Environmental Factors that affect Global and Domestic Marketing Decisions
Angela D. Nicol
University of Phoenix
MKT 421Marketing
Every company global or domestic has external factors that exist that eventually have an
effect on the companys operations. Some of these external factors can be controlled but a
larger portion is uncontrollable and yet they can be managed and or influenced by the
company. These specific factors make up the marketing environment in which a company
has environmental factors that influence the companys decisions. In this paper, the author
will explore the domestic and global environmental factors that could have an impact on
FedExs marketing decision. The five environmental factors that the author will be
discussing are social, economical, technological, competitive, and regulatory.
These five environmental factors are discussed at great length in the book entitled
Marketing 8th Edition written by Roger A. Kerin, Steven W. Hartley, Eric N. Berkowitz,
and William Rudelius. The writers define social forces as the demographic characteristics
of the population and its values (Kerin & Berkowitz, Hartley & Rudelius, 2006, p. 74).
Some of these demographic characteristics can include gender differences, buying patterns
of consumers, culture, attitudes, and diversity. Economical factors are defined by the
writers as anything that pertains to the income, expenditures, and resources that affect the
cost of running a business and household (Kerin & Berkowitz, Hartley & Rudelius, 2006,
p. 80). The writers also discussed technological factors as inventions or innovations from
applied science or engineering research (Kerin & Berkowitz, Hartley & Rudelius, 2006, p.
83). The fourth environmental factor that is discussed in by the writers is competition,
which refers to the alternative firms that could provide a product to satisfy a specific
markets needs (Kerin & Berkowitz, Hartley & Rudelius, 2006, p. 85). A company has to
consider its present and future competitors when they are designing a marketing strategy.
The final environmental factors that can affect FedEx are regulations. According to the
textbook, regulations consist of restrictions state and federal laws place on business with
regard to the conduct of its activities (Kerin & Berkowitz, Hartley & Rudelius, 2006, p.
87).
FedEx has become one of the finest logistics companies in the transport industry and
globally. There is an enormous force that ultimately drives this company into having a
competitive advantage. This competitive advantage consists of a combination of the
companys website, Information Technology infrastructure and software. The Information
Technology infrastructure that FedEx has developed has become the companys backbone
