Overview
This lecture introduces the marketing environment, focusing on the immediate environment surrounding the consumer and its key components: the company, competitors, corporate partners, and the physical environment.
Layers of the Marketing Environment
- The marketing environment has two layers: the immediate environment and the macro environment.
- At the center of the marketing environment is the consumer.
The Immediate Environment
- The immediate environment consists of the company, competitors, corporate partners, and the physical environment.
- Direct and indirect interactions occur between the company and the consumer within this environment.
Company Capabilities
- Knowing a company's internal strengths and weaknesses is crucial for meeting customer needs.
- SWAT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis helps identify company capabilities.
- Companies like Coke and Southwest Airlines leverage their unique core competencies to satisfy customers.
Competitors
- Understanding competitors' strengths and weaknesses reveals potential opportunities and threats.
- Conducting competitor SWAT analysis is as vital as performing one's own.
- Staying informed about competitors requires monitoring current news and trends.
Corporate Partners
- Corporate partners are organizations that help deliver products or services, such as shipping or fuel providers.
- Companies must understand their partners’ strengths, weaknesses, and potential risks.
- Examples include Amazon relying on the US Postal Service and Southwest Airlines’ suppliers.
Physical Environment
- The physical environment includes factors like weather that can significantly impact business operations.
- Companies must consider environmental concerns such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and green marketing.
- Greenwashing, or falsely marketing products as environmentally friendly, is a growing concern.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Immediate Environment — The set of actors closely interacting with the consumer, including the company, competitors, corporate partners, and the physical environment.
- SWAT Analysis — A strategic planning tool evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Core Competencies — Unique strengths or abilities that give a company a competitive advantage.
- Corporate Partners — External organizations that work with a company to deliver goods or services.
- Greenwashing — Misleading customers to believe a product is environmentally friendly.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Read the Wall Street Journal or similar sources to stay current on competitor news.
- Review your own and competitors’ SWAT analysis for upcoming assignments.
- Prepare for the next lecture on the macro environment.