Chapter 3: Environment

What are some weaknesses in segmenting customers in terms of their age? [Baby Boomers, Generation X, The Millenials]

1. Targeting one age segment too heavily may turn off other age segments; 2. Each generation spans decades of time and many socioeconomic levels. Thus, marketers need to form more precise age-specific segments within each group. Defining people by their birth date may be less effective than segmenting them by their lifestyle, life stage, or the common values they seek in the products they buy.

Public

Any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization's ability to achieve its objectives.

Five types of customers and briefly explain each

Consumer, business, reseller, government, international 1. Consumer markets consist of individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption. 2. Business markets buy goods and services for further processing or use in their production processes. 3. Reseller markets buy goods and services to resell at a profit. 4. Government markets consist of government agencies that buy goods and services to produce public services or transfer the goods and services to others who need them. 5. International markets consist of these buyers in other countries, including consumers, producers, resellers, and governments.

Actors in Macroenvironment

Demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, cultural.

Environmental sustainability

Developing strategies and practices that create a world economy that the planet can support indefinitely.

Economic Environment

Economic factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns.

Seven types of public and briefly explain each

Financial public; Media public; Government public; Citizen-action public; Local public; General public; Internal Public. Financial publics: This group influences the company's ability to obtain funds. Banks, investment analysts, and stockholders are the major financial publics. Media publics: This group carries news, features, and editorial opinion. It includes newspapers, magazines, television stations, and blogs and other Internet media. Government publics: Governmental agencies, regulations and policies. Marketers must often consult the company's lawyers on issues of product safety, truth in advertising, and other matters. Citizen-action publics: A company's marketing decisions may be questioned by consumer organizations, environmental groups, minority groups, and others. Its public relations department can help it stay in touch with consumer and citizen groups. Local publics: This group includes neighbourhood residents and community organizations. Large companies usually create departments and programs that deal with local community issues and provide community support. General public. A company needs to be concerned about the general public's attitude toward its products and activities. The public's image of the company affects its buying. Internal publics. This group includes workers, managers, volunteers, and the board of directors. Large companies use newsletters and other means to inform and motivate their internal publics. When employees feel good about the companies they work for, this positive attitude spills over to the external publics.

Marketing Intermediaries

Firms that help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its goods to final buyers.

Technological environment

Forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities.

Generation X

The 49 million people born between 1965 and 1976 in the "birth dearth" following the baby boom.

Baby Boomers

The 78 million people born during the years following World War II and lasting until 1964.

The Millenials

The 83 million children of the baby boomers born between 1977 and 2000.

Marketing Environment

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

Microenvironment

The actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers— the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors, and publics.

Macroenvironment

The larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment—demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.

Natural Environment

The physical environment and the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities.

Demography

The study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics.

Actors in microenvironment

the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competitors, public, customers