Economic factor
This is the most important aspect of the marketing environment. It entails all the aspects that impact on consumer’s patterns of spending (Silk, 2006). Marketing managers of Oatmeal must, therefore, pay attention to the various developments in the economy. The key elements to be considered under economic forces include the following issues.
Inflation rates
High inflation rates cause an increase in prices. The increase in price is attributed to high cost of production and increased rates on interest on loans. When prices of products are high, consumer’s purchasing power decreases.
Product demand
In the event that demand for a product or a service increases, supply is to increase in turn to cater for all the consumers. However, if the consumer’s purchasing power is eroded, the increased demand might not be met. But if the consumer’s income is increased, the demand for products will also rise.
Unemployment
This is a very important issue in the economy. When unemployment increases, the demand for products decreases.
Technological factor
Technology is an important aspect that shapes the future of Oatmeal. For the company to remain fairly competitive in the market, it has to adapt to the rapidly changing technology. New technology will ensure that a lot of high quality products are produced (Baker, 2012). Moreover, the cost of production is also cut down.
On the other hand, technology facilitates faster production; hence the company enjoys economies of scale in production. Therefore, the marketing manager of Oatmeal Company should understand the rate of change in technology in its target market. Technology has also made it easier to market products online. For instance, online marketing reaches out to a wide audience and is also relatively cheap.
Legal factors
Legal environment forces deal with government policies and regulations that govern certain aspects of the economy. When governments make policies, they become law, and it is the responsibility of companies to use these laws to make their businesses grow. The various aspects of the legal environment that affect the operations of Oatmeal include:
Increased legislation
Legislation governing business could either make or break business. The legislation comprises policies on fair trade practices, product safety, packaging and labeling, competition, pricing, environmental protection, truth in advertising and other factors in the business environment. The government should be keen to ensure that the policies it puts in place encourage business growth.
Laws regulating business
Legislation, if well conceived, encourages competition and also ensures free markets for services and goods (Silk, 2006). All the marketing activities that Oatmeal undertakes are to be in line with government policies to ensure that it does not attract legal consequences.
Overcome threats
For a business to succeed, the marketing manager has to carry out market analysis to identify its threats and opportunities. For Oatmeal company to overcome its threats, it has to carry out the following:
Identify its threats
The first step to overcoming a threat is identifying the threat facing the organization. Oatmeal Company should seek to identify whether the threat is internal or external (Lamb, 2006). Examples of external threats include cultural, economic, political and social aspects of the business environment. Cases of internal threats that Oatmeal Company may face include suppliers, consumers, the company itself and other intermediaries.
Assessing the position
After identifying the possible threats, the marketing managers for Oatmeal Company must find ways of overcoming the threats facing the business. Some threats can be ignored, while other may be serious and require immediate attention.
Cultural threats can be addressed by identifying the products that are acceptable in the cultures of the target market, while political threats are eradicated by use of lobby groups. These groups ask the government to reconsider certain policies that are unfavorable for business. Furthermore, obstacles posed by supplies can be addresses through putting in place strategies to ensure that the suppliers carry out their duties as expected.
Finding resources
The manager must then find resources to be used by the company to eradicate threat. These include finances, equipment and human resources. Plans must be put in place on how the company will go about to eradicate the threat facing the organization. After putting together a well-thought plan and acquiring necessary resources, the company can embark on the process of overcoming the challenges.
Capitalize on opportunities
Oatmeal Company has identified the opportunities it has in order to capitalize on them (Baker, 2012). To identify market opportunities, the marketing manager of the company must carry out comprehensive market research to be able to identify gaps in the market. These gaps can be in the form of consumer’s needs that have not been satisfied by existing products in the market. The changing market trends and changes in consumer tastes and preferences also present a market opportunity for Oatmeal.
The marketing managers must seek to identify the specific preferences of consumers to be able to satisfy their needs. The company could choose to segment the market to ensure that it can meet the needs of each particular consumer group (Lamb, 2006). The company can also seek to identify the weaknesses of its competitors and use them to their benefit. The weaknesses of other companies dealing with the same products serve as a business opportunity for Oatmeal.
References
Baker, Michael. 2012. The Marketing Book. New York: Routledge
Lamb, Charles. 2006. Marketing. London: Cengage Learning Editors
Silk, Alvin. 2006. What is marketing? Washington: Harvard Business Press.