Study Guide Chapter 7: Improving Decisions with Marketing Information

A collection of vocabulary terms and their definitions related to marketing information systems and research.

Marketing Research

Procedures that develop and analyze new information about a market.

Marketing Information System (MIS)

An organized way of continually gathering, accessing, and analyzing information that marketing managers need to make ongoing decisions.

Big Data

Data sets too large and complex to work with typical database management tools.

Data Warehouse

A place where databases are stored so that they are available when needed.

Decision Support System (DSS)

A computer program that makes it easy for a marketing manager to obtain and use information.

Marketing Dashboard

Displays up-to-the-minute marketing information in an easy-to-read format.

Marketing Model

A statement of relationships among marketing variables.

Personal Data

Information that can be used by itself or in combination with other information to identify someone.

Informational Privacy

Anything that limits others' access to personal data that people consider sensitive or confidential.

Scientific Method

A decision-making approach that focuses on being objective and orderly in testing ideas before accepting them.

Hypotheses

Educated guesses about the relationships between things or about what will happen in the future.

Marketing Research Process

A five-step application of the scientific method that includes defining the problem, analyzing the situation, getting problem-specific data, interpreting the data, and solving the problem.

Secondary Data

Information that has been collected or published already.

Primary Data

Information specifically collected to solve a current problem.

Sentiment Analysis

An automated process of analyzing and categorizing social media to determine the amount of positive, negative, and neutral online comments a brand receives.

Consumer Panels

A group of consumers who provide information on a continuing basis.

Research Proposal

A plan that specifies what information will be obtained and how to be sure no misunderstandings occur later.

Qualitative Research

Seeks in-depth, open-ended responses, not yes or no answers.

Customer Journey Map

The story and graphic diagram of a customer’s experience in the buying process from need awareness through the purchase process and post-purchase relationship.

Focus Group Interview

An interview of 6 to 10 people in an informal group setting.

Quantitative Research

Seeks structured responses that can be summarized in numbers, such as percentages, averages, or other statistics.

Response Rate

The percentage of people contacted who complete the questionnaire.

Population

In marketing research, the total group you are interested in.

Sample

A part of the relevant population.

Confidence Intervals

The range on either side of an estimate that is likely to contain the true value for the whole population.

Validity

The extent to which data measure what they are intended to measure.