Page 315 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 8 Marketing Basics 289

EXHIBIT 8.5
Location and Type of MIS Information

Location of Information

Type of Information Internal External
Secondary Financial or accounting Periodicals
data and reports Newsletter and bulletins
Operating reports Published reports
Sales force’s call reports and Syndicated reports
other sales reports Books, directories,
encyclopedias, and
handbooks
Databases
Organizations

Primary Studies conducted by Trade shows, exhibits, and
company’s marketing fairs
research department Conventions and meetings
Company’s sales force and Company’s advertising
other employees agencies
Marketing databases Company’s channels of
distribution
Consultants

the company or external to it. In addition, the information may be secondary or pri-
mary. Secondary information is already available; it has been developed by some-
one other than the company using it. Primary information is information that was
obtained by a company for its own use. Exhibit 8.5 provides examples of the various
types of information and their sources.

reality Go to your university or college library and scan the table of contents
CH ECK in the United States Statistical Abstract. What information does it have
that would be useful to marketers of consumer products?
The specific kinds of information that an MIS would be expected to generate are
illustrated by the information Mary Kay Cosmetics wanted its MIS to obtain about
its European market. The company, which uses female sales associates to sell its
products via demonstrations and “parties” and has sales of over $1 billion, wanted
the following information about Europe:
Industry data, especially sales and trends by product category
Attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of European women
Population and income data
Cultural, social, and economic information about European countries
Perceptions of European women about Mary Kay products and career
opportunities
Employment opportunities for women
Women’s use of skin care and makeup products
Legal aspects of direct selling in Europe
Daily financial information, including revenues and expenses
Mary Kay executives hoped that the MIS-Europe would result in a number of
benefits, including keeping customers longer, getting additional income from them,
identifying customer segments most responsive to specific types of promotional
programs, reducing marketing expenses, and shortening the time required to

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