BLOG 4 | MIS! MIS! MIS!
As most of us have recently discovered in COMM 296, the term “MIS” is the acronym for two different familiar concepts. Fortunately for us, it is not the boring class that all BComm students have to endure before graduating. However, in all seriousness, both Marketing Information Systems and Management Information Systems play equally important roles in the dynamics of a successful business.
Sarah Barwin’s blog post on the importance of strong market research touches on a very key point; before entering any new market, or near the end of a product development cycle that is soon available to hit the store shelves, it is integral to have proper market research. Without proper segmentation, targeting, positioning, along with the due diligence of constructing a well-thought out strategic marketing plan, the product will face a higher probability of failure once it enters the market. Although there is no doubt of the importance of good market research, a great marketer can not overlook the importance of a good MIS with effective analytics, clean data, and relevant information that is needed well before the market research portion of a marketing plan.
A lot of the large and successful companies today are staying on top of their respective markets due to an effective MIS. On the contrary, smaller companies are struggling to get to the top due to a lack of an MIS. However, the fixed cost often poses as a challenge for smaller business. In a digital age that is filled with information, it’s the ones that can leverage the data to receive a return in value that gains the competitive marketing advantage. Knowing what kind of product a consumer wants is important, but knowing how a consumer wants to receive their product is also important. Although conducting market research externally is important, leveraging existing customer information thats already existing within the company internal databases is a more efficient first step to collecting marketing information.
Here is a cartoon illustration of what an MIS is: