Chapter 3 Vocabulary
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, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces. |
| Marketing intermediaries- Firms that help the company to promote, sell, and distribute, its goods and final buyers. |
Public- Any group that has an actual or potential interest in o impact on an organization's ability to achieve its objectives. |
| Baby Boomers- The 78 million people born during the baby boom following World War II and lasting until 1967. |
Generation X- The 45 million people born between 1965 and 1976 in the "birth death" following the baby boom. |
Generation Y or Millennial- the 83 million children of the baby boomers born between 1977 and 2000. |
Demography- the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics. |
Engel's Laws- differences noted over a century ago by in how people shift their spending across food, housing, transportation, helath care, and other goods and services categories as family income rises. |
| Economic Environment- factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns. |
| Natural Environment- Natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. |
| Technological Environment- Forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities. |
| Political Environment- Laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. |
| Cultural Environment- Institutions and other forces that affect society's basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. |
Chapter 3 Discussion Questions
1. Name and describe the elements of a company's microenvironment and give an example showing why each is important.
The Microenvironment consists of the actors close to the company that affects its ability to serve its consumers- the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors and politics. The company needs to study five types of customer markets
closely,consumer markets,business markets, reseller markets, government markets, and international markets. Various publics any group that has an actual of potential interest in or impact on an organizations ability to achieve its objectives, seven types are identified, financial, media, citizen action, local, government and internal publics.
2. What is demography and why are marketers interested in it? List some of the demographic trends of interest to marketers.
Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation and other statistics. The demographic environment is of major interest to marketer's because it involves people and people make up markets.
3. Discuss the trends in the natural environment that marketers must be aware of and provide examples of companies' responses to them.
The natural environment:
- shortages of raw materials
- increase of pollution
- increase of government intervention
4. Discuss reasons why business legislation is enacted. What role do businesses and industry groups play in shaping such legislation?
Its to protect companies from each other, to protect consumers from unfair business practices, and to protect the interests of security against unrestrained business behavior.
5. Compare and contrast core beliefs/values and secondary beliefs/values.
Provide an example of each and discuss the potential impact marketers have on each.
Core beliefs and values are passed on from parents to childrens' and are reinforced by schools, churches, business,and government. Secondary beliefs and values are more open to change.
6. How should marketers respond to the changing environment?
Many companies view the marketing environment as an uncontrollable element to which they must react and adapts. Other
companies take a proactive stance toward the marketing environment.