The marketing environment where an organisation functions can also be divided into the macro and the micro environments. The macro environmental factors are those that affect how all the businesses in a specific market operate; these are societal factors that affect a firm from the outside (Dibb et al., 2012). These factors affect other firms in the same industry and even those in other industries in the same society. Although, the macro environmental factors can present opportunities for a firm, the trend and changes in the macro environment can have an adverse effect on a firm. Therefore, a firm might have to change to accommodate the changes in the macro environment, because no single organisation can change or influence the macro environment (Claudiu, Andrei and Gabriela, 2011). In order to analyse and understand the macro environment in which an organisation operates, several authors suggest the use of the PESTEL analysis (Armstrong and Kotler, 2005;
Blythe, 2009, Dibb et al., 2012; McDaniel et al., 2013). This analysis breaks the macro environment into:
• Political factors: Political factors influence the business environment greatly because the policy or the lack thereof, which the ruling organisation favours, sets the tone of the business environment. It can sometimes determine what an organisation or industry is allowed to do or not thereby impacting the way an organisation or industry meets the need of its customers.
19 | P a g e
• Economic factors: The general economic climate provides information on factors like the living standard, buying power, the growth rate of the overall economy, inflation and unemployment measures among other issues. These issues influence how organisations trade and even what they trade on because it affects the bottom line directly.
• Social issues: The changes and trend in social factors like population growth and distribution, religious inclination, culture and lifestyle that are prevalent in a market will determine what can be offered to the market, how to make the offering and where it should be made (McDaniel et al., 2013). These factors influence every marketing area and should be monitored carefully and constantly for strategic decision making and marketing responses.
• Technological forces: Technological research and development is one single factor that now impacts almost every walk of life. Technology now plays a major role in areas and at a degree that was unimaginable in the previous decade. The development of super-fast aircrafts has brought cities from different continents very close and the evolution of the Internet, innovative mobile technologies brought cities across continents even closer.
These factors have revolutionised the way people work, play and socialise.
They now determine consumer behaviour, the marketing mix and accordingly they create new markets and opportunities (Armstrong and Kotler, 2005). In many industries, technological factors are the source of innovation. Research has shown that innovative companies have been found to have a competitive edge that can be directly linked to their innovativeness (McDaniel et al., 2013).
• Environmental factors: Issues that concern the physical environment – such as the subject of environmental pollution and global warming has gained more attention in the business world. Organisations that do not pay attention to these issues are likely to get punished, while firms that show respect for the environment are likely to attract more customers (Dibb et al., 2012). Besides, initiatives that have the power to change some industries completely have been borne out of the concern for environmental protection. An example is the on-going changes in the energy sector that could reduce the use of fossil fuel considerable in the very near future. This means that organisations like
20 | P a g e automobile manufacturers have to consider this factor in their future product developments.
• Legal and regulatory frameworks: The legal system and regulating bodies are extensions of the political system. The legal system and regulatory bodies create and enforce laws and regulation for various reasons like the economic situations, needs of the society or because of a political agenda.
However, these regulations and laws can change at any time and organisations are expected to comply. Therefore, strategic and marketing decision making processes have to take note of the current regulations and laws to ensure compliance. Plans should be made to accommodate changes in legal and regulatory frameworks avoid unnecessary penalties.
The micro environments are those factors that are industry specific amongst competing enterprises. Firms outside the specific industry are usually not affected by these factors (Blythe, 2009). These factors are from the immediate environments of a firm and can include factors from within the firm itself and its entire value chain, its competitors and the structure of the entire industry (Armstrong and Kotler, 2005;
Blythe, 2009). A thorough analysis and understanding of the micro environment can help organisations to make strategic decisions that will give them an edge in their industry. Understanding and responding to the trends in the micro environments can also help an organisation to maintain a proactive position by shaping the future of the industry to become leaders in the industry, rather than a passive follower (Dibb et al., 2012). This will eventually translate into a competitive advantage and increase in the market share.
In order to analyse and understand the micro environment of an organisation, firms can gather and evaluate information from organisation-specific factors like those mentioned as internal environmental factors in the previous section. Other factors within organisations that impact its ability to serve its customers include the business model adopted by the firm, the core strategy of the organisation and the leadership capabilities within the firm. Blythe (2009) recommends the use of the Porter’s five forces model (Porter, 2008) for industry specific and competition analysis that gives a strong insight into the micro environment of a firm. According to Hough et al.
(2011), the Porter’s five forces model provides insight and a detailed assessment of
21 | P a g e an industry and the major forces that drives competition in the industry. This analysis will therefore help an organisation to understand its immediate environment and how to trade or position itself in the industry to be able to serve its customers properly.
This study focuses on the application of a strategic marketing concept in politics.
O’Cass (2011) makes a case for the application of strategic marketing concepts and frameworks in the political domain and describes it as political marketing. Although influencing voters with political concepts and ideology is the subject in political marketing as opposed to products and services in mainstream business (Osuagwu, 2008) the application core marketing tools and frameworks are very relevant in politics (Osuagwu, 2008; O’Cass and Voola, 2011). The analysis and understanding of the environmental factors that influence political marketing could be a major success factor. This study will explore the environmental effect of technology, precisely the Internet and mobile technologies, in engaging political stakeholders and winning elections.