Benefits of Marketing Information System (MIS)

Marketing information system is a set of procedures and methods for regular and
planned collection, analysis and presentation of information in making marketing
decisions. It is an interacting, continuing, future-oriented structure of persons,
machines and procedures designed to generate an orderly flow of information
collected from internal and external sources of information.
With an increasingly competitive and expanding market, the amount of information
needed daily by an organization is profound. Thus they have to establish a Marketing
Information system to increase the efficiency of their economic performance. There
are several advantages of Marketing information systems

1. Prediction of Consumer Demand

Predicting customer demand in expanding the market acts as a base for mass
production and mass distribution of products or services. An organizational marketing
approach helps to get up-to-date information on customer preferences. In today’s
ever-changing and competitive economic environment; the taste, liking of customers,
preferences, etc. are continuously changing. Due to this, marketers need to have
precise information related to the nature and size of customer demand. The decisions
based on intuition or outdated customer information may not be effective. So, the
decisions must be backed up by facts and figures.

For example, the proper marketing information system provides information

regarding the future tastes and preferences of the customers, the trends of market, and
information regarding the reasons for changes in tastes and preferences. Such
information helps the marketers to overcome the loss that occurs due to the changes in
demands.

2. Identification of Marketing Complexity

The process of the modern marketing concept results in complexity and a more
detailed version of marketing.  Market expansions and marketing activities at
multinational levels are growing at a fast rate that demands appropriate market
intelligence and a well- organized form of information system. So, it is necessary to
identify the complex market nature and its demand.

For example, marketing is a wide branch which has several concepts under it. A
proper knowledge of these concepts is very important to understand the complexities
of marketing which can only be gained by proper marketing information system.
3. Facilitates up-to-date Economic Information or Condition

The constant change in demand and supply forces determines the cost and market
conditions. There is a huge intensity of fluctuation in demand, supply, and prices in a
large and complex economy.

Marketing people require up-to-date and advanced information related to changing

supply, demand, and cost-related economic conditions. For this, they depend upon
market reports and market-related intelligence services. Future forecasting or
prediction is based on economic factors like the country’s population, income, GDP,
price, etc.

For example, If a marketer has zero knowledge about the economic conditions
prevailing in the area, the business will face losses. To avoid this, a detailed
knowledge of the economic scenario is required which can be gained by the study of
marketing information systems.

4. Competitor Analysis

Organizations run in a highly competitive environment where different competitors

formulate strategies to gain competitive advantage on each other. To predict
competitor’s behavior and to surpass the competition, services of the marketing
information system of marketing intelligence are required. For survival, marketing
people need the latest information on the market that is related to the nature and size
of the competition.

For example, accurate information regarding competitors helps the marketers to form
such plans and strategies that will help them to design the products and services as per
the needs and satisfaction of customers which will ultimately increase the sales.

5. Up-to-date Information on Technology

Market expansion leads to technological advancements. Marketing people require the

latest information related to technical aspects or developments. Different products,
technologies, process, etc. that are new, need to be based upon facts. The marketing
information system provides such necessary information or facts.

For example, With the ever-growing technologies, the business has to get well versed
with the changing environment to excel in every field. A proper survey is required
which can only be fulfilled with the help of the marketing information system.
6. Proper flow of Information for better Customer Service

In the market expansion stage, a communication gap can be found between customers
and marketers. This gap results in marketing activities and plans that may be
unrealistic. Different marketers, who are not connected with marketing aspects daily,
create dissatisfaction in consumers.

An increase in consumer complaints shows the mismatch of products with the needs
and wants of consumers. Also, it indicates that marketers don’t have the latest
information on the right consumer demand. The marketing information system which
is up-to-date can fulfill the communication gap between consumers and marketers by
providing the latest information related to consumer demands and behavior.

For example, the ultimate goal of any business is customers’ satisfaction. If any
business fails to achieve this goal, it will no longer survive in this competitive world.
For this, a complete survey is required and a proper flow of information for better
customer services. This can only be done by proper marketing information system.

7. Facilitates Marketing Planning Activities

Today’s business era is planning and process-oriented. The plans and processes
depend on the information provided through economic forecasts and marketing
forecasts as these offer desired information related to the futuristic aspect of the
economic and market conditions.

For example, forecast related to sales provides the information required for planning
production, marketing, and financial activities. Similarly, the marketing information
system provides forecasts related to the market and can inter-related product and
consumer requirements to balance supply and demand.

E. Berhan & D. Kitaw conducted quantitative survey of 42 Ethiopian industries in

2009 indicated that most of these industries are dominated by non-computerised
information systems. The data acquisition and IT infrastructure strongly support the
information process. Information processing significantly and positively predicts both
service quality and business function. But the business function that uses processed
data and information for its activities – such as planning, decision–making, and
implementation – is not found to be a significant predictor of service quality.

Guenwoo Lee and Aya Suzuki tries to examine the effect of MIS on the smallholder
coffee farmers’ profits and productivities empirically using the primary data collected
from 546 smallholder coffee farmers in Ethiopia. They find that MIS users indeed
obtain higher revenues and profits than non-MIS users, in magnitude, a 37 percent
increase for profits and a 25 percent increase for revenues.
Decision support through modeling (Predictive Model)

Collecting data is no longer a serious challenge for businesses, but analyzing data is
still a battle. Not only does technology make it possible to collect and store data, but it
can be used to draw out insights and make data-driven decisions using predictive
analytics. Businesses that previously didn’t have to rely on data, information
technology, and analytics are discovering that this new method of producing
predictive insights can help boost efficiency and profitability.

Predictive analytics is a type of technology that combines machine learning and

business intelligence with historical as well as real-time data to make projections
about future events.The success of predictive analytics and healthcare lies in
identifying the most promising use cases, capturing quality data, and applying the
best model to uncover meaningful insights that can improve various areas of
healthcare.
Healthcare providers are using such tools to develop decisions and processes
that improve patient outcomes, reduce spending, and increase operational
efficiency. The potential benefits of predictive analytics include everyone: hospitals
and patients but also insurance providers and product manufacturers.
1. Improving operational efficiency
Healthcare organizations are currently investing in Business Intelligence and analytics
tools to improve their operations and deliver more value. For example, real-time
reporting helps to get timely insights into various operations and react accordingly by
assigning more resources into areas that require it.
Healthcare providers are also using such tools to analyze both historical and real-time
patient data to better understand the flow and analyze staff performance in real time.
Moreover, they can prepare for situations when the surge in incoming patients might
cause shortages. Equipped with such a solution, hospitals can react to such shortages
in real time by adding extra beds and deploying more staff.
Healthcare organizations can also achieve an optimal patient to staff ratio with
predictive analytics. Such solutions help hospitals and healthcare institutions to plan
how many staff members should be located in a given facility by using historical data,
overflow data from nearby facilities, demographic data, and seasonal sickness
patterns.
2. Personal medicine
In the field of personal medicine, predictive analytics will allow doctors to use
prognostic analytics to find cures for particular diseases. That is true even for
diseases that are not known at the time. Predictive analytics allows hospitals to
introduce more accurate modeling for mortality rates for individuals. But this is
just the tip of the iceberg.
We have known for a long time that some types of medicines work better for specific
groups of people but not others. That’s because human bodies are complex, and we
still don’t know many things about them. It’s impossible for a single health
practitioner to manually analyze all of the detailed information.
That’s where predictive analytics tools can help. They can discover correlations and
hidden patterns when examining large data sets and then create predictions. Such
tools can be applied efficiently at an individual level and allow caregivers to come up
with the best treatment options.
3. Population health and risk scoring
Prediction and prevention go hand in hand for a reason. This is especially true in the
field of population health management.
Healthcare organizations can use predictive analytics to identify individuals with a
higher risk of developing chronic conditions early in the disease progression. That
way, patients can avoid developing long-term health problems.
This can be achieved by creating risk scores with the help of big data and predictive
analytics. Such scores are based on patient-generated health data, biometric data, lab
testing, and many others.
Healthcare companies can use predictive modeling to proactively identify patients at
the highest risk, who would benefit most from intervention. This improves risk
management for providers and helps deliver better care to patients.
4. Outbreak prediction
Machine learning and AI tools are now used by governments to understand the
spread of contagious diseases throughout societies. They’re essential for
implementing the best measure to curb the outbreaks.
Predictive models can use historical as well as real-time data to help authorities
understand the scale of the outbreak and its possible development within different
regions, cities, or even continents.
An example of such a tool is BlueDot, which identified the coronavirus outbreak
before the Chinese government issued an official warning about it to WHO and the
world.
5. Controlling patient deterioration
While at the hospital, patients face various threats such as the acquisition of infection,
development of sepsis, or sudden downturn due to the existing clinical conditions.
Doctors equipped with data analytics tools can predict the possible deterioration on
the basis of the changes in the patient’s vitals. Most importantly, they can do that
before the symptoms clearly manifest themselves.
Machine learning is a technology that has proven to be effective in predicting clinical
events at the hospital — for example, the development of an acute kidney injury or
sepsis. At the University of Pennsylvania, doctors leverage a predictive analytics tool
that helps to identify patients who might fall victim to severe sepsis or septic shock 12
hours before the onset of the condition.
6. Supply chain management
This area isn’t directly related to healthcare service delivery, but it’s an essential part
of it. The supply chain is one of the most expensive areas of healthcare. But it also
represents one of the most exciting opportunities for organizations to reduce their
spendings and improve efficiency. 
Hospital executives who want to reduce variation and gain more actionable insights
into their ordering patterns and supply utilization are now investing in predictive
analytics. Using such tools to monitor the supply chain allows making data-driven,
proactive decisions about spending. This could save hospitals almost $10 million per
year, according to a survey.
Both predictive and descriptive analytics can support decision-making for price
negotiation, optimizing the ordering process, and reducing the variation in
supplies.
7. Potential in precision medicine
Healthcare organizations have access to millions of records they can use to uncover
patients who had a similar response to a specific medication.
Only machine learning-based predictive analytics solutions can uncover such insights
because the data sets in question are massive. They include data such as age, gender,
location, and all the relevant healthcare data.
Predictive analytics can lead to improved precision medicine outcomes and make it
easier for doctors to customize medical treatments, products, and practices to
individual patients.
8. Cost reductions from eliminating waste and fraud
Fraud, waste, and abuse cost the healthcare system in the United States more
than $234 billion each year.
By analyzing billing records and patient data, organizations will be able to identify
treatment or billing anomalies that include duplicate claims, medically unnecessary
treatments, or doctors prescribing unusually high rates of tests.
By identifying such issues, providers will be able to eliminate waste, fraud, and
abuse in their systems to reduce the losses and invest the money gained into mission-
critical areas.

Guenwoo Lee and Aya Suzuki (2015) Evaluating the Impact of Market Information
System on Coffee Producers’ Revenues and Profits in Ethiopia

Berhan, Eshetie & Kitaw, Daniel. (2012). The role of Marketing Information systems
(MKIS) in service quality in Ethiopian industries. South African Journal of Industrial
Engineering. 23. 66-76. 10.7166/23-1-220.