I¡¦m not sure if I am taking the right definition of ¡§external environments¡¨ in my answer, but I will talk about them in the way I have learned about them before. There are always a number of external factors that affect customers, and if a marketing team is good they will take all of them into consideration.
Demographics: Defined as: The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets. I think this is one of the most important factors to look at because in take into account many things about the population including, but not limited to: ľ Race ľ Gender ľ Average Income ľ Location ľ Population
This makes a huge difference in marketing because marketing to middle aged Hispanic females may need a totally different campaign then elderly white males, although they may both be interested in the product. This is generally used in the initial stages of planning to decide if a certain area will even be profitable to market in.
Political Factors: Depending on the political group of the area there may be bans on certain advertising or activities. Certain businesses may be supported more by specific political groups. For example a gun shop may flop in a more democratic area but be a huge success in a primary republican area. You could compare say, Texas and Massachusetts. In Republican Texas the gun ownership percentage is much, much higher then in Democratic Massachusetts.
Economic Factors: This includes things like interest rates, exchange rates, government policies on taxation and spending, among other things. One of the most common examples of this is car dealerships advertising ¡§Lowest Interest Rates Ever!¡¨ It may be much more successful to push a product more when interest rates are lower, and more appealing to consumers.
Technological Factors: The technological world is booming, products are moving from Version 1.5 to Version 6.7 in a matter of months. With so much new technology being introduced it¡¦s important to remain user friendly, cost conscious, and efficient.
Competitors: This one is huge. Companies and consumers alike need to be aware of the competing business in the area. Cost conscious consumers will look in flyers to see if Big Y or Stop and Shop has cheaper grapes, and the businesses need to be aware of this so they can appeal to the customer in a way the other business is not. If there are competing businesses in a specific area, you will RARELY see one advertise and the other abstain, for the simple fact that you need to do everything your competitor is doing and then some.
For her book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, Barbara Ehrenreich, a middle-aged female investigative journalist, assumed the undercover position of a newly divorced housewife returning to work after several years of unemployment. The premise for Ehrenreich to go undercover in this way was due to her belief that a single mother returning to work after years of being on welfare would have a difficult time providing for her family on a low or minimum wage. Her cover story was the closest she could get to that of a welfare mother since she had no children and was not on welfare. During the time she developed the idea for the book, “roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform” were going to have to survive on a $6 or $7 an hour wage; the wage of the inexperienced and uneducated. This paper will discuss Ehrenreich's approach to the research, her discoveries, and the economic assumptions we can make based on the information presented in her book.
First, demographics are measureable statistics of a given group of the population. The quantifiable subsets of a given population could be gender, age, ethnicity, income, as well as other subsets to consider depending on research needs. Demographic trends and distribution describe historical as well as current population levels at a particular time. We live with a diverse mix of people. Diversity can be defined as the quality of being different. Politically, socially, and linguistically different ways of thinking, acting, and living various lifestyles can cause misunderstandings among people resulting in conflict. In reality people are a heterogeneous mix of culture, values, beliefs, and self –identities. The idea that the United States is metaphorically a melting pot is not true. A tapestry would be a better term to describe America’s roots and present day cultural expansion.
In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Ehrenreich doesn’t assume much of her audience. Now having written the book, she expects her audience to have some sort of background about how low wage jobs or about some of the experiences of low wage jobs. Either way, Ehrenreich assumes that most of her readers aren’t aware or have some experiences when it comes to low wage jobs.
Jackson Pollock was an American abstract artist born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912. He was the youngest of his five brothers. Even though he was born on a farm, he never milked a cow and he was terrified of horses because he grew up in California. He dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen and proceeded to move to New York City with his older brother, Charles, and studied with Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League. Thomas Benton was already a great artist at the time in which Pollock studied with him. Benton acted like the father figure in Pollock’s life to replace the original that wasn’t there. Benton was known for his large murals that appear on ceilings or walls. “Jack was a rebellious sort at all times,” recalls his classmate and friend, artist Harold Lehman. He grew his hair long and helped pen a manifesto denouncing athletics, even though “he had a muscular build and the school wanted to put him on the football team,” says former teacher Doug Lemon. Pollock always was upset with himself in his studies because he had troubles drawing things like they were supposed to look. From 1938 to 1942, Jackson joined a Mexican workshop of people with a painter named David Siqueiros. This workshop painted the murals for the WPA Federal Art Projects. This new group of people started experimenting with new types of paint and new ways of applying it to large canvas. People say that this time period was when Jackson was stimulated with ideas from looking at the Mexican or WPA murals. Looking at paintings from Picasso and the surrealists also inspired Jackson at this time. The type of paint they used was mixing oil colors with paint used for painting cars. Jackson noticed that the shapes and colors they created were just as beautiful as anything else was. Jackson realized that you didn’t have to be able to draw perfect to make beautiful paintings. Jackson started developing a whole new way of painting that he had never tried before and his paintings were starting to look totally different from before.
Jackson Pollock, one of the 20th Century most famous artists was born on January 28th, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming and was the youngest of five brothers. Pollock’s father, LeRoy Pollock was a farmer and a land Surveyor for the government and his mother, Stella McClure was an art fanatic. The Pollock family moved around and lived in places like Arizona and California due to LeRoy’s surveying. Jackson’s father was an abusive alcoholic and left the family when Jackson was only 8; which led to Jackson’s oldest brother, Charles, to become the “man of the house”. Charles had a huge impact on Jackson’s future, because he too was an artist and Jackson always looked up to him.
When it comes to the development of someones behaviors and mannerisms the argument of nature versus nurture often emerges. In Mary Shelley’s horror novel Frankenstein, published in 1818, the antagonist, Frankenstein’s Monster, is the epitome for the nature versus nurture argument. The story takes place in Europe where Victor Frankenstein, a mastermind of science, takes his studies to the next level by giving life to a creature that resembles a deformed man; he then abandons his creation. Frankenstein's monster becomes a murderous fiend, but the question remains, was he born this way or did his environment shape his abhorred ways? Though we cannot discount the influence of nature or hereditary in the monster’s case, people become who they are
The increase in women leaving work. Also leading to the need for time. saving produce for home Technological factors involve changes as the public see it, this. creates opportunities for the new products and product improvements. and marketing techniques such as the Internet, e-commerce.
PC industry is affected by two opposite forces: technological advance that pushes the industry forward and the industry sensitivity to economical stagnation (if the economical situation is bad customers won't upgrade their computers).
A compelling topic in this class that really interest me was the importance of demographics in marketing. The segmentation of different populations is the process that organization utilizes to market their products and services. Populations can be identified through the specific characteristics of demographics. These statistical components allow an organization to effectively target consumers. Demographics are the foundation of developing a marketing plan. Demographics allow an organization to gain a greater understanding of the market. Demographic information is typically gathered first to be incorporated with the business plans. Age, gender, and race are examples of the characteristics of demographic information. Demographics help an organization
Examples of factors that affect a business’s buying decisions are economic conditions, regulations, government policies and the social environment. Businesses must also stay ahead of the competition, this can be done through product development, utilizing new technologies or even partnering with established brands. One way in which marketers can encourage a business to purchase a particular brand/ service is to offer some sort of partnership or sponsorship opportunity. A partnership between a business and community organization can benefit both
Using demographic parameters is an effective way to segment your target markets. This information includes age, gender, race, location, educational background and more. Think about the types of customers your business is targeting. If you have a regional product, perhaps your customers are in certain cities or states. Your product may be targeted for businesses, individuals or both. As you brainstorm, you'll start to recognize distinct groups forming.
In a business the external environment contains events, conditions and factors that lie outside the organisation. It helps determine opportunities and risks. A company has to react to what happens outside the business. It cannot determine the likes of a recession or boom. The external environment will alter the internal elements of the business and their objectives and strategic could potentially change. “It includes all efforts made in perfecting the product, economising the cost and maximising the benefits to customers” [13].
Economic factors affecting negative or positive way the companies. The inflation and currencies rates have big influence.
Another aspect that holds influence over the real estate mark is government involvement, which can restrict or help the markets behavior; and public requirements such as nuisance standards, environmental concerns and land-use controls; all of which can influence how property is used valued and distributed. It is important to realize that each individual market also has aspects that influence and drive that market as well. The housing market, is mostly influenced by supply and demand, however the commercial and industrial market is heavily influenced by forces in community economics, comparative advantage and community attitudes (McKenzie & Betts,
Keeping up with technology is difficult, tiresome, and firms find it very costly to keep at pace with it. Technology rapidly and constantly keeps on changing. Being at par technologically requires extensive research and strategic analysis of acquiring new innovation. Enforcing new technology requires staff retraining and in some cases making employees redundant.