D.V.L. Smith, J.H. Fletcher. Inside Information : Making Sense of Marketing Data
"This book will immensely useful to anyone involved in business decision-making as they seek to acquire and digest information that will assist them - and it achieves this in an eminently readable fashion."--Peter Goudge, Chairman, Association of Users of Research Agencies (AURA), Senior Research Manager, National Westminster Bank, UK
"This book is the one we have been waiting for. It's a profound work of synthesis and insight (that has) implications for the way that market researchers think about the world and their role in it."--Justin Gutmann, Chairman, Market Research Society; Marketing Planning Manager, London Underground Limited
The twenty-first century has brought with it an inundation of information with which business has to grapple. For those who have to make sense of information on a day-to-day basis, a new set of information skills and competencies, a new set of habits are required to handle the new world of multi-source data.
In this book help is at hand. It is full of practical guidance on how to effectively process and action modern marketing and business information to maximum competitive advantage. The authors provide a step-by-step practical approach to the holistic analysis of information and data, complete with tools and checklists.
For 'knowledge workers' who have to make sense of new sources of business information for effective marketing decision-making, this book provides:
- the 'craft skills' to scan, gut and action information
- the tools to effectively apply qualitative and quantitative marketing information to the decision-making process
If you use market research data to make commercial decisions, this book will show you:
- how better to understand what qualitative research is telling you
- what questions to ask about surveys in order to get the most robust evidence
- what you need to know about commissioning new research
For market research practitioners who supply data, this book will also be invaluable. It defines, for the first time, the holistic data analysis process in a way that will generate debate within the industry on how to best advance these methods and approaches.