Introduction:
Every process have a key denominator in terms of its execution and mechanics, marketing as a process is primarily focused on communicating the offerings and services of a product or a service, by an organization or an individual, to cater to a paying pubic, the processes that takes place that ends with the consumer buying is the marketing process.
The consumers are central to all the marketing activities that take place and the most significant aspect that needs to be taken into account is that the needs and wants of the consumers are aligned with the marketing communicating to create an emotive connect, thus creating an awareness and the eventual sales (Rick S, 2016).
The essence of marketing is to help lessen the gap between where they want the consumers to be from a functional and emotional perspective with their service and consumers to make a decision based on the marketing ideas and activations.
There are numerous definition of marketing, however one of the most relevant and widely acclaimed definition is shared by CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing) (2016), that showcases the significance of the consumers in the marketing strategy it says “Marketing is the management process responsible for indentifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.
In essence, the processes i.e. marketing research to understand the consumer’s psychology is the key for marketing to hit the bull’s eye to not only generate profitability but also sustain the brand.
Successful marketing activities are the one that connects with the consumers on a deep emotional level and they feel an instant connect with the communication due the buzz created, since the primary goal of marketing is to create a loyal consumers base, though it is important to point out that the quality of a product and service is imperative for any marketing communication to work effectively, otherwise an effective communication may entice a buy for a low quality product or service, but, repeat buy won’t be achieved (Chebli et al, 2013).
Marketing Environment:
The concept of the nature of marketing environment is based on the external factors that comprise of the demographic aspects, political, economic, sociological, technological legal and the general nature of the market.
In this age of globalization the marketing environment is no longer dependent on the local aspects, since in this age of social media the consumer’s base is more global than ever (Andrew. K, 2013).
The marketing hits and misses are magnified in view of the digital imprint that travel instantly and therefore, it is of paramount importance that the marketing activities takes into account the consumers preferences, a detailed competitive analysis and the trends that are most relevant that may create an affiliation with target market through the communication (Mary. S, 2016).
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Changing Marketing Environment and its Impact on Marketing Activities:
With regards to the factors mentioned in the aforementioned marketing environment the major factors that impact the marketing activities are as follows:
Competition:
In the globalized dynamic business environment the marketing activities is focused on creating an image that seems to be more relevant and plausible amid the competition, case in point being, the Apple and Samsung mobile campaigns that communicates messages in an innovative manner creating significant impacts for the respective target market, the impression of the communication have created a perception in the minds of the consumers that the operating system of Apple iOS is better to Samsung’s android system (Amanda. W, 2015).
Trends:
The impact of trends is significant on marketing activity, since we live in an age of social media, every major company wants a digital footprint that is interactive and engaging, thus activating the brands in the minds of the consumers is a constant endeavour, and the brands that respond to the changing trends quickly with new communication are the ones that succeed in impacting the consumer’s decision making (David. C, 2016).
As stated by Doug, B (2015), in his article, 2016 will see new trends making rounds with content marketing ruling the roost and therefore many companies such as, American Express, L’Oreal, Marriot, Virgin Mobile, and Vanguard have been into content marketing with the core focus on creating brand affinity with the current and prospective consumers by creating entertaining interactivity and engagement (Brandon. G, 2012).
The content marketing tactics as a trend has impacted all sectors as seen from the industry and sectors to all the aforementioned brands belong to.
Besides, the political, economic, legal and technological, regulatory and sociocultural forces creates a major impact on the both the sellers and the buyers, and depending on the situation of all the forces it can create threat as well as opportunities for marketers.
Consumers and Impact on Marketing Activities:
The forces of marketing environment and their impact on the marketing activities start with, the consumers influence with regards to their lifestyle, living standard, and most importantly their needs that n essence a marketer to develop and adjust the marketing mix accordingly.
One major impact that marketing forces recently had on consumers that effected the marketing mix is the integration of the technological aspects through social media and website technologies that companies adopts to be in touch with first hand information on what the consumers are thinking and its impact on the marketing activities is immense, such as retail giants Tesco and Sainsbury, checking out the shopping trends of consumers who order online and following their interaction on social media to get firsthand knowledge i.e. market research.
The utilization of soft drinks and the health fad is a major case study to understand the impact of consumers on the marketing activities, the obesity issue that impacted US; UK made the consumers aware of the health issues and thus forced the giants such as Coke and Pepsi, to come with alternatives that were positioned as healthy options and new product development took into account all the age groups, with different communication strategy to strike a chord with the product focused niche.
Moreover, carrying on the beverage case study and the consumers impact on the marketing activities, the marketing forces that is sociocultural and economic factors are constantly changing and thus, in this era of globalization and high disposable income, the advent of Starbucks’s and the cafe culture impacted the beverage industry, PepsiCo removed trans fats that is linked to heart disease (William et al, 2006).
The consumer preferences are the most important factor in the formulation of a marketing strategy and marketing research is conducted by organizations to gauge the ideas for the way forward for the commonly referred factor that is consumer behaviour.
As discussed earlier that trends and shopping patterns are taken into account by marketers to understand the consumer’s preferences, but the most time tested and potent ways to connect with the consumers mind to asses any lacking in the product or communication and to measure the performance of a campaign.
The website helps in getting the statistics of the consumers visiting and their search pattern through web analytics.
The benchmarking process helps in measuring the marketing performance that most importantly helps in understating the needs and wants of the consumers for the campaign and to be able to create a winning campaign in the next go.
The market research helps in giving an idea on the strategic forefront, starting with the prices of the products, the distribution channels, extending, to brand research giving an idea on the brand’s recognition and benchmarking that showcases the market performance against the competitors and industry in general.
Experience is the buzz word that compels many organizations to create a marketing mix that entices the consumers to connect, as the marketing that ignores the influence of customer experience tend to lose big (Cindy. W, 2015).
Consumer experience is impacting organizations to a level where according to RnRreaserach.com, the experience management tools for customers will increase from a $3.77 billion from 2014 to a whopping $8.39 billion in 2019 as referenced in Cindy’s article.
The experience factor tools will assist the marketing communication and in view of the ever changing marketing environment dynamics will support the organization to connect with the loyal consumers during harsher economic times to create a break even.
This gains credence with the information shared in Temkin Group report ‘ROI of Customer Experience, 2014’, revealing that brands lose 65% of revenues from bad experience given to previous consumers and it also affects the brands equity in relation to the negative word of mouth that will negate the positives of any new marketing campaign substantially.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, the most vital aspect that the marketers needs to look into is the marketing environment and how it may impact the product or service image in the minds of the prospective consumers who are more conscious that ever in this digitized age.
With every information available at a click, communication that misleads and utilizes resources that is not required creates a very negative image. The example of British Petroleum is a case study that showcases the impact of consumers and the subsequent marketing environment dynamics coming into play.
The campaign ‘Beyond Petroleum’ launched in 2000, to position BP as a clean, green brand had a disastrous impact on the image as BP didn’t undertake marketing research to understand the consumers and spent $200 million to showcase the $45 million acquisition of Solarex (Tom. S, 2014).
The campaign is an illustration of marketing gone wrong with negative impact and not understanding the marketing environment dynamics.
On the contrary Garnier utilized the marketing communication effectively by showcasing the products ingredients as all natural and revamped its communication to consumers with a focus on creating a better sustainable environment.
The marketing communication was done only after Garnier sponsored a recycling program and activated the brands core communitarian message into building a Garden with waste of products.
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