Answer to Question 1
The goal of a marketing plan should be to obtain and retain customers. Theability of customers to purchase products and services is tied directly to theeconomic health of the city, state, or nation in which the establishmentoperat es. For many customers, away-from-home food purchases are madefrom discretionary income. While a single establishment cannot change theeconomic climate of its operating area, marketers should monitor their localeconomies for trends that could have either positive or negative effects ontheir establishments.
Answer to Question 2
Managers require factual information to make well-informed marketing decisions. Information used to make marketing-related decisions can come from a variety of sources. Internal information consists of data collected by the establishment and that are already in existence. Secondary information may be obtained from a variety of external sources, many of which distribute it at no charge. Primary information is data gathered for a specific decision-making purpose. To properly obtain it, managers may use an MkIS to generate factual information in ways that minimize cost and maximize accuracy.