Environmental Factors Of Marketing

Environmental Factors of Marketing

This paper will discuss the five environmental factors that influence global and domestic marketing decisions that organizations must make. These five environmental factors are technology, demographics, government, culture and economics. Companies are affected differently by these factors depending on the industry they are in and the size of the organization. I will be using the Washington Plaza Hotel to illustrate how these environmental factors affect the hotel industry's marketing decisions. The Washington Plaza Hotel is a hospitality business located in Washington, DC. They offer services such as lodging, restaurant, bar, catering and meeting space rental. The Washington Plaza Hotel's major customer base is government, tourist, non-profit organizations, local businesses and some corporate clientele. Let's now take a look at how these environmental factors affect the marketing of the hotel.

Environmental Factors that Affect Marketing

Technology

Technology has created a major impact on the way in which all organizations market their products and services. With the development of the internet, companies are now able to economically market themselves on a global level. Even smaller companies that were once not able to capture international business due to the cost factor can now do just that. The Washington Plaza Hotel is no exception. The hotel industry in DC relies heavily on tourism as a major part of its client base. Many of these tourists who visit the city are of foreign nationality. It is important that the Washington Plaza Hotel targets these people when marketing the company. Not only do they target the tourist but they also target the international business travelers that come to the city on business related trips. The hotel's website, which gives detailed information about the hotel's accommodations and services, can be accessed by potential customers all over the world. In addition, the Washington Plaza Hotel has teamed up with such web-based travel services like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Etc. in order to capture more of the global market. Before the existence of the internet, the global market was not easily reachable. Technology has the greatest affect on marketing for many organizations and certainly for the Washington Plaza Hotel as well as the hospitality industry itself.

Demographics

Demographics are another environmental factor that plays a big part in the marketing of the Washington Plaza Hotel. This company is service-based and the customers must come to the hotel in order to receive those services. In this scenario it is all about location, location, location. The Washington Plaza Hotel has a lock on that. Located in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, I don't think the location could get any better. Convenient to almost all destinations in the city, the hotel prides itself on its location. Washington, DC is one of the most heavily visited cities in the world. Whether it is business or pleasure, the amount of human traffic that flows through the city on a given year is tremendous and most of this traffic needs a place to stay while they are there. That is where the Washington Plaza Hotel captures a great deal of business. The hotel is nowhere near the nicest in the city but they offer good accommodations at a reasonable price and have one of the best locations in the city. With that being said, demographics have a drastic affect on marketing for the Washington Plaza Hotel.

Government

Government has a different affect on the marketing at the Washington Plaza Hotel than it does on most businesses. Sure the hotel has to follow laws and regulations set forth by the national and local governments in regards to conducting business but that is not the greatest affect that government has on the hotel. Since the hotel is located in the nation's capital, one of the largest customer bases is government. Whether it is conducting meetings, lodging in the guest rooms, having catered meals or all of the above, the government makes up a large percentage of the Washington Plaza Hotel's client base. With this in mind, the hotel's marketing department focuses heavily on capturing and catering to government business. Not only does it focus on domestic government but the hotel also does a large amount of business with foreign government. Government officials from all over the world visit Washington, DC on a regular basis to attend meeting and conduct business with the US government. These officials need a place to stay while they are here and what better location than in the heart of the capital. In addition to providing these individuals with lodging, the hotel can also provide space for meeting as well as attend to any food and