Marketing is so much more than just selling and once you understand the art of marketing, you are already half way towards success
Marketing environment
According to Philip Kotler, marketing environment refers to the external factors that affect a company to maintain good relationship with its customers. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
It is very important to scan the market environment so as to be able to identify the strength of the company as well as its weakness, the behavior of consumers and the way competition works. To be able to scan the marketing environment, the company has to analyse the internal environment to know about its consumers, human resources and his business and also to analyse the external environment so as to identify its opportunities and treats. And this will help in the end to be able to plan strategies for the business.
Micro environment (Internal environment)
The micro environment consists of elements that affect the business internally.
• The company
An organisation is made up of several departments. The marketing department works directly with other departments. All these departments can positively influence or have a negative impact on the marketing plans, decisions and actions. Thus, the company must be well organized within its departments so that necessary decisions can be taken in time.
• Company’s suppliers
The suppliers provide resources to a company so that it can perform its day-to-day activities. The marketing manager needs to monitor its supplies as the production depends on the amount of resources available.
According to Michael Porter, the firm is dependent upon its suppliers as much as the suppliers is dependent upon the firm, therefore there should always be a good relationship among them. (JK Saini, 2015)
• Marketing intermediaries
The path for the products to reach the customers is done through marketing intermediaries or distribution channel. A company can rely on channel such as wholesaler, retailer and agent.
• Customers
A customer can be an individual, an organisation or the government that buy a good or a service so as to use in the production process, to resell the good to make a profit or to satisfy a need/want.
• Competitors
A company has to be aware of its competition in order to be able to take the best strategy for the company.
• Public
Public is any group having an impact or an interest relating to the marketing activities of the company. Public can be financial institutions, government, media and people living in the region among others.
For example, a good article in the newspaper by the media about the product can have positive impact for the company.
Macro environment (External environment)
The macro environment is everything that affects the business externally.
The factors of the external environment are PESTLE
• Political factors
It refers to the political environment in the economy in which the company operates. Political decisions, government decision such tax, law on production, etc. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
• Economic factors
The economic environment in which a country operates in is a very important aspect. The economic environment can be affected by the economic growth, the level of unemployment, and the costs of raw material or inflation (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
• Social factors
The social factors refer to the norms, values, lifestyle, tradition, education of an individual. These factors can have influence the purchase decision of a consumer. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
• Technological factors
Nowadays, it is technology that is driving our society. The technological factors refer to anything related to the internet, e-commerce, and technology. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
• Legal factors
Marketing decisions that a company made are affected by laws and regulation on advertising, minimum wages, distribution arrangement, and consumer protection among other. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
• Environmental factors
The environmental factors refer to the natural resources, the raw material, and the waste disposal. A company should be aware of the laws pertaining on the environment also with government intervention in being ecological lately. (Shreyasi Ghose, 2015)
Benefits of an organisation involved in marketing activities
As mentioned above, marketing activities are important to pass a message to the target audience about the product.
The first benefit of being involved in the marketing activities is that it does the promotion of the business. It makes people aware about the brand, the products.
Secondly, it enhanced the brand recognition. With advertising, people will be able to recognize the brand; they will be able to associate the logo with the brand.
Furthermore, marketing activities help to increased sales. Marketing activities can convert prospects into final customers.
Costs of an organisation involved in marketing activities
The cost of being involved in marketing activities is the price and time invested.
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