Environmentalism Response

This is in response to Dave's post about environmentalism acting as a threat or an opportunity:

Dave brought up a good point that social responsibility is important for companies because they would like to portray themselves as helping the community and reaching out to others, rather than just focusing on the bottom line. Dave brings up the point of the recent booming market for hybrid cars a couple of years ago, and how they are more fuel efficient, cut gas emissions, and are more eco-friendly, provides a positive view of these companies from the view point of the consumer, which is a good thing for the company. But, as Dave said, it also hurts the sales of the big gas guzzlers. I think that this cannibalism can have a negative impact on some companies. Their sales are being negatively affected by this surge in hybrid car sales, all as a result from trying to be more environmentally friendly. I believe that these car manufacturers have to be careful on how much they are going to market these cars, if it is going to cut into the sales of big gas guzzlers too much. Dave, do you agree that this marketing scheme of being "green" may eventually have a negative impact on some of these companies?

Marketing Window in the News

Here is an article I came across the other day, which describes how American car makers are taking advantage of the recent recalls of the Toyota cars:

Toyota Recalls

Is environmentalism more of a threat or an opportunity?

When looking at the many factors that can influence the marketing environment, each of them can present both opportunities and threats to a company. The factors affecting the marketing environment include competitive, economic, political, legal and regulatory, technological, and sociocultural. I will focus on a couple of these factors in this blog.

The first factor that I will focus on is the competitive factor. The competition that a company faces often has similar, if not nearly identical products, making it sometimes difficult for a company to gain a competitive advantage. I believe that most of the time, the competitive forces pose a threat to a company; which could be for a variety of reasons. First, a different company may create a new marketing plan which will be more effective in reaching consumers, and as result, lower profits. Also, the competition could engage in a price war and lower their prices to a level in which another company may not be able to compete with, further driving down profits. But, I don't believe that the competitive factor is always acts as a threat. For example, in the recent Toyota recall of cars for the gas pedal sticking, a large marketing opportunity is presented to American car companies such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler. These American companies will have an opportunity to capitalize on Toyota's loss. Ford has already begun to do so by giving discounts to customers who trade in their faulty Toyota.

Another factor that plays a role in the marketing environment is the economic forces. Naturally, how well the economy is doing not only domestically, but internationally as well, plays a large role in how well companies perform. Economic forces can mean different things for different companies, however. In the current state of our economy, we are in a deep recession in which many people are watching what they spend due to high unemployment, budget constraints, and high amounts of debt. One would think that all companies would be hit by this recession and that at this part of the business cycle, the economy would be seen as a threat. But, for some companies like Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, BJ's, and other discount stores, they are seeing increased sales, since they are able to offer products at deeply discounted prices, which is appealing to consumers in a tight economy. High end retailers and luxury items, however, most likely see this recession as a threat to their companies. Companies like Rolex, Abercrombie & Fitch, and other high end retailers have seen significant profit loses and are struggling to stay out of bankruptcy. This provides a threat to marketers, as it is very difficult to market expensive products in this tight economy. So, once again the economic forces can either be a threat or an opportunity or a threat, depending on the state of the economy, consumers' willingness to spend, and the type of company and product that is trying to be marketed.

Overall, I don't think there is one definitive answer on whether the marketing environment is a threat or an opportunity. I think each factor has both threats and opportunities that are unique to each individual company, and a myriad of other factors. Do you think that any factor provides more of an opportunity, than a threat? Or vice versa?