Marketing Information Systems (MIS)

A Marketing Information System (MIS) is a set of procedures and methods designed to generate, analyse, disseminate and store anticipated marketing decision information on a regular or continuous basis.
Philip Kotler defines MIS system as people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyse, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers.
An information system can be used operationally, magisterially and strategically for several aspects of marketing.

Three main steps of MIS

1. Assessing information needs
2. Developing information
3. Distributing and using information

Assessing information needs

• Marketers should know why the marketing information is necessary
• MIS system primarily serves the management and company's employees
• However, it may also provide information to external partners such as suppliers, retailers and other marketing agencies
• Ex:
• Dell creates premium pages for their customers, giving them access to product design and other services information
• Wal-Mart gives their key suppliers to access their information system

Developing  information

• Develop and collect data
• Various techniques are used to collect data. Such as,
• Observational research, Survey research, Focus group interview, personal contact method, Sampling research, Questionnaires etc.

Distributing and Using information

• Gathered information has no value until it is used to make better marketing decision making
• So, information should me timely available to managers and other top level management who make marketing decisions
• This can be achieved by regular performance reports, information collected by research studies etc.

Marketing Information System is a combination of Internal Records, Marketing Intelligence and Marketing Research.

• Internal Records - Sales, Orders, Customer profile, Stocks, Customer service reports etc.
• Marketing Intelligence - Every day information about developments in the marketing environment that help managers prepare and adjust marketing plans.
• Marketing Research - The systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to specific marketing situation facing by organization.

MIS offers many advantages

• Organized data collection
• A broad perspective
• The storage of important data
• An avoidance of crises
• Coordinated marketing plans
• Speed in obtaining sufficient information to make decisions
• Data amassed and kept over several time periods
• The ability to do a cost-benefit analysis