Marketing Chapter 4

An interactive system of ppl, software and equipment, and procedures designed to provide managers with a continuous flow of information to help them manage marketing activities.

A stored, computerized central source of information created from internal records and reports meant to be shared by many users throughout a company.

An organized collection of procedures, software, databases, and devices that support problem-specific decision making. Formerly known as decision support systems (DSS).

A statistical or management science tool that describes the mathematical relationships b/t certain variables (such as price, cost, or demand) that affect marketing decisions.

A knowledge-based computer system designed to provide expert consultation to information users for solving specialized and complex problems.

A combination of computer hardware and software that a co. has used for a long time to perform specific tasks.

An integrated, subject-oriented database often designed to support the functions performed by business intelligence.

The process of analyzing the variables in a database or data warehouse to discover patterns and relationships.

The systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and ongoing developments in the marketing environment. AKA competitive intelligence.

A visual representation usually in the form of graphs or charts, of key information managers need to make decisions.

A visual representation that allows an at-a-glance overview of company health and monitoring of key performance indicators.

The discipline that focuses on collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting information related to specific marketing problems or opportunities.

Market research already performed for another purpose, and often by another entity, that may apply to the present question or opportunity.

For mktng research purposes, the total group of individuals or organizations who are relevant to the research question and about whom a researcher wants to draw a conclusion.

For mktng research purposes: a subset of a population that a researcher studies to develop conclusions about the total population.

An informed guess or assumption about a probem or a set of circumstances that can be accepted or rejected based on empirical data.

Information gathered through observation or experiment that confirms or disproves a research hypothesis.

Original market research that a co. or vendor engases in to answer the current research question.

Primary research intended to provide insight into the general nature of a problem and to identify the variables that need to be considered in addressing the problem.

Primary research that provides a picture of or describes the nature of a market or a marketing problem or opportunity.

Primary research used to identify factors or variables that affect the values of other variables.

In marketing research, a marketing variable that influences the behavior of another variable and is not itself affected by changes in other variables.

A marketing variable that reacts to or is influenced by another variable (for example, changes in independent variables).

A statistical process that allows researchers to draw conclusions and to make estimates and predictions about a population based on a sample taken from the population.

Marketing research that examines what people think and how they feel about the subject under study and the words they use to express their thoughts and feelings. AKA soft research.

A marketing research data collection method that consists of an informal session during which a small group of ppl, usually no more that 8-10, are led thru guided discussion and asked to discuss their opinions or feelings about a given topic, product or service.

A qualitative research data collection method in which a researcher interviws individual study participants to collect info about their attitudes, experiences, or expertise. AKA one-on-one interview.

A qualitative marketing research method that involves the study of the activities and behaviors of research participants with or without their knowledge, in natural or artificial settings, and through the use of human observers or mechanical devices.

An observational research tool where a researcher disguised as a customer (1) investigates what happens during an actual interaction between a customer and a salesperson or CSR and (2) records such observations on a standardized response form.

Process where researcher observes how ppl act in their natural environments.

Research designed to generate concrete info about population characteristics and behavior that can be analyzed, summarized in the form of numbers, and projected to the population of interest with a known level of error. AKA hard research.

A primary research data-collection method that typically uses structured forms, such as questionnaires, to gather data about a person's attitudes, knowledge, buying behavior, and preferences toward a particular topic, product, or service directly from the population being studied.

A data collection instrument used to collect survey info by providing individual study participants with a specific set of questions that they are asked to answer.

In a marketing research survey, a question that offers fixed alternatives.

In marketing research, a survey question that is usually open ended and provides no answer choices.

In marketing research, a survey conducted regularly by a research company with a given target population.

Marketing research performed to obtain info about major topics that are of interest to many companies but would not be feasible for a single company to fund alone.

A firm that provides a full range of marketing research services to client co's on a customized, special-project basis.

A marketing research firm that offers limited svcs marketing research, often specializing in one area of research, for example, providing centers for telephone surveys.

Market research designed to collect information about a person or group's attitudes.

A learned predisposition to respond to an idea, an object, or a classs or group of objects in a consistent manner.