Environmental Factors and Marketing Decisions

Environmental Factors and Marketing Decisions

Will a successful marketing plan in one country work in another country? This is unlikely to occur due to many different cultural, political, economic, technological, and competitive environments. Marketing mixes require adjustments to meet local conditions and companies that understand these environmental factors can create advantages when positioning their products or services. Wal-Mart is a global organization and uses market research to understand the market environments before making marketing decisions.

Introduction

Wal-Mart operates over 6,100 stores worldwide, employs 1.8 million associates, and operates in 15 different countries (Annual Report, 2006, p. 12). Lee Scott, Chairman and CEO stated, "Today, we find ourselves operating 2,285 international stores, buying products from 70 countries, and doing 20% of our business abroad. Wal-Mart's marketplace is clearly the world" (Annual Report, 2006, p. 13).

Wal-Mart stores are primarily service providers that include tangible goods. Without offering these tangible goods at everyday low prices, sales would probably decrease significantly. The domestic branding Wal-Mart advertises is "Everyday Low Prices." Yet, if Wal-Mart stocked the same products in every store around the globe, it would not generate the sales and profits it realizes today. Wal-Mart must adjust the marketing mix based on the major elements of the marketing environment.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors around the globe impact the organization's marketing decisions. These factors that are important to marketers include social, economic, political/legal, technological, and competitive environments. The social environment focuses on groups o...

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