3.1 The Microenvironment and Macroenvironment Flashcards
Definition of The Microenvironment
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.
Definition of The Macroenvironment
Macroenvironment:
The larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment—demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.
What relationships must we build in order to achieve marketing success?
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 Actors in the Microenvironment
What other company groups must be taken into account when designing marketing plans?
In designing marketing plans, marketing management takes other company groups into account—groups such as:
- Top management,
- Finance
- Research and development (R&D)
- Purchasing
- Operations
- Human resources
- Accounting.
- All of these interrelated groups form the internal environment.
What is the responsability of suppliers?
Suppliers form an important link in the company’s overall customer value delivery network. They provide the resources needed by the company to produce its goods and services.
How can supplier problems affect marketing?
Marketing managers must watch supply availability and costs.
Supply shortages or delays, natural disasters, and other events can cost sales in the short run and damage customer satisfaction in the long run.
Rising supply costs may force price increases that can harm the company’s sales volume.
Definition of Marketing Intermediaries.
Marketing intermediaries:
Firms that help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its goods to final buyers.
What do Marketing intermediaries involve?
They include:
- Resellers
- Physical distribution firms
- Marketing services agencies
- Financial intermediaries
What are Resellers?
Resellers are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them.
These include wholesalers and retailers that buy and resell merchandise.
What are Physical distribution firms?
Physical distribution firms help the company stock and move goods from their points of origin to their destinations.
What are Marketing Services agencies?
Marketing services agencies are the marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms that help the company target and promote its products to the right markets.
What are Financial Intermediaries?
Financial intermediaries include banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods.
How must marketers position themselves against competitors?
The marketing concept states that, to be successful, a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do.
Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers.
They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors’ offerings in the minds of consumers.
Definition of a Public
Public:
Any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives.
Figure 3.2 Major Forces in the Company’s Macroenvironment
