Chapter 3 Analyzing the Marketing Environment
First step of the marketing process--understanding the marketplace and customer needs and wants. Other actors in this environment--suppliers, intermediaries, customers, competitors, publics, and others--may work with or against the company. Major environmental forces--demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural--shape marketing opportunities, pose threats, and affect the company's ability to engage customers and build customer relationships. To develop effective marketing strategies, a company must first understand the environment in which marketing operates. A company's marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing management's ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers. Companies must constantly watch and adapt to the changing environment--or, in many cases, lead those changes. More than any other group in the company, marketers must be environmental trend trackers and opportunity seekers. Marketers have two special traits: They have disciplined methods--marketing research, marketing intelligence, and marketing analytics-for collecting information and developing insights about the marketing environment. They also spend more time in customer and competitor environments. By carefully studying the environment, marketers can adapt their strategies to meet new marketplace challenges and opportunities.
The Microenvironment and Macroenvironment
The marketing environment consists of a microenvironment and a macroenvironment.
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 macroenvironment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment--demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.
The Microenvironment: Marketing success requires building relationships with other company departments, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competitors, various
publics, and customers, which combine to make up the company's value delivery network.
Figure 3.1 shows the major actors in the marketer's microenvironment.
In crealing value for customers marketers must partner with other firms in the company's value delivery network.
Marketing Competitors P
Customers are the most important actors in the mpany's microenvironment The aim of the entire value delivery system is to serve target customers and create strong relationships with them.
Marketers must work in harmony with other company departments to create customer value and relationships.
The
Marketing
The Company: Marketing management takes other company groups into account when designing marketing plans. Top management groups include finance, R&D, HR, purchasing, accounting, and operations. These interrelated groups form the internal environment.
Top management sets the company's mission, objectives, broad strategies, and policies.
Marketing managers make decisions within these broader strategies and plans.
With marketing taking the lead, all departments--from manufacturing and finance to legal and human resources--share the responsibility for understanding customer needs and creating customer value.
Suppliers: Suppliers are an important piece of the company's overall customer value delivery network. They provide the company with the resources they need to produce their goods and services. SUPPLIER PROBLEMS CAN SERIOUSLY AFFECT MARKETING.
Marketing managers must watch supply availability and costs. Shortages, delays, or natural disasters can cost sales in the short run and damage customer satisfaction in the long run. RISING SUPPLY COSTS MAY