Determine how the four Marketing Information System activities (Assessing information needs, Developing needed information, Using information and Distributing Information) would apply to Nintendo developing the information it needs to market a new game console.
The Marketing Information System (MIS) consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers.It is initiated by information users; in this case Nintendo’s marketing managers, who can better assess the information needs to develop and analyse the needed information before distributing and using the marketing information. Nintendo’s marketing managers will have to assess the firm’s information needs before engaging in obtaining any information; balancing information they would like to have against what they need and what is feasibly obtainable.For example, Nintendo would be concerned with how the public receives its next release, and therefore should find out generally whether a motion-sensing capable console would be generally well received by the public(for the release of the Nintendo Wii).
They should consider whether they are harnessing too much or little information to make key marketing decisions. Also, they should consider the availability of information, such as its competitors (Sony, Microsoft etc) advertising budgets and how the changes will affect market share, which will most likely not be available to the company.Also they should weigh the costs of obtaining information against the benefits resulting from it. It would be very beneficial for the company to do phone interviews with a large group of individuals that fall within its targeted demographic; however the high costs of doing so must be taken into consideration by the marketing managers.
Today, Nintendo focuses on continuously strengthening their branding and market share. They aim to be customer focused, through improving their structure to match and exceed customer expectations.In other words, to market a new next-generation gaming console, Nintendo needs to determine what consumers want and expect from a gaming console; as well as knowing more about its competitors to increase its competitive edge. This can be done by developing its needed information through building internal databases, marketing intelligence, marketing research and information analysis. Building up-to-date and expensive internal databases can provide Nintendo with a competitive edge as they can be accessed quickly and easily compared to other secondary information sources.
To market a new next-generation gaming console, Nintendo requires information about what features (e. g. hard disk space, video capabilities, network play capability, processor speed) consumers are interested in with regard to a gaming console. With internal information provided by the consumer research department, Nintendo will then be able to better manufacture a gaming console that will dominate the market, ensuring sales profit for the company. In addition, sales reports can help identify a target demographic that are generating the largest amount of profits (e.
. males from the age group 18-35 would be likely to purchase a Nintendo Wii), such that publicity campaigns to market the new gaming console can be better geared towards attracting the target demographic. For example, Nintendo launched the Wii with the intention of getting most teens and young adults as well as forty-plus year olds excited about the platform (and purchasing one of course) . Marketing intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and developments in the marketing environment.Such information allows companies to improve strategic decision making, assess and track competitors’ actions, assess and identify opportunities and threats early.
Such information can be obtained internally, but often involves a more indirect form of information collecting such as through suppliers and retailers. For example, circa-April 2009 before the release of the Nintendo DSi, Chips (a major Nintendo retailer in the UK) reported strong pre-sales for the console, calling it a “100% sell out” .The internet can be utilised as a source of information on competitors as well; Nintendo can easily obtain latest product information and financial reports on Sony on websites such as http://www. sony. net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/index.
html. Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation of an organisation; complementary to marketing intelligence as it involves a direct approach.On top of that, marketing intelligence usually collects information on competitors whereas marketing research is consumer-oriented, usually focused on obtaining opinions of its customers with regards to both Nintendo’s and its competitors’ products and marketing strategies. By conducting surveys as well as ethnographic research, Nintendo can determine consumer preferences and awareness towards its brand. For example, Nintendo’s booth at the yearly game show E3 during Jun 09 was conducting surveys on consumers that were visiting its booth on their opinions towards its new game and peripheral releases slated for 2010.Furthermore, by giving out freebies such as the Wii Sports Resort frisbees and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks styluses to serve as an token for responding to the interview, it attracted more people to do the survey, as well as creating public awareness towards its brand.
Information analysis helps companies use information gathered from internal databases, marketing intelligence and marketing research to help make marketing decisions by answering fundamental questions – what if and which is best.Information collected through the three aforementioned methods is analysed to isolate important information pertaining to specific needs of the company. One method that can be employed is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) where the consumers’ data that is collected by different departments of Nintendo are integrated to provide an all-rounded view of their consumers, allowing identification of the best targets for marketing, while knowing their preferences and expectations at the same time.However, marketing information has no value until it is used to make better marketing decisions. Thus information distribution is extremely critical in today’s fast paced world.
Information distribution involves entering information into databases making it available in a timely and user-friendly fashion, especially critical information which plays a major role in decision making such as performance reports, financial reports, intelligence updates and research study results. Like many other firms, Nintendo uses a ompany intranet to facilitate this process; as the intranet provides ready access to research information, stores reports, shared work documents, contact information for employees and other stakeholders. Also, the company intranet can be used for other purposes such as to serve as a network for external agencies to help improve operations within the company and reduce the need for customer service. Also, Nintendo allows its major retailers – such as NintendoWorld to access its databases through extranets to update their accounts and check inventories to improve the overall customer experience.
