1. What is a brand, and how does branding work?

What are the components of a modern marketing information

system?
Marketing information system is a set of procedures and methods for regular collection, analysis, and presentation of information for use in marketing. A marketing information system is built of individuals who can be anybody, equipment and processes to gather, define, analyze, evaluate and the accurate information to marketing decision makers. Actually, what I am going to explain in this doesn’t exist in reality. That’s to say, there is not any company that has a perfect Marketing Information System yet. Many companies have only come very close to have an ideal system with big data, information infrastructure.
Mainly, it consists of three components which are Sources of Data (internal and external), Technology to manage Data and the Uses for Information. Information can be gathered from the respondents in various ways by communicating with them, from observation, past information, intended behaviour. At the same time information can be obtain via the marketing researches, the marketing intelligence system and marketing models. Data management is the practice of restoring, and using data securely, efficiently, and effectively. The goal of data management is to help companies to optimize the data usage so that they can make decisions and perform actions that maximize the benefits of the organization.
Everything is prepared and ready, how do you use the information? It can be used ibn routine reports like progress reports, exceptional reports, marketing dashboards and through data mining, customer acquisition, customer retention, customer abandonment and more importantly, in decision-making processes.

2. 
   What are the pros and cons of database marketing?
   

The information related to customers comes from a variety of internal and external sources, such as sales information, e-mail correspondence, warranty cards, club cards, promotional campaigns, and more recently, from social media. The increasing popularity of social media makes the implementation of database marketing both challenging, and at the same time, a very powerful strategic tool for making an organization more competitive in the marketplace.
Database marketing works by using analysis, data segmentation, and automated tools to transform marketing from a reactive to a proactive process. It makes an organization to respond to the needs and desires of its customers and also allows the organization to better adapt to changes in the marketplace. The goal of a successful marketing campaign for any organization is to generate the highest possible revenue for the organization. Database marketing is the backbone of this process and is part of an integrated approach of analyzing profitability, segmenting customers, and using marketing tactics that build customer loyalty and increase sales. While demographics data explain “who” the buyer is, psychographics explain “why” he/she buys a product or service. Demographic information includes gender, age, income, and marital status. Psychographic information includes habits, hobbies, spending patterns, and values.
Database marketing offers several advantages, including improved profitability, increased sales, improved marketing communications, and improved product development. It also Makes your marketing communications more targeted. Specifying your customers is not only important for ensuring that the correct person receives the most appropriate message, it is also more effective than a ‘one message for all’ approach to direct marketing in terms of cost issues. Finely targeted marketing is more efficient, particularly when sending emails, as you are not wasting money sending catalogs or communications to those who are unlikely to respond.