====== BA 390 ======

  * [[http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14816|Last week's article]]

====== Week 1 - Intro ======

====== Week 2 - Marketing Environment ======

  * Marketing environment: "Actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing management's ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers."

  * Micronenvironment:
    * Marketing environment close to the company.
    * The company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors, publics.
  * Macroenvironment:
    * Larger marketing environment.
    * Demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, cultural forces.

===== Microenvironment =====

  * Success depends upon working with the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors, and publics.
    * These groups make up company's value delivery network.

==== The Company ====

Must take other groups within company into account:
  * Top mgmt
  * Finance
  * R&D
  * Purchasing
  * Operations
  * Accounting

These other groups all impact marketing's decisions through their input into product delivery.

==== Suppliers ====

  * Supplier problems seriously affect marketing.
  * Must watch availability.
  * Supply problems can damage satisfaction in long run.

==== Marketing Intermediaries ====

Intermediaries are firms that help promote, sell, and distribute goods to final buyers. There are four types:

  - Resellers
    * Distribution channel firms.
    * Help find customers and make sales to them.
    * Large resellers have power to dictate terms and shut products out of markets.
  -  Physical Distribution Firms
    * Help company stock and move goods.
    * Determine best ways to ship, store.
  - Marketing Services
    * Marketing research, advertising agencies, media firms, marketing consultants.
    * Help target & promote products to the right markets.
  - Financial Intermediaries
    * Banks, credit companies, insurance co., etc.
    * Help finance transactions or insure against risks.

Marketing must partner carefully with marketing intermediaries to ensure top performance.

==== Customers ====
  * Study 5 types of customer markets closely.
    * Consumer markets -- end users.
    * Business markets -- purchase for further processing or use in production.
    * Reseller markets -- purchase for resale at profit.
    * Government markets -- purchase for public services.
    * International markets -- these markets in other countries.

==== Competitors ====

  * Position offerings stronger than competitors' in minds of consumers.
  * Consider size & position vs. competitors.

==== Publics ====

Public: A group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an org's ability to achieve objectives.

Seven types of publics:

  * Financial:
    * Banks, investment houses, stockholders.
    * Influence ability to obtain funds.
  * Media:
    * Newspapers, magazines, etc.
    * Carry ads, news, editorial opinion.
  * Gov't:
    * Must take gov't developments into consideration.
    * Product safety, truth in ads, etc.
  * Citizen-action:
    * Consumer orgs, enviro-groups, minority groups.
    * Marketing decisions may be questioned by groups.
  * Local:
    * Neighborhood residents, community groups.
    * Contribute to these orgs.
  * General public:
    * Public's image of co. affects buying.
  * Internal:
    * Workers, managers, volunteers, board of directors.
    * When employees feel good about co., feeling spreads externally.

===== Company's Macroenvironment =====

Macroenvironment includes larger forces that create opportunities and pose threats to company.

==== Demographic Environment ====

Demography: "The study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics.

  * Growing global population means growing needs to satisfy.
    * May also mean growing market opportunities.

=== Changing Age Structure ===

  * Most important demographic trend.
  * Biggest groups include baby boomers, gen X, gen Y.

== Baby Boomers ==

  * Post WWII, 78M people born between 1946-64.
  * 28% of today's population.
  * Earn > half of all personal income.
  * Aging boomers create good market for:
    * Housing
    * Remodeling
    * Financial services
    * Travel/entertainment
    * Eating out
    * Health/fitness
    * Luxury cars/other luxuries

== Generation X ==

  * More cautious economic outlook.
  * Cynical of easy success promises.
  * Respond to honesty in advertising.
  * Will overtake boomers by 2010 as primary market.

== Generation Y ==

  * Currently teenagers.
  * Created large kid/teen markets.
  * Fluent with computer technology.

=== Changing American Family ===

  * 32% of households are nonfamily.
  * Blah blah stupid people.

=== Geographic Population Shifts ===

  * Telecommuting on the rise.

=== Better-Educated Population ===

  * Rising number of educated people.
  * Increasing demand for quality products, books, magazines, travel, personal computers.
  * Also more white-collar workforce.

=== Increasing Diversity ===

  * US "salad bowl."

==== Economic Environment ====

Economic environment: Factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns.

  * Substinence economy: Country consumes most of its own agricultural and industrial output. (Few market opportunities.)
  * Industrial economy: Creates many market opportunities.

=== Changes in Income ===

  * People are spending more carefully, focused on greater value.
  * Marketers look for ways to offer greater value -- perfect combination of quality, good service, fair price.
  * Pay attention to income distribution.
    * Upper-class consumers:
      * Spending not affected by economic conditions.
      * Major market for luxury items.
    * Middle-class:
      * Somewhat careful about spending.
      * Affords luxury sometimes.
    * Working class:
      * Sticks close to basics.
      * Tries hard to save.
    * Under class:
      * Welfare.

=== Changing Consumer Spending Patterns ===

People's spending patterns shift slightly as income increases.
  * Decreased food.
  * Decreased utilities.
  * Increased entertainment.
  * Increased insurance.
  * Increased most things.

==== Natural Environment ====

Natural environment: Natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or are affected by marketing activities.

Marketers should be aware of several trends:

  * Shortage of raw materials.
  * Increased population.
  * Increased gov't intervention in natural resource management.

==== Technological Environment ====

**Technological environment**: Forces that create new technologies, products, and market opportunities.

  * New technologies replace older ones.
  * Companies that do not keep up will find their products replaced.
  * Gov't agencies investigate and ban unsafe products.

==== Political Environment ====

**Political environment**: Laws, gov't agencies, and pressure groups that influence various orgs and individuals in a society.

=== Legislation Regulating Business ===

  *