can be regarded as the unit of analysis for this study.
Data collection tools
85

To collect data for the current study and its variables, the researcher used a questionnaire, it
included two parts: the first: contained some of the characteristics of company and sample have
been covered in the study. The second: measured the extent of the relationship between the
components of the marketing information system (internal records, marketing research,
marketing intelligence) and marketing decision-making in company have been covered in the
study.

VI. Sources for obtaining data

The researcher adopted two sources to collect data for this study:
1- Secondary data sources:
Secondary data included references, literature, and periodicals relevant to the study in order to
clarify basic concepts related to the study, its various dimensions, and to identify the most
important studies on the subject.
2- Primary data sources:
Questionnaire was designed for collecting data from the managers and staff responsible for
marketing decision making and marketing data collection in the companies have been covered in
the study, for their assessment to the extent of the relationship between the components of the
marketing information system (internal records, marketing research, marketing intelligence) and
marketing decision-making company.

Limitations of the study

1.
2.

Due to lack of time the scope of research is limited.

Marketing Information System is has been less developed in the Indian markets which makes

it difficult to understand it in a short span.

3.
Very few people have knowledge about the different segments of marketing information
system.
4.
Lack of awareness about maintenance of the records of the customers among Indian
5.

companies is yet another limitation of my study.

The sample may not be representing the whole population.

86

CHAPTER:-4
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
1.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
In this part of the study, the main hypotheses, and sub- hypotheses emanated from, have been
discussed and analyzed. The analysis has been done in the context of Think next technologies.
87

The following table shows this data

Distributed questionnaire
To clients
To staff

NO. of questionnaire
25
25

Recovered questionnaire
24
25

Recoverd Questionnaire
CLIENTS
STAFF
50%

50%

Analysis: - Total 50 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 25 questionnaires were

distributed among clients of the company. After filling the questionnaire 24 of them had returned
it. 25 questionnaires were distributed to the staff of the company and all of them had been
recovered.

I. Characteristics of the sample included in the study.

In this part of the study, the major characteristics of the sample surveyed in terms of:
qualifications, scientific specialization, Years of experience, the existence of the organizational
unit responsible for the functions of marketing information system in marketing department.

1. Qualification
Qualifications of managers and staff in Think next technologies company involved in the study is
identified. The following table illustrates the results:
Distributed and recovered questionnaire among staff
Qualification
Less than high school
High school

Frequencies
-

Percentages
88

Diploma
Graduate
Post graduate
Total

5
8
12
25

20%
32%
48%
100%

Qualification
DIPLOMA

20%

GRADUATE
POST GRADUATE

48%
32%

Analysis:-It's clear from the data in the above table that the rate of (32%) of the sample have
bachelor degrees, while (48%) of them have post graduate degrees, and (20%) of them have
Diploma degrees.
Interpretation: - The above study shows the majority number of the staff of the company is
highly qualified that is 48%. That means all the services delivered to us trough very talented and
qualified employees.

2. Scientific specialization
Scientific specialization of managers and staff involved in the study is identified. The following
table illustrates the results:
Distribution of the sample according to scientific specialization
Scientific specialization

Frequencies

Percentage

Management information
systems
Marketing information systems

36%

16%
89

Marketing
Management
Total

7
5
25

28%
20%
100%

Scientific Specialisation
management information
system
marketing information
system

20%
36%

marketing
management

28%
16%

Analysis: - It's clear from the data in the above table that the rate of (16%) of the sample have
marketing specialization, while (36%) of them have management information systems and (28%)
of them have marketing specializations.
Interpretation:-The study shows that the marketing and the management team are very active in
the company. The number of employees in every team is sufficient to manage and control the
day to day working of the company.

3. Years of Experience
Years of managers and staff experience in Think next technologies involved in the study are
identified. The following table illustrates the results:
Distribution of the sample according to Years of Experience
Years of experience

Frequencies

Percentage

Less than 2 years

2 to 4 years
4 to 8 years or more
Total

5
8
12
25

20%
32%
48%
100%

90

Years of experience

less than 2 years

20%

2to 4 years
4 to 8 years or more

48%

4th Qtr
32%

Analysis:-It's clear from the data in the above table that the rate of (20%) of the sample have less
than 2 years of experiences, while o (48%) of them have more than 8 years of experiences.
Interpretation:- To be very surprising the majority number of employees of the company have
been working in the company for more than 4 years .This means the company professionals have
long time experience in the IT sector.

4. The existence of organizational marketing information system unit

The existence of the organizational unit responsible for the functions of marketing information
system in marketing department in company included in the study is identified. The following
table illustrates the results:
Distribution of the company branches according to the existence of organizational
marketing information system unit.
Existence of (MIS) unit

Frequencies

Percentages

Yes
No
Total

18
7
25

72%
28%
100%

91

Existence of (MIS) unit

28%
yes
no
72%

Analysis: - It's clear from the data in the above table that (72%) of the company branches have
an organizational unit responsible for the functions of marketing information system in
marketing department. while only (28%) of them haven't this organizational unit.
Interpretation: - This study shows that company is showing good interest in the development of
marketing information system unit .We can see in the above diagram that 78% of the companys
branches have (MIS) unit.

1.2 Analysis and interpretation of the data collected from the clients
of the company.
In order to analyze the first question of the survey sufficiently, pie charts have been produced to
illustrate the levels of satisfaction within each of the services we provide: Web designing and
development, Search engine optimization, E-commerce solutions, Online- marketing, Onlinebranding, Copyright & Content development, web and graphic design , Custom printing, Direct
mail, Social media, In brand marketing, Lead generation.

92

Customers were asked to select one of the following responses when rating the levels of
satisfaction for each of the services provides; Very Satisfied, Quite Satisfied, Satisfied,
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied, Quite Dissatisfied, Very Dissatisfied or N/A.

1. Satisfaction level of clients with the services provided by company?

Search engine optimization.

Level of satisfaction
Highly satisfied

Frequencies
10

Percentages
40%

Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor

6
4

24%
16%

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Highly dissatisfied
Total

3
2
25

12%
8%
100%

Highly dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

Satisfied
Highly satisfied
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Analysis: - Its clear from the above diagram that 40% of the customers are highly satisfied with
the SEO services, 12% of the customers are dissatisfied with the SEO services provided by the
company for their websites.
Interpretation: - The above study shows that majority number of the clients of the company is
very much satisfied with the Search engine optimization service of the company. This service of
the company got favorable response from the clients.
93

Level of satisfaction with the services provided by web developers of Think next
technologies.

Level of satisfaction

Frequencies

Percentages

Highly satisfied

12

48%

Satisfied

20%

Neither satisfied nor

16%

Dissatisfied

0%

Highly dissatisfied

16%

Total

25

100%

dissatisfied

Highly dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

Satisfied
Highly satisfied
0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Analysis: - Its clear from the above diagram that 48% of the clients are highly satisfied with the
services provided by the web developers of the company whereas 16% of the clients are highly
dissatisfied with their service.
Interpretation:- This study shows that the company still have to work on their web
development services to increase the satisfaction level of customers, because service sector
companies totally depends on the satisfaction of their clients
.
94

Level of satisfaction with the online marketing services of the company.

Level of satisfaction
Highly satisfied
Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor

Frequencies
10
8
5

Percentages
40%
32%
20%

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Highly dissatisfied
Total

2
0
25

8%
0%
100%

highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

satisfied
highly satisfied
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Analysis: - The above diagram shows that 40% of the clients are highly satisfied with the
online marketing services provided by the company and 20% of the clients are highly
dissatisfied at all with their services.
Interpretation: - This study shows that 20%of the clients are highly dissatisfied with the
online marketing done for the clients brand by the company which means that there is a need
for the development in the marketing department of the company.

2. Level of satisfaction with the length of time taken to develop your website?
95

Level of satisfaction
Highly satisfied
Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor

Frequencies
13
5
5

Percentages
52%
20%
20%

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Highly dissatisfied
Total

2
0
25

8%
0%
100%

highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

satisfied
highly satisfied
0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Analysis: - Its clear from the above diagram that 52% of the clients are highly satisfied with
time taken by the company, 20% of the clients are satisfied and 8% of the clients are dissatisfied.
Interpretation:- The survey results shows that majority of the clients are very much satisfied
with the time consumed by the company during web development process and only 8% of the
clients are dissatisfied with the time taken by the company.

3. Level of satisfactions with customer relationship management system of the company?

Level of satisfaction
Highly satisfied
Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor

Frequencies
9
6
6

Percentages
36%
24%
24%

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied

16%
96

Highly dissatisfied
Total

0
25

0%
100%

highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

satisfied
highly satisfied
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Analysis: - Its clear from the above diagram that 36% of the clients are highly satisfied with
customer relationship management of the company and 16% of the clients are dissatisfied with
relationship management of the company with their clients.
Interpretation:- The results of the survey shows that company must have to work on their
relations with their clients because only strong relations with their clients will help them to
survive in the long run.

4. Level of satisfaction with after sale services of the company?

Level of satisfaction
Highly satisfied
Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor

Frequencies
15
5
3

Percentages
60%
20%
12%

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Highly dissatisfied
Total

2
0
25

8%
0%
100%
97

highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Column2

satisfied
highly satisfied
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Analysis: - The above picture shows that majority numbers of clients are highly satisfied with
after sale services of the company that is 60% and only 8% of the clients are dissatisfied with
companys after sale services.
Interpretation: - The findings of the study shows that the after sale services of the company are
good as very less number of clients are not satisfied.

98

CHAPTER:-5
FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDINGS
This section contains the main findings and recommendations of the study that can be
summarized as follows:
Findings

There is significant relationship between all of the components of making information

system and marketing decision-making in Think next technologies.

There is significant relation between the internal records as a component of the making
information system and marketing decision-making.

There is significant relation between the marketing research as a component of the

making information system and marketing decision-making in Think next technologies.

There is significant relation between the marketing intelligence as a component of the

making information system and marketing decision-making. 5. There is a tendency in
Think next technologies to appoint persons who has universities qualifications, suitable
scientific specialization, and high years of experience, for their marketing information
system jobs.

72% of the companys branches included in the study have specialized unit responsible
for the functions of marketing information system in their marketing departments.

99

48% of clients of the company are highly satisfied with services provided by the web
developers of the company.

40% of clients are highly satisfied with the online marketing services by the marketing
unit of the company for clients brand.

52% of the clients are highly satisfied with the length of the time taken by the technical
team of the company for the development of their clients website.

The results of the survey indicate that the company is showing rapid growth in the terms
of goodwill and customer satisfaction.

100

RECOMMENDATIONS
A set of recommendations that can be summarized as follows:

The company must operate to increase the proportion of workers who have university
degrees qualifications, suitable scientific specialization, and higher years of experience,
for their making information system jobs, because of their effect in collecting the
required and accurate data from different sources, processing and presenting the required
data at the right time to the marketing decision makers, to get rational marketing
decisions.

Think next technologies must work to make the marketing information system unit,
administratively and financially separate and independent from marketing department,
and give it a prominent place in the organizational structure, to be able to perform its
functions without association with the marketing management or other administrations in
the company.

Regularly and continuously training programs in and out of the company must be
conducted for the marketing information system companies employees in the areas of
collecting, processing and manipulating of data, in order to benefit from the experiences
of others, exchange of experiences, expand their knowledge, and increase their
competences in the performance of their jobs.

Top management in the company must increase their interests in marketing information
system through the provision of all essential supplies, and the introducing of modern
methods and techniques in data processing, which increase the speed of rational decisionmaking.

The company still needs to focus on their advertising and marketing efforts for creating
maximum awareness regarding their offerings.

101

CONCLUSION
The research investigates the role of Marketing Information Systems technology in the decision
making process and summarizes the following conclusions based on the data analysis and
findings:

86.6% of the respondents agree that the technology is available in the MIS in the
company, and that its availability affect the decision making process, depending on the
following results. All the company branches are depending on computers on all
transactions and processes. Moreover, all the branches have top of the line hardware
such as input and output units. In addition, the new hardware has the ability to store,
access, and retrieve more data faster and more efficient. The software used by the
company minimizes the over use of papers between the companys departments due to
the present of automated communication processes such as e-mail. In addition, the new
software ease the retrieval of stores information, and with the presence of high secures
systems the management is not afraid to store all kind of information on the system. The
company also depends on computers to execute the transactions because the new
software improves the flexibility of the system, and perform in a more efficient way.

102

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND
REFERENCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:

Aaker, D., Kumar, V., and Day, G. (2001), Marketing Research, 7th edition, New York,

John Wiley & sons Inc.

Aaker, D., Kumar, V., Day, G, and Leone, R. (2009), Marketing Research, 10th edition,
New Jersey , John Wiley & sons Inc.

Articles:

Adetayo, J., Sanni, S., and llori, M. (1999), The impact of information technology on
product marketing: a case study of a multinational company in Nigeria, Technovation,

and Vol. pp. 691-699.

Amaravadi, C., Samaddar, S. and Dutta, S. (1995), Intelligent marketing information
systems: computerized intelligence for marketing decision making, Marketing

Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 4-13.

Brady, M., Saren, M. and Tzokas, N. (2002), Integrating information technology into
marketing practice the IT reality of contemporary marketing practice, Journal of
Marketing Management, Vol. 18 Nos 5/6, pp. 555-577.

103

Internet Citation:

www.wekipedia

Company manual

Companys website,

www.slideshare.net

www.scribd.com

www.airsoftinfosys.com

ANNEXURE
104

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondents,
I am the student of MBA 3 rd semester of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. I am
working on project entitled Implementation of an IT based marketing information system in
THINK NEXT TECHNOLOGY PVT LMT, please be frank and expressive in your answers.
SHUBHAM MISHRA

I. How often do you typically use the service?

Once a year

Daily

Weekly

Once a month

Every 2-3 months

2-3 times a year less often

Do not use

105

II. Did you like service of company?

Miserably

Somewhat

Very

Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Delightfully

Overall quality
Value
Purchase experience
Installation or first use
experience
Usage experience
After purchase service (warranty,
repair)

III. How important was performance on these attributes?

Not

Somewhat

Important

Important

Overall quality
Value
Purchase experience

106

Important

Very
Important

Installation or first use experience

Usage experience
After purchase service (warranty,
repair, customer service etc)
IV. How satisfied were you with service of the company?
Not at all satisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Satisfied

Very Satisfied

Delighted

V. Have you ever contacted customer service?

107

Yes

No

VI. If you contacted [COMPANY] customer service, have all problems been resolved to
your complete satisfaction?
Yes, by the company or its representatives.

Yes, by me or someone outside the company

No, the problem was not resolved

VII. Based on your awareness of [SERVICE] is it better, the same, or worse than other
brands of [ENTER CATEGORY}?
Much Better

Better

About the same

108

Worse

Much Worse

VIII. Based on your experience with [SERVICE], how likely are you to pay for the service
again from Think next technologies?
Definitely will

Probably will

Might or might not

Probably will not

Definitely will not

IX, Based on your experience with [SERVICE], would you recommend this service to a
friend?

109

Definitely will

Probably will

Might or might not

Probably will not

Definitely will not

Additional comments:
In general, if you have been very satisfied or very dissatisfied with our services, please give
details:
Very satisfied by a dedicated and helpful team
Easy and simple forms and good communication
I am very grateful of the help I have been given by the company team
Everyone I have spoken to has been more than helpful
This process was a lot quicker than expected

110

This is the best service I have ever had from the council

50 out of the 49 people who returned the questionnaire said they were willing to be
contacted by us to discuss the survey.

111