Question

2. There are different types of IS that can be used to support different functional business processes in an organization.

a) Suggest relevant IS that can be used to support marketing activities?

b) Explain functionality should be offered by that IS as suggested in (a)?

Answer 1

For the last twenty years, different kinds of information systems are developed for different purposes, depending on the need of the business . In today’s business world, there are varieties of information systems such as transaction processing systems (TPS), office automation systems (OAS), management information systems (MIS), decision support system (DSS), and executive information systems (EIS), Expert System (ES) etc . Each plays a different role in organizational hierarchy and management operations. This study attempts to explain the role of each type of information systems in business organizations.

a) A marketing information system (MIS) is a management information system designed to support marketing decision making.

• An MIS brings together many different kinds of data, people, equipment, and procedures to help an organization make better decisions.
• MIS not only indicates how things are going, but also why and where performance is failing to meet the plan.
• MISs produce fixed, regularly scheduled reports to middle and operational level managers to identify and inform structured and semi-structured decision problems.
• An MIS can provide endless benefits to any organization including: enabling managers to share information and work together virtually, helping marketers collaborate with customers on product designs and customer requirements, and addressing operational needs through customer management systems.

• The various functions of Marketing Information System are:

  1.  The marketing identification function: The determination of potential buyers and their characteristics is vital in order to satisfy their needs and desires. This enables the marketer to know :   

  · Where the buyers are located

  · When do they buy

  · How frequently 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.

  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.

• Three major functions of a marketing information System:

  1- Assessing Information Needs

  

  2- Developing Information

  

  Distributing