Larry Anderson is the president of Anderson Construction. The firm had been in business for almost five years when the housing industry crashed with the Wall Street debacle of 2008. Although Anderson had quickly become profitable in the building business, it was a time when nearly everyone in construction was making profits, as the industry had been overinflated by a boom based on banking fees rather than real demand. To make a reputation, the company had invested heavily in the selection of a superior construction crew. Larry had followed a strategy of hiring only personnel with high levels of training and experience. This had given him the ability to be versatile. His well-experienced staff of employees gave him the ability to take on a variety of construction projects. By 2012, Anderson was one of the few firms left in town. Most construction firms had gone out of business trying to wait out the housing bust. Anderson had remained afloat with a few good employees and very limited demand among a few individuals who were interested in building custom homes. Because Larry had invested in his personnel with better pay and continuous training, he had many former employees who stayed in touch with him. These employees were eager to go back to work for Anderson and were biding their time in one or more part-time jobs. Larry was not accustomed to doing marketing research.
Starting his business at the time of an artificial building boom, he had what seemed like an endless supply of job opportunities on which to bid. The only research Larry had conducted during those formative years was an exploration to find key personnel and to keep up with building materials and building code changes. Now, as Larry had only two custom-home jobs in the queue, he began to worry about how he could find more work for his construction crews. He wondered if marketing research would be of any help.
1. Explain why you think Larry should or should not look into doing marketing research.
2. In thinking about the components of a marketing information system, which components would you suggest Larry use and why?