Q&A - What are the main ways in which a business can obtain information on a market?

To undertake marketing effectively, businesses need information. Information about customer wants, market demand, competitors, distribution channels etc. Marketers often complain that they lack enough marketing information or the right kind, or have too much of the wrong kind. The solution is an effective marketing information system.

The information needed by the marketing function in a business usually comes from three main sources:

(1) Internal company information

E.g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer enquiries & requests, customer service reports etc. As a business trades, it will accumulate much of this kind of information. The challenge is to develop processes that identify which parts of this information are most useful and then report the findings so that management can analyse and take action.

(2) Marketing intelligence

This can be information gathered from many sources, including suppliers, customers, distributors. Marketing intelligence is a catch-all term to include all the everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust its marketing plans. It is possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e.g. Mintel, Dun & Bradstreet, Mori) who set up data gathering systems to support commercial intelligence products that can be profitably sold to all players in a market.

(3) Market research

Management cannot always wait for information to arrive in bits and pieces from internal sources. Also, sources of market intelligence cannot always be relied upon to provide relevant or up-to-date information (particularly for smaller or niche market segments). In such circumstances, businesses often need to undertake specific studies to support their marketing strategy - this is market research. There are two main kinds of market research - primary and secondary.