Developing a cost-effective marketing information system

Management needs properly compiled, analyzed and evaluated data as a basis for planning, decision-making and control in sales and marketing operations. The cost-effectiveness of the various activities can then serve as a guide to future allocation of effort. The types of data available for comparative analysis of sales and marketing performance are reviewed and classified. The information may be used to justify costs, judge the degree of success attained from various operations, and, wherever applicable, isolate problem areas. Two case-history type examples are presented. The first of these compares customer loss rates with customer gains, and by how much losses must be offset just to keep current total sales even, before growth can be achieved. By categorizing and classifying these types of data by type of customer and type of product, management will isolate specific areas where problems exist and require attention and remedial action. Another example, applicable in a parallel manner by customer and product type, shows how accumulated information can be used to determine the optimal time allocation for individual sales visits, based on curvilinear statistical relationships. The desirability for graphic-comparative presentation of analysis results is emphasized, and is illustrated for the case histories presented.