In previous article, I have explained how important is Marketing Information System implementation for beginners. I hope you will know the importance of that. For example, in real world if you want to launch new products, you will know how a marketing information system has an effect on the new product time to market and make your effort efficient.

There are several phases to implement Marketing Information Systems. I will inform you the best practice stage to implement this system. Actually, I have got these Marketing information System best practices from many sources like e-book, web articles, books, and so forth. Afterwards I recap them in this blog to make it easier for beginners to get them insight.

I have experiences implementing this for my small business. I follow the steps based on best practices, the result is good for me. So, If you marketing student college, beginner marketer, small business owner, you can read this then understand these materials. After that you can practice in the real world such as in your business, then see the outcome. It will amaze you.

Do not imagine this can be implemented by big company only. You can implement it, although you have a small business. You can implement it with free spreadsheet software, you can implement it in your FB-ads campaign, you can perform it in your email marketing, and so on.

Steps to Implement Marketing Information System

Generally, there are four stages to develop your Marketing System. They are: planning, implementing, monitoring, feedback.

In each phase, you will find there are several works to do.

The steps are:

1. Need analysis

This is the first step. This phase determines whether your system is success or fail. You must state your fundamental need clearly. For examples: What are your goals? What the factual things do you need, What report and information do you really want, What metrics do you focus on, What KPI (Key Performance Indicator) do you want to monitor, and so on.

2. Developing plans

After step above, you have to develop plans. You must design that system based on your goal or objective.

You must define who or where or how and other question. For example, how to reach this goal.

The planning is from the infrastructure up to tools or software which is user friendly so that you can easily daily monitoring you performance, get a report, input the data, analyze the data, etc.

3. Aligning budget based on planning

This phase is calculating your budget against your planning. You must accurately count the how much you will invest, and when you will get ROI.

If you finish this phase, you will go to implementation stage soon.

4. Implementing

This is a fundamental step. You are implementing your plan now. This is the crucial phase, you must read other resource related to this phase. Because if I write here, it will be a long article in this blog and it will become an e-book.

5. Testing

Soon after finishing the implementation, you have tested the system, whether is run well or not. In this stage, you must check the details. It means you must see your system in every single step. If you found error, fix it soon. Do not delay.

6. Educate new system to stakeholder / communicate with them

After testing successfully, now your step is communicating this system to all people who are related to your business. If it is needed, you should educate your staff to run the system based on their role in your company.

7. Parallel run with current system

This step is correlated with step above. Before going live or launching a new system, you must perform parallel run and benchmark them and then make a feedback.

8. Launching

After several times and parallel run performed successfully, now you are ready to launch your system and go live.

9. Tracking and monitoring

This activities can be done daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Now you can track or monitor the metrics based on your key performance indicator.

10. Doing performance management activities

These activities is related to the above activities. With these activities you will know your performance and review your business, and calculate if your ROI is achieved well or not.

Those are the main step to implement marketing information system. After implementing this system, you will find that you make a marketing decision effectively and decide the appropriate resolution efficiently.

Obstacles to Marketing Information System Implementation

1.Lack of communication.

One of the problems in implementing the system is a lack of communication or miscommunication between people in your company.

2. Unclear goals or objectives.

By unclear objectives, you will develop the system which produces bad results. I mean the result that is not suitable for your need.

3. No tracking.

You cannot measure how effective your system with no tracking. Also you can measure the ROI exactly. You do not have feedback, whether your strategy works or not.

4. People resistance to change.

This is the most difficult thing in implementing new systems. The people who are in comfort zone usually unwilling to change. The prefer use current system and enjoy it although the system need to be improved.

You can read related post below to get more understanding about Marketing Information System.

Marketing Information system for beginner.

Marketing Information system software.