The Company’s Macroenvironment or Macro Environment

The Company’s Macro environment or Macro Environment

The company and all of the other actors operate in a larger macro environment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company. The six major forces in the company’s macro environment. We examine these forces and show how they affect marketing plans.

Company

Demographic Forces

Economic Forces

Natural Forces

Technological Forces

Political Forces

Cultural Force

Demographic Environment

“The study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, rae, occupation, and other statistics”

 

The demography environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people, and people make up markets. The world population is growing at an explosive rate. It now exceeds 6.5 billion people and will exceed 8.1 billion by the year 2030. The world’s large and highly diverse population poses both opportunities and challenges.

Changes in the world demographic environment have major implications for business.

Economic Environment

“Factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns”

Markets require buying power as well as people. The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns. Nations vary greatly in their levels and distribution of income. Some countries gave subsistence economies, they consumer most of their own agricultural and industrial output. These countries offer few markets opportunities. At the other extremes are industrial economies, which constitute rich markets for many different kinds of goods. Marketers must pay close attention to major trends and consumer spending patterns both across and within their world markets.

Natural Environment

“Natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities”

The Natural Environment involves the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. Environmental concerns have grown steadily during the past three decades. In many cities around the world, air and water pollution have reached dangerous levels. World concern continues to mount about the possibilities of global warming, and many environmentalists fear that we soon will be buried in our own trash.

Marketer should be aware of several trends in the natural environment. The first involves growing shortages of raw materials. Air and water may seem to be infinite resources, but some groups see long run dangers. Air pollution chokes many of the world’s large cities, and water shortages are already a big problem in some parts of the United States and the world. Renewable resources, such as forests and food, also have to be used wisely. Nonrenewable resources, such as oil, coal, and various minerals, pose a serious problem. Firms making products that require these scarce resources face large cost increases, even if the materials do remain available.

A second environmental trend is increased pollution, industry will almost always damage the quality of the natural environment. Consider the disposal of chemical and nuclear wastes; the dangerous mercury levels in the ocean; the quantity of chemical pollutants in the soil and food supply; and the littering of the environment with nonbiodegradable bottles, plastics, and other packaging materials.

A third trend is increased government intervention in natural resource management. The governments of different countries vary in their concern and efforts to promote a clean environment. Some, like the German government, vigorously pursue environmental quality. Others, especially many poorer nations, do little about pollution largely because they lack the deeded funds or political will. Even the richer nations lack the vast funds and political needed to mount a worldwide environmental effort. The general hope is that companies found the world will accept more social responsibility, and that less expensive devices can be found to control and reduce pollution.

Technological Environment

“Forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities”

The technological environment is perhaps the most dramatic force now shaping our destiny. Technology has released such wonders as antibiotics, robotic surgery, miniaturized electronics, laptop computers, and the internet. It has released such mixed blessings as the automobile, television, and credit cards.

Our attitude toward technology depends on whether we are more impressed with its wonders or its blunders. For example, what would you think about having tiny little transmitters implanted in all of the products you buy that would allow tracking products from their advantages to both buyers and sellers. On the other hand, it could be a bit scary. Either way, it’s already happening.

Political Environment

“Laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a giver society”

Cultural Environment

“Institutions and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors”

The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. People grow up in a particular society that shapes their basic beliefs and values. They absorb a worldview that defines their relationships with others. The following cultural characteristics can affect marketing decision making.

i. Persistence of Cultural Values

People in given society holds many beliefs and values. Their core beliefs and values have a high degree of persistence. For example most Americans believe in working, getting married, giving to charity, and being honest. These beliefs shape more specific attitudes and behaviors found in everyday life. Core beliefs and values are passed on from parents to children and are reinforced by schools, churches, businesses, and governments.

Secondary beliefs and values are more open to change. Believing in marriage is a core belief; believing that people should get married early in life is a secondary belief. Marketers have some chance of changing secondary values but little chance of changing core values. For example, family planning marketers could argue more effectively that people should get married later in life than that they should not get married at all.

ii. Shifts in Secondary Cultural Values

Although core values are fairly persistent, cultural swings do take place. Consider the impact of popular music groups, movie personalities, and other celebrities on young people’s hairstyling and clothing norms. Marketers want to predict cultural shifts in order to spot new opportunities or threats. Several firms offer “futures” forecasts in this connection.