Marketing - External Marketing Environment - Essay Example

External Marketing Environment The fact that the business world of present times is changing at a cut throat pace gives us all the more reason to believe that the future would indeed be very different to what it is in the present times. External marketing environment comprises of the factors and elements which are outside the boundaries of the firm and over which it has little or no control when it comes to handling the same. (Benton, 1994) External marketing environment can work to the advantage of the firm as well as become a real nuisance, more so when the economy is not that encouraging boosting trade ties between stakeholders, different organizations and so on and so forth. The corporate strategy plays a significant role at building a bridge between the company’s inner policies and the undertakings it has with the various stakeholders, who could be from the external marketing settings. (Korzeniowski, 2001) In the world of today, external marketing environment has gained a lot of essence due to the fact that it brings into picture the real role of the channel members, middle line managers and wholesalers as well as other personnel who do their bit towards completing different activities and tasks, coming directly under the auspices of the organization’s hold. (Applbaum, 2004) What is therefore necessary in such a situation is to be open to all forms of criticisms which could be raised by the various stakeholders and parties hailing from the external marketing environment and the related regimes. This will present the said organization with a host of options when it devises a plan to counter the problems which it is facing at the hands of the external marketing environment and the different players present within the very same environmental settings. Problems stumbled upon by the business at one region or at a local franchise would mean that the company should be ready to bear losses of an unimaginable cost. More than that, the company will lose its self-won respect and dignity around which shareholders and owners, etc are revolving around. The big companies that are internationally marketed cannot compete with everyone. They have to set their own competitors in the particular field and then go about competing with each other. Negative diplomacy and marketing should in no way create upheaval and turbulence for the people to raise fingers upon. Rather the company should find out and select certain businesses, which will help it in its smooth running (of business). (Wells, 1998) There can be a number of factors, which can bring about globalization within a company’s business and also some others, which can push it towards a state of total deadlock and in some cases isolation as well. The external factors, which affect the success of the particular business, have to be kept in mind under all conditions whereby opposing the proposals given by one can easily mean the avoidance of the same shareholder or proposed party to stay away from the business which can be a huge setback. Change has to be a constant dynamic in the international arena of marketing but it has to be brought about in a cordial manner, both for the shareholders, investors, owners and the like as well as the ones for whom the business is serving, i.e., its customers and clients. A company has to keep shoulder to shoulder of the comparisons, which it has to do with its competitors every now and then. In fact it’s an on going continuous process, which has no certain time frames to look at. Competition in the world of today is increasing and a company cannot afford to fall way back when compared with its competitors. (Dunning, 2001) Moving on with the discussion on the external marketing environment, the outsourcing controversy comes into the whole equation when the firms decide to go the international way. This means that they hire qualified and able men and women from offshore sites and campuses which might not necessarily come to their respective lands for doing or performing the related duties and tasks. (Swan, 1994) At times, this might seem as the cheapest possible option since it brings the benefits and losses parallel with each other and hence gives a fair enough picture. Outsourcing can both be a benefit and a disadvantage for a firm which has decided to shift its operations on a global scale. The significant thing however is to understand that how best the organization uses its resources to exploit the strengths and play upon effectively in a manner that the weaknesses and drawbacks are minimized in a quick way. The benefits of outsourcing can be very encouraging as they bring in pool of raw talent which could be helpful for the organization and which would ultimately bring in more and more revenue for it. One of the major issues that are faced by firms when they decide to plunge into the ranks of the external marketing environment in an out and out manner is to understand the culture and language of the place they have invested their money and resources in. This means that the new alien land becomes a problematic equation for the people who took the decision to move to that city or region initially. (Lowe, 2004) Every country has its own unique set of principles and rules which need to be followed and in this case the firm which has opened up its offshore offices needs to make sure that it complies and agrees with these rules and procedures even before it decides to open these new offices. (Galbraith, 2000) The legislation of the region or country might be so hard to understand that the organization even before entering into this new territory can simply run away. This suggests that the organizations must be ready always to keep away the problems that might arise at some point in time within the new operational territory of the already existing business. (Lipsey, 2002) Firms have to predict what will actually happen with them in the future and this is not an easy process, in fact it is easier said than done. (Barr, 2000) They must be open to a number of challenges and potential problems that can come their way every now and then and for this not to happen, they must make sure that their research according to the market dynamics and cultural representations is up to date and current. (Kay, 1995) The cultural differences that arise due to the various issues including the misunderstandings of the language that is commonly spoken of is something that the organizations must take care of before they decide to venture into a new country or region. (Foss, 2005) Bibliography APPLBAUM, Kalman. (2004). The Marketing Era: From Professional Practice to Global Provisioning. Routledge BARR, Pamela S. (2000). When Firms Change Direction. Oxford University Press BENTON, Ted. (1994). Social Theory and the Global Environment. Routledge DUNNING, John H. (2001). Multinational Firms: The Global-Local Dilemma. Routledge FOSS, Nicolai J. (2005). Strategy, Economic Organization, and the Knowledge Economy: The Coordination of Firms and Resources. Oxford University Press GALBRAITH, Jay R. (2000). Designing the Global Corporation. Jossey-Bass KAY, John. (1995). Why Firms Succeed. Oxford University Press KORZENIOWSKI, Paul. (2001). The Challenges of Going Global. Business Communications Review, Vol. 31 LIPSEY, Robert E. (2002). Multinational Firms and Impacts on Employment, Trade, and Technology: New Perspectives for a New Century. Routledge LOWE, Suzanne C. (2004). Marketplace Masters: How Professional Service Firms Compete to Win. Praeger SWAN, K Scott. (1994). Offshore Sourcing. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 25 WELLS, Louis T. (1998). Multinationals and the Developing Countries. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 29 Word Count: 1,115 Read More