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Marketing

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5

CHAPTER QUESTIONS • What are the key methods for tracking and identifying opportunities in the environment? • What are the components of a modern marketing information system? • What are useful internal records? • What is involved in a marketing intelligence system? • What are the key methods for tracking and identifying opportunities in the environment? • What is database management? CHAPTER SUMMARY

THE CHANGING MARKETING ENVIRONMENT AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Marketers find many opportunities by identifying trends (directions or sequences of events that have some momentum and durability) and megatrends (major social, economic, political and technological changes that have long-lasting influence). Within the rapidly changing global picture, marketers must monitor five major environmental forces: political/ legal, economic, ecological/physical, social/ cultural and demographic, and technological. The acronym PEEST analysis is used to describe an analysis of the company’s environment covering these five forces. In the economic arena, marketers need to focus on income distribution and levels of savings, debt and credit availability. In the social–cultural and demographic arena, marketers must understand people’s views of themselves, others, organisations, society, nature and the universe. They must market products that correspond to society’s core and secondary values and address the needs of different subcultures within a society. Marketers must also be aware of worldwide population growth; changing mixes of age, ethnic composition and educational levels; the rise of nontraditional families; and large geographic shifts in population. In the ecological/physical environment, marketers need to be aware of the public’s increased concern about the health of the environment. Many marketers are now embracing sustainability and green marketing programmes that provide better environmental solutions as a result. In the technological arena, marketers...