An ever-changing business environment requires marketers to undertake actions that can bring competitive advantages. Sometimes, bold actions are not very rewarding and at other times they can result in immense benefits for the company. In other words, the situation is not always very clear and some study is required before making decisions about company activities. Therefore, prior to implementing some actions, it is critical to take into account the marketing intelligence database that can help marketers with proper decision making. Getting the latest market intelligence requires resources in terms of time and money, so larger firms have a greater ability to gather intelligence and align their activities with the results (Simmons, Armstrong, & Durkin, 2011). Hence, it was essential for the team participating in this research to collect data during the early action research workshops and to combine that with the data from the first component of this research along with secondary marketing data in order to build a useful marketing intelligence dataset.
Marketers have focused largely on the outcomes of marketing factors that can intervene between reward and expenditure at the same time. Lack of awareness of these factors can result in a lack of control, which might negatively affect business activities. The measurement of factors that may enhance marketing efforts results in improvement in returns (Simmons et al., 2011). The company can position and forecast
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its efforts in a better way. Through such policies, activities generated in a vacuum are discouraged and the chances of failure are minimized.
Action research in marketing helps identify how changes in marketing activities affect customer choices. As a result, company management is provided with accurate and valuable choices using reliable internal sources of information and secondary market data. Sound information also provides a basis for future decision making. Programs for marketing performance management and control can be initiated with the help of such research. Although previously, only marketing managers were involved in marketing research, various other departments such as sales, management, and production and supply units also participate in this area now. Informed decisions are made based on information shared on all fronts. Therefore, it was essential in this research to have participants from both the sales and marketing functions.
According to Anstead et al. (2008), marketing is a complex phenomenon that is driven by customer demand. If a marketing action runs opposite to the demands of the customer, it can result in a total loss for that business. Initially, marketers are unaware of what the end results of their efforts will be, and this might lead to decisions that cause financial losses. Action research in marketing allows the marketer to perform a practical analysis of marketing activities to determine whether or not his actions will suit the interests of the company. Once the results are favourable, implementation of the strategy can be carried out (Anstead et al., 2008).
Gray et al. (2003) add that marketers can forecast the effects of their operations with the help of action research; their expectations can also be quantified according to the organizational expectations. The clarity obtained through these initiatives creates stability in the organization and employees become able to direct their efforts in a
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correct way. It is believed that companies that operate based on these principles learn to obtain competitive advantages through improved marketing decision making. In line with that, it was important for the marketer in the researcher’s organization to participate not just in the marketing planning session, but also in the sales planning session to benefit from the collective knowledge available in both the sales and marketing teams.
Market segmentation is an important procedure that helps develop an understanding of the company’s marketing progress. Action research in this field is aimed at tracking performance and comparing it with past data and future projections. Marketing segmentation was a key tool that utilized for this research. A dedicated workshop session was set for the purpose of identifying segments. In this process, organizational aspirations are expressed in terms of goals and the nature of these goals and threats are defined. Segmentation is also of great importance in action research because the market is not homogenous; it is divided into various individuals, companies, groups and patents. This requires subdivision of the market into segments, which can create order according to people’s needs and demands. Through segmentation, people are placed into different groups and their demands are prioritized.
Through action research, a company can decide how meaningful a part of the market is. Activities can be aligned to the purchasing decisions of the customer. Meaningful results are obtained through sales analysis of people’s buying preferences. Sometimes, one product is not attractive for one segment but carries a great deal of value for another segment of the same market. Therefore, market segments should be identified in terms of the attitudes, behaviours, needs and demands of potential
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customers. Suppliers can better address customer drivers if they study these segments carefully.
According to Woodburn (2006), management of marketing cannot be done effectively unless segmentation is done in a proper manner. A set of characteristics are studied before segmentation of the market is performed. The information that is collected is fundamental to developing strategic measurements for the company. The external backdrop of the segmented behaviour makes it possible for the supplier to understand the expected trends in the market. Action research is also a valuable tool for determining the opportunities and threats in a given market segment. Location, agreement and numbers are defined in relation to the needs and demands of the customer. From the results obtained through the research, segmentation criteria such as lifestyle, technological uses and buying attitudes are defined. Then, market segments are identified in relation to the projtect’s priorities and goals. In the current research, segmentation was as a key tool for defining the metrics of the model used.
Actions that are taken in order to implement new marketing strategies can help assess marketing efforts in terms of their usefulness and progress. Every action should be evaluated in terms of the cost required to perform it. Grouping of actions should be done on the basis of the individuals or groups involved in fulfilling those actions. For instance, some actions are taken on a departmental basis and others might involve customers. Such groupings serve to simplify the process, making it easier to measure the impact of the actions. Sometimes, more than one department is involved in an actions and hence, the involvement of individuals from all the relevant departments is needed. This might increase the complexity of the project. Along with this, the resources required for a particular action are identified. The budget is a strong force in
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determining the success of a program. Therefore, the internal and external costs of an action require a good deal of attention. Strategic impact factors should also be measured in terms of cost and then appropriate actions taken (Shiv, Carmon, & Ariely, 2005).