Glossary: Chapter 2



	Glossary Chapter 2: The Marketing Environment Jump to a chapter's terms: 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| 10 \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| 15 \| 16 \| 17 \| 18 \| 19 \| 20 \| 21 \| 22 \| 23 \| 24 Business cycle Fluctuations in the economy that follow the general pattern of prosperity, recession, depression and recovery. p. 49 Buying power Resources such as goods, services and financial holdings that can be traded in an exchange situation. p. 53 Competition Those companies marketing products that are similar to, or can be substituted for, a given business's products in the same geographic area. p. 56 Competition Commission An independent body in the UK that investigates monopolies to determine whether they operate against the public interest. p. 39 Competitor monitoring The process by which a company studies the actions of its major competitors in order to determine what specific strategies they are following and how those strategies affect its own; also used by marketers as they try to develop competitive advantages, adjust current marketing strategies and plan new ones. p. 58 Comprehensive spending patterns The percentages of family income allotted to annual expenditures for general classes of goods and services. p. 56 Consumer movement A diverse collection of independent individuals, groups and organisations seeking to protect the rights of consumers. p. 45 Consumer spending patterns Information indicating the relative proportions of annual family expenditures or the actual amount of money spent on certain kinds of goods and services. p. 56 Consumers' Association A private organisation, funded by members' subscriptions, that works to further consumer interests. p. 40 Depression A period during which unemployment is extremely high, wages are very low, total disposable income is at a minimum and consumers lack confidence in the economy. p. 53 Discretionary income Disposable income that is available for spending and saving after an individual has purchased the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. p. 55 Disposable income After-tax income, which is used for spending or saving. p. 53 Economic and competitive forces Factors in the marketing environment-including the effects of general economic conditions, buying power, willingness to spend, spending patterns, types of competitive structure, competitive tools and competitive behaviour-that influence both marketers' and consumers' decisions and activities. p. 49 Environmental analysis The process of assessing and interpreting the information gathered through environmental scanning. p. 36 Environmental scanning The process of collecting information about the forces in the marketing environment. p. 36 Green movement The trend arising from society's concern about pollution, waste disposal, manufacturing processes and the greenhouse effect. p. 45 Income The amount of money received through wages, rents, investments, pensions and subsidy payments for a given period. p. 53 Macro marketing environment The broader forces affecting all organisations in a market-political, legal, regulatory, societal/green, technological, economic and competitive. p. 59 Marketing environment The external forces that directly or indirectly influence an organisation's acquisition of inputs and generation of outputs, comprising six categories of forces: political, legal, regulatory, societal/green, technological, and economic and competitive. p. 35 Micro marketing environment The more company-specific forces reflecting the nature of the business, its suppliers, marketing intermediaries, buyers, all types of competitors-direct, substitute and new entrant-and its publics. p. 59 Monopolistic competition A market structure that exists when a business with many potential competitors attempts to develop a differential marketing strategy to establish its own market share. p. 57 Monopoly A market structure that exists when a company turns out a product that has no close substitutes. p. 56 Office of Fair Trading UK government office set up to oversee trading practices of organisations and individuals in the UK. p. 39 Oligopoly A market structure that exists when a few sellers control the supply of a large proportion of a product. p. 57 Perfect competition A market structure that entails a large number of sellers, not one of which could significantly influence price or supply. p. 57 Procompetitive legislation Laws enacted to preserve competition and to end various practices deemed unacceptable by society. p. 39 Product-specific spending patterns The annual monetary amounts families spend for specific products within a general product class. p. 56 Prosperity A period during which unemployment is low and total income is relatively high. p. 49 Recession A period during which unemployment rises and total buying power declines. p. 49 Recovery The stage of the business cycle in which the economy moves from depression or recession to prosperity. p. 53 Societal/green forces Individuals and groups and the issues engaging them that pressure marketers to provide high living standards and enjoyable lifestyles through socially responsible decisions and activities. p. 44 Strategic windows Major developments or opportunities triggered by changes in the marketing environment. p. 62 Technology The knowledge of how to accomplish tasks and goals. p. 46 Technology assessment A procedure by which managers try to foresee the effects of new products and processes on their company's operation, on other business organisations and on society in general. p. 48 Wealth The accumulation of past income, natural resources and financial resources. p. 55 Willingness to spend A disposition towards using buying power, influenced by the ability to buy, expected satisfaction from a product and numerous psychological and social forces. p. 55