Marketing environment / internal and external components of it
Marketing Environment
Marketing Environment is the combination of external and internal factors and forces which affect the company’s ability to establish a relationship and serve its customers.
The marketing environment of a business consists of an internal and an external environment. The internal environment is company specific and includes owners, workers, machines, materials etc. The external environment is further divided into two components: micro & macro. The micro or the task environment is also specific to the business but external. It consists of factors engaged in producing, distributing and promoting the offering. The macro or the broad environment includes larger societal forces which affect society as a whole. The broad environment is made up of six components: demographic, economic, physical, technological, political-legal, and social cultural environment.
Components of Marketing Environment The marketing environment is made up of the internal and external environment of the business. While internal environment can be controlled, the business has very less or no control over the external environment.
Internal Environment- The internal environment of the business includes all the forces and factors inside the organisation which affect its marketing operations. These components can be grouped under the Five Ms of the business, which are:
1. Men
2. Money
3. Machinery
4. Materials
5. Markets
(1) Internal environment: The internal environment is under the control of the marketer and can be changed with the changing external environment. Nevertheless, the internal marketing environment is as important for the business as the external marketing environment. This environment includes the sales department, marketing department, the manufacturing unit, the human resource department, etc.
(II) External environment: The external environment constitutes factors and forces which are external to the business and on which the marketer has little or no control. The external environment is of two types:
1. Micro Environment: The micro component of the external environment is also known as the task environment. It comprises of external forces and factors that are directly related to the business. These include suppliers, market intermediaries, customers, partners, competitors and the public.
(a) Suppliers include all the parties which provide resources needed by the organisation.
(b) Market intermediaries include parties involved in distributing the product or service of the organisation.
(c) Partners are all the separate entities like advertising agencies, market research organisations, banking and insurance companies, transportation companies, brokers, etc. which conduct business with the organisation.
(d) Customers comprise of the target group of the organisation.
(e) Competitors are the players in the same market who targets similar customers as that of the organisation.
(f) Public is made up of any other group that has an actual or potential interest or affects the company’s ability to serve its customers.
2. Macro Environment- The macro component of the marketing environment is also known as the broad environment. It constitutes the external factors and forces which affect the industry as a whole but don’t have a direct effect on the business. The macro environment can be divided into 6 parts.
(a) Demographic Environment: The demographic environment is made up of the people who constitute the market. It is characterised as the factual investigation and segregation of the population according to their size, density, location, age, gender, race, and occupation.
(b) Economic Environment: The economic environment constitutes factors which influence customers’ purchasing power and spending patterns.
These factors include the GDP, GNP, interest rates, inflation, income distribution, government funding and subsidies and other major economic variables.
(c) Physical Environment: The physical environment includes the natural environment in which the business operates. This includes the climatic conditions, environmental change, accessibility to water and raw materials, natural disasters, pollution etc.
(d) Technological Environment: The technological environment constitutes innovation, research and development in technology, technological alternatives, innovation inducements also technological barriers to smooth operation. Technology is one of the biggest sources of threats and opportunities for the organisation and it is very dynamic.
(e) Political-Legal Environment: The political & Legal environment includes laws and government’s policies prevailing in the country. It also includes other pressure groups and agencies which influence or limit the working of industry and/or the business in the society.
(f) Social-Cultural Environment: The social-cultural aspect of the macro environment is made up of the lifestyle, values, culture, prejudice and beliefs of the people. This differs in different regions.
