UNDERSTANDING THE MARKETPLACE AND

CONSUMERS THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

Jakob Zeh
Lionel Vital
Tobias Janus

Marketing Definition
Marketing is the process through and by which companies
create value for customers and build strong customer
relationships in order to capture value from the customer in
return.

Marketing Environment Definition

The actors and forces outside marketing that affect
managements ability to build and maintain successful
relationships with target customers.

Microenvironment
The companys microenvironment consists of actors close

to the company that combine to form its value delivery

network.

Customers
They are the most important actors in the companys
microenvironment, since they are the main targets of sny
given marketing strategy.

Internal Environment

Departments and management levels (CEO, managers,

employees)

 Suppliers
Provide the resources needed by the company to produce its
goods and services

 Resellers

Are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers
or make sales to them.

Distribution firms

Help the company stock and move goods from their point of origin to
their destinations.

Marketing Service Agencies

Help the company target and promote its products to the right
markets

 Financial intermediaries
Banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other financial entities.

Competitors
Other large firms with dominant positions in an industry

Public
Groups that have an actual or potential interest in, or impact on a companys
ability to achieve its goals.

Financial publics
Media publics
Government publics
Citizen-action publics
Local publics
General public

Macroenvironment
Consists of larger forces within the society that have an
effect on the entire microenvironment. These forces shape
opportunities and pose threats to the company.

 Demographic
Focuses on changes in populations (increase or decrease) and
the different age groups

 Economic
The conditions of the market, in regard to customers ability to spend,
purchase and invest.

Natural
Environmental sustainability, green movement, recycling

Technological
Changes in how fast and how efficient work is being carried out and
processed compared to decades ago embrace new technology (Xerox)

Political/Social
Socially responsible, which implies giving something back to the society or the
communities.

 Cultural forces
Ethnicity and racial makeup, and cultural groups

The Demographic Environment

Baby Boomers
between 1946 and 1964
shaped the marketing

environment
now spending carefully
planning to work longer

Generation X
between 1965 and 1976
seek success, less

materialistic
family comes first
most educated generation

Millennials
between 1977 and

2000
fluency and comfort
with digital technology
its a way of life
target of all kinds of
marketers

Generational Marketing
The Changing Family
Geogrpahic Schifts in

Population
Better Educated,
More White-Collar
Increasing Diversity

The Economic Environment

offers opportunities and

threats
industrial economies,
subsistence
economies, developing
economies
consists of factors that
affect consumer and
spending patterns

Major trends in the firms natural and

technological environments

Natural environment:
involves the natural resources that are necessary as
inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing
activities

Dangerous levels of air and water pollution

Steadily growing awareness for the environment
Trash and global warming some of the major concerns

Several trends in the natural environment

Growing shortages or raw materials
infinite resources are being polluted
renewable resources must be consumed wisely
non-renewable resources are becoming more costly to use in
production

 Increased pollution
Chemical and nuclear waste is not properly disposed of, lingers in
the environment
Littering of non-biodegradable products and packaging

 Increased govt intervention in the management of natural

resources
Some govts are able to take great care of their resources

management, while others lack the political will/power or simply the

funds to do so
World-wide effort doesnt seem possible; even the richest countries
lack the funds and influence to mount an action that could make a
change
Environmental protection groups need to be present and have
enforcing power in all countries

The Green Movement

 Sustainable environment
Not just obeying set regulations, but further developing strategies to
better the environmental situation.
Goal is an indefinitely sustainable world economy
Biodegradable packaging, production from recycled materials,
more efficient production methods
All clever marketing strategies companies and products more

attractive to the aware consumer

Technological Environment
forces that create new technologies, creating new
products and market opportunities

 Unbelievable technological advancements

Good: medicine, efficient production
Bad: Firearms, nuclear and chemical weapons
Research & Development
US as market leader, then China, Japan, Germany
Marketers in R&D teams
Stronger marketing connection
New technologies must be deemed safe
Through right marketing strategies, new products can be marketed
to the appropriate market and consumers
Stay up to date with:
Market developments
Arising opportunities
Competitors

Key changes in the political and cultural

environments

Political Environment
Laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that
influence and limit various organizations and individuals in
a given society

 Increasing Legislation
Many laws regarding competition, fair trade, consumer privacy,
product safety, etc.
Without these laws:
Consumer exploitation
Resource exploitation

A few reasons for the enactment of business legislation:

1. Protect companies from each other
2. Protect consumers from unfair business practices
3. Protect the interests of society against uncontrolled
business behaviours and activities

 Changing government agency enforcement

New laws and their enforcements increase along with the new
arising opportunities for firms
Marketers need to know about developments in the laws
constructed to protect competition, the society and the consumer
Comprehension of these laws on local, state, national and
international level is of the utmost importance

 Increased emphasis on ethics and socially responsible

actions
Long-run protection of consumers and environment (socially

responsible)
Constant scandals fresh interest in ethical issues
Code of ethics

 More cause-related marketing

Firms investing in worthwhile causes
Exercising their social responsibility
Value-led business and Caring capitalism
Cause-related marketing primary form of corporate giving
Clever idea to market ideas and products in relation to causes or
social events
Is cause-related actually cause exploiting?

Cultural Environment
institutions and other forces that affect societys basic
values, perceptions, preferences and behaviour

 Peoples views of themselves

Serving yourself vs. serving others
Products and services as a means of self-expression
Marketers can target products based on the consumers self-views

 Peoples view of others

Shifts in attitudes towards others
cocooning
Return to more traditional values

 Peoples views of organizations

Major organizations must be willing to do societys work
Decrease in confidence and loyalty towards American
organizations
Work as a way to earn income vs. work for satisfaction

 Peoples views of society

Patriots, reformers, malcontents
Marketers promote patriotic products
FIFA World Cup

 Peoples views of nature

Different attitudes towards the natural world
Technology vs. nature
Nature becoming a more and more important factor
Organic products

 Peoples views of the universe

Moving away from materialism to more permanent values
Affects economy in many ways
Books
TV shows
Products & services

Adaptation to Marketing Environment

Proactive stance
Create a strategy that characterizes your environment (foresee,
prevent and change, or even invent the environment).

Reactive stance
React to the situation by finding quick solutions or remedy (that
may work or may not)

sources
http://news.thomasnet.com/green_clean/wp-

content/uploads/sites/3/2011/09/smoke-stack-pollution.jpg
http://static.guim.co.uk/sysimages/Environment/Pix/pictures/2009/4/7/123911659302
1/Rubbish-litters-UK-beache-001.jpg
http://www.purepakistani.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/09/Culture-Environment.jpg
http://www.presseportal.de/bild/138897-previewpressemitteilung-nutella-eroeffnet-das-wm-jahr-mitneuen-spielern-in-zwei-tv-spots-mit-bild.jpg