The nature of the European marketing environment
This section will first define the broad groupings of environmental influences, and then go on to look at the technique of environmental scanning as a means of identifying the threats and opportunities that will affect marketing planning and implementation within the organisation.
Elements of the marketing environment
Figure 2.1 shows the elements of the external environment in relation to the organisation and its immediate surroundings. As the figure shows, the elements can be divided into four main groupings, known by the acronym STEP: Sociocultural, Technological, Economic and
competitive, and Political and regulatory environments.
Sociocultural environment
The sociocultural environment is of particular concern to marketers as it has a direct effect on their understanding of customers and what drives them. Not only does it address the demographic structure of markets, but it also looks at the way in which attitudes and opinions are being formed and how they are evolving. A general increase in health consciousness, for instance, has stimulated the launch of a wide variety of products with low levels of fat and sugar, fewer artificial ingredients and no additives.
Technological environment
Technological innovation and technological improvement have had a profound effect in all areas of marketing. Computer technology, for instance, has revolutionised product design, quality control, materials and inventory management, the production of advertising and other promotional materials, and the management and analysis of customer information. The Internet has opened up new channels of communication and distribution. Technology also affects the development of new processes and materials, as well as the invention of completely new products or applications.
Economic and competitive environment
The economic and competitive environment covers both macro- and microeconomic conditions which affect the structure of competition in a market, the cost and availability of money for marketing investment in stock and new products, for example, and the economic conditions affecting a customer’s propensity to buy.
Political and regulatory environment
The political and regulatory environment covers the external forces controlled by governments, both national and European, local authorities, or other trade or activity oriented regulatory bodies. Some of the rules and regulations developed and implemented by bodies under this heading have the force of law, while others are voluntary, such as advertising codes of practice.
Each of the STEP areas will be looked at in more detail on pp. 36 et seq. There is, of course, much interdependence between them. Rules and regulations concerning ‘green’ aspects of products, for example, are a result of sociocultural influences pressurising the legislators and regulators. Certain issues, therefore, such as international, ethical and green issues, will crop up with slightly different perspectives in the discussion of each STEP element.
Environmental scanning
Even a brief discussion of the STEP factors begins to show just how important the marketing environment is: since marketing is all about looking outwards and meeting the customer’s needs and wants, the organisation has to take into account what is happening in the real world. The marketing environment will present many opportunities and threats that can fundamentally affect all elements of the marketing mix, as we saw in the case of the European food processors at the beginning of the chapter. In terms of the product, for example, STEP factors help to define exactly what customers want, what it is possible (and legal) to provide them with, and how it should be packaged and presented. Pricing is also influenced by external factors, such as the competition’s pricing policies, government taxation and what consumers can afford. STEP factors also affect promotion, constraining it through regulation, but also inspiring the creativity that develops appropriate messages to capture the mood of the times and the target audience. Finally, the strength of relationships between manufacturers and retailers or other intermediaries is also affected by the external environment. Competitive pressures at all levels of the distribution channel; technology encouraging joint development and commitment in terms of both products and logistics; shifts in where and how people want to buy: all help to shape the quality and direction of interorganisational relationships.
The problem is, however, that the environment is very dynamic, changing all the time. The organisation therefore has to keep pace with change and even anticipate it. It is not enough to understand what is happening today: by the time the organisation has acted on that information and implemented decisions based on it, it will be too late. The organisation has either to pick up the earliest indicators of change and then act on them very quickly, or try to predict change so that tomorrow’s marketing offerings can be appropriately planned.
In order to achieve this successfully, the organisation needs to undertake environmental scanning, which is the collection and evaluation of information from the wider marketing environment that might affect the organisation and its strategic marketing activities. Such information may come from a variety of sources, such as experience, personal contacts, published market research studies, government statistics, trade sources or even through specially commissioned market research. The approach to scanning can vary from being extremely organised and purposeful to being random and informal. As Aguilar (1967) pointed out, formal scanning can be very expensive and time consuming as it has to cast its net very wide to catch all the possible influences that might affect the organisation. The key is knowing what is important and should be acted upon, and what can wait.
Environmental scanning is therefore an important task, but often a difficult one, particularly in terms of interpretation and implementation of the information gained. The following looks in more detail at each of the STEP factors, and gives a further indication of the range and complexity of the influences and information that can affect the marketing activities of the organisation.
đang được dịch, vui lòng đợi..
