Principles of Marketing: 6th European Edition
Chapter 3:
Marketing environment: the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing
management‘s ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its‘ target
customers. It consists of the micro-, macro- and responding to the marketing
environment.
Marketing research
Marketing intelligence
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.
Company: consists of top management (sets the company‘s mission, objectives,
broad strategies and policies), finance, research and development, purchasing,
manufacturing and accounting: departments and management considered as internal
environment
Suppliers: provide the resources needed by the company to produce its goods and
services. Must watch supply availability and costs
Marketing intermediaries: are distribution channel firms that help the company to
promote, sell and distribute its goods to final buyers: i.e. resellers, physical
distribution firms, marketing services agencies, financial intermediaries
Competitors: as companies must gain strategic advantage by positioning their
offerings strongly against competitors‘ offerings in the minds of consumers
Publics: any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an
organization‘s ability to achieve its objectives. There are seven types of publics:
Financial publics: influences the company‘s ability to obtain funds
Media publics: carries news, features and editorial opinion
Government publics: management must take government developments in
account
Citizen-action publics: some particular groups may question a company‘s
marketing decisions
Local publics: dealing with local community issues and provide community support
General public: concerned about the general public‘s attitude toward its products
and activities
Internal publics: use newsletters and other means to inform and motivate their
internal publics
Customers: most important actors in the company‘s microenvironment. Five types of
customer markets: consumer markets, business markets, reseller markets (resell for
profit), government markets, international markets
Macroenvironment
Macroenvironment: the larger social forces outside that affect the microenvironment -
demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces.
1
, Demographic environment: the study of human populations in term of size,
density, location, age, gender, face, occupational and other statistics.
World population growth: more population has been supported by economic
growth, while improving nutrition, sanitation and medical care has allowed
people to live increasingly long lives. Nowadays more people live in the cities &
there‘s higher education.
Changing age structure of world population: youthful population ensures that
they will continue to enjoy a plentiful supply of young workers supporting a
relatively small population of elderly people. Countries with unfavorable age
structures have concerns about a loss of dynamism and growing burden on
public finances.
Generational differences in the developing world:
Baby boomers (1946-1964): shaping the marketing environment. Active
boomers (zoomers) have no intention of abandoning their youthful
lifestyles as their age.
Generation X (1965-1976): ‗birth dearth‘. Increasing parental divorce rates
and higher employment for their mothers made them the first generation
of latchkey kids. Less materialistic. Prefer quality to quantity.
Generation Y (1977-2000): ‗Millennials‘. Tweens (10-12), teens (13-18) &
young adults (19-33). They all have in common: comfort with digital
technology and their utter fluency.
Changing family structure: new household formats, working women, youth
market (e.g. living with their parents) and older workers.
Geographic shifts in population and increasing market diversity: migration,
ethnic diversity in markets, recognizing other aspects of diversity in markets
(gay/lesbian consumers), urbanization.
Economic environment: economic factors that affect consumer purchasing power
and spending patterns
Changing world order (European enlargement and integration):
Industrial economics: constitute rich markets for many different kinds of
goods.
Developing economics: can offer outstanding marketing opportunities for
the right kinds of products
Subsistence economics: consume most of their own agricultural and
industrial output and may offer few immediate market opportunities.
Changing consumer spending: Engel‟s laws: as family income rises, the
percentage spent on food declines, the percentage spent on housing remains
constant, and the percentage spent on other categories and savings increases.
Income distribution and changes in purchasing power: gap between rich and
poor
Natural environment: natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or
that are affected by marketing activities. This lead to sustainable marketing
strategies. Cities around the world, air and water pollution reached dangerous levels:
Growing shortage of raw materials (nonrenewable recourses)
Increased cost of energy
Increased pollution (disposal of chemical and nuclear waste)
Increased government intervention in natural resource management
2
Chapter 3:
Marketing environment: the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing
management‘s ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its‘ target
customers. It consists of the micro-, macro- and responding to the marketing
environment.
Marketing research
Marketing intelligence
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.
Company: consists of top management (sets the company‘s mission, objectives,
broad strategies and policies), finance, research and development, purchasing,
manufacturing and accounting: departments and management considered as internal
environment
Suppliers: provide the resources needed by the company to produce its goods and
services. Must watch supply availability and costs
Marketing intermediaries: are distribution channel firms that help the company to
promote, sell and distribute its goods to final buyers: i.e. resellers, physical
distribution firms, marketing services agencies, financial intermediaries
Competitors: as companies must gain strategic advantage by positioning their
offerings strongly against competitors‘ offerings in the minds of consumers
Publics: any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an
organization‘s ability to achieve its objectives. There are seven types of publics:
Financial publics: influences the company‘s ability to obtain funds
Media publics: carries news, features and editorial opinion
Government publics: management must take government developments in
account
Citizen-action publics: some particular groups may question a company‘s
marketing decisions
Local publics: dealing with local community issues and provide community support
General public: concerned about the general public‘s attitude toward its products
and activities
Internal publics: use newsletters and other means to inform and motivate their
internal publics
Customers: most important actors in the company‘s microenvironment. Five types of
customer markets: consumer markets, business markets, reseller markets (resell for
profit), government markets, international markets
Macroenvironment
Macroenvironment: the larger social forces outside that affect the microenvironment -
demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces.
1
, Demographic environment: the study of human populations in term of size,
density, location, age, gender, face, occupational and other statistics.
World population growth: more population has been supported by economic
growth, while improving nutrition, sanitation and medical care has allowed
people to live increasingly long lives. Nowadays more people live in the cities &
there‘s higher education.
Changing age structure of world population: youthful population ensures that
they will continue to enjoy a plentiful supply of young workers supporting a
relatively small population of elderly people. Countries with unfavorable age
structures have concerns about a loss of dynamism and growing burden on
public finances.
Generational differences in the developing world:
Baby boomers (1946-1964): shaping the marketing environment. Active
boomers (zoomers) have no intention of abandoning their youthful
lifestyles as their age.
Generation X (1965-1976): ‗birth dearth‘. Increasing parental divorce rates
and higher employment for their mothers made them the first generation
of latchkey kids. Less materialistic. Prefer quality to quantity.
Generation Y (1977-2000): ‗Millennials‘. Tweens (10-12), teens (13-18) &
young adults (19-33). They all have in common: comfort with digital
technology and their utter fluency.
Changing family structure: new household formats, working women, youth
market (e.g. living with their parents) and older workers.
Geographic shifts in population and increasing market diversity: migration,
ethnic diversity in markets, recognizing other aspects of diversity in markets
(gay/lesbian consumers), urbanization.
Economic environment: economic factors that affect consumer purchasing power
and spending patterns
Changing world order (European enlargement and integration):
Industrial economics: constitute rich markets for many different kinds of
goods.
Developing economics: can offer outstanding marketing opportunities for
the right kinds of products
Subsistence economics: consume most of their own agricultural and
industrial output and may offer few immediate market opportunities.
Changing consumer spending: Engel‟s laws: as family income rises, the
percentage spent on food declines, the percentage spent on housing remains
constant, and the percentage spent on other categories and savings increases.
Income distribution and changes in purchasing power: gap between rich and
poor
Natural environment: natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or
that are affected by marketing activities. This lead to sustainable marketing
strategies. Cities around the world, air and water pollution reached dangerous levels:
Growing shortage of raw materials (nonrenewable recourses)
Increased cost of energy
Increased pollution (disposal of chemical and nuclear waste)
Increased government intervention in natural resource management
2
