Forecasting and Demand Measurement

Conducting marketing research and collecting marketing intelligence can help to identify marketing opportunities.

The company must then measure and forecast the size, growth, and profit potential of each new opportunity. Sales forecasts prepared by marketing are used by finance to raise cash for investment and operations; by manufacturing to establish capacity and output; by purchasing to acquire the right amount of supplies; and by human resources to hire the needed workers. If the forecast is off the mark, the company will face excess or inadequate inventory. Because it’s based on estimates of demand, managers need to define what they mean by market demand