marketing information system and marketing research- Difference

Marketing research is the systematic method to find out the solution for marketing problems. To find out the solution is a difficult process as it involves several steps to go. Management information system is the man machine combined system which provides information for decision making. Difference between MIS and Marketing Research are:

MIS is always focused on preventing the problems and the marketing research is focused on solving the problems are the first difference under discussion. MIS handles the data to prevent and predict the problems. Marketing research is for the past happening and its solutions. Marketing research deals with both internal and external data used for solving the problem and MIS focused on external data. MIS is mainly focused on external environment and also MIS is a continuous process. It stands as a watch dog of the organization where as the marketing research is the tool for finding a particular problem.MIS rates as a wide concept in which the marketing research also includes. But marketing research is narrow concept.MIS future oriented to preventive nature and marketing research is past oriented to find out a solution for a past problem or a postmortem.

The importance of management information system and marketing research are discussed. The first point is providing relevant data. An organization always seeks for the updated data that can be used for the accurate decision making. A company producing consumer electronics needs the data relating to the best technology and innovation coming in the market. This possible when there is a good marketing research wing is functioning in the organization. Also the management information system facilitates the information handling for such purposes.

Learning the consumer behavior is another importance. The behavior of the consumer of a product is important for the survival of an organization. The marketing research focused on knowing the consumer behavior brings the information of the tastes and preference of consumers regarding the product. Management information helps to maintain a clear record for these activities. Also these are the tool for facing competition. The information about the competitor is a crucial tool to face them. To make the strategic decision in a competitive environment we may use a marketing research program to find out the competitors product features and consumer attachment to the product.