Analyzing the Marketing Environment

Analyzing the Marketing Environment

1. The Microenvironment and Macroenvironment

   • The Microenvironment
     • The microenvironment consists of the actors close to the company that affect its ability to engage and serve its customers—the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors, and publics
       • The microenvironment includes all the actors close to the company that affect, positively or negatively, its ability to create value for and relationships with customers.
         • The Company
         • Suppliers
         • Marketing Intermediaries
         • Competitors
         • Publics
         • Customers
   • The Macroenvironment
     • The macroenvironment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment—demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.
       • The company and all of the other actors operate in a larger macroenvironment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company.

2. The Demographic and Economic Environments

   • The Demographic Environment
     • Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics.
       • The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people, and people make up markets.
     • The Changing Age Structure of the Population
       • The single most important demographic trend in the United States is the changing age structure of the population. Primarily because of falling birthrates and longer life expectancies, the U.S. population is rapidly getting older.
         • The Baby Boomers
         • Generation X
         • Millennials
         • Generation Z
     • The Changing American Family
       • The traditional household consists of a husband, wife, and children (and sometimes grand- parents). Yet the historic American ideal of the two-child, two-car suburban family has lately been losing some of its luster
         • Companies are now adapting their marketing to reflect the changing dynamics of American families.
     • Geographic Shifts in Population
       • This is a period of great migratory movements between and within countries.
         • Many marketers are actively courting the lucrative telecom- muting market.
     • A Better-Educated, More White-Collar, More Professional Population
       • The rising number of educated professionals will affect not just what people buy but also how they buy.
     • Increasing Diversity
       • Marketers now face increasingly diverse markets, both at home and abroad, as their operations become more international in scope.
   • The Economic Environment
     • The economic environment consists of economic factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns. Economic factors can have a dramatic effect on consumer spending and buying behavior.
       • Consumers have now adopted a back-to-basics sensibility in their lifestyles and spending patterns that will likely persist for years to come.
         • They are buying less and looking for greater value in the things they do buy.
       • Value marketing has become the watchword for many marketers.

3. The Natural and Technological Environments

   • The Natural Environment
     • The natural environment involves the physical environment and the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities.
       • Marketers should be aware of several trends in the natural environment.
         • shortages of raw materials
         • increased pollution
         • increased government intervention
   • The Technological Environment
     • The technological environment is perhaps the most dramatic force now shaping our destiny.
       • The technological environment changes rapidly, creating new markets and opportu- nities. However, every new technology replaces an older technology.
         • Thus, marketers should watch the technological environment closely. Companies that do not keep up will soon find their products outdated. If that happens, they will miss new product and market opportunities.

4. The Political–Social and Cultural Environments

   • The Political and Social Environment
     • Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political environment.
       • The political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society.
         • Legislation Regulating Business
           • Well-conceived regulation can encourage competition and ensure fair markets for goods and services.
         • Increased Emphasis on Ethics and Socially Responsible Actions
           • Socially Responsible Behavior. Enlightened companies encourage their managers to look beyond what the regulatory system allows and simply “do the right thing.” These socially responsible firms actively seek out ways to protect the long-run interests of their consumers and the environment.
   • The Cultural Environment
     • The cultural environment consists of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors.
       • The Persistence of Cultural Values
         • People in a given society hold many beliefs and values. Their core beliefs and values have a high degree of persistence.
           • Core beliefs and values are passed on from parents to children and are reinforced by schools, businesses, religious institutions, and government.
           • Secondary beliefs and values are more open to change.
           • Marketers have some chance of changing secondary values but little chance of changing core values.
       • Shifts in Secondary Cultural Values
         • People’s Views of Themselves
         • People’s Views of Others
         • People’s Views of Organizations
         • People’s Views of Society
         • People’s Views of Nature
         • People’s Views of the Universe
         • Marketers want to predict cultural shifts to spot new opportunities or threats. The major cultural values of a society are expressed in people’s views of themselves and others as well as in their views of organizations, society, nature, and the universe.

5. Responding to the Marketing Environment

   • “There are three kinds of companies: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what’s happened.”
     • Many companies view the marketing environment as an uncontrollable element to which they must react and adapt. They passively accept the marketing environment and do not try to change it.
     • Other companies take a proactive stance toward the marketing environment. Rather than assuming that strategic options are bounded by the current environment, these firms develop strategies to change the environment.
     • Marketing management cannot always control environmental forces. In many cases, it must settle for simply watching and reacting to the environment.