Marketing External Environments

IÐŽ¦m not sure if I am taking the right definition of ÐŽ§external environmentsЎЁ 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:

Ñ"ж Race

Ñ"ж Gender

Ñ"ж Average Income

Ñ"ж Location

Ñ"ж 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 ÐŽ§Lowest Interest Rates Ever!ЎЁ 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 itÐŽ¦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