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Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 1
CHAPTER 4 The Marketing Environment
This chapter begins with the learning outcome summaries, followed by a set of lesson plans for you to use
to deliver the content in Chapter 3.
• Lecture (for large sections) on page 3
• Company Clips (video) on page 4
Review and Assignments begin on page 5
Review questions
Application questions
Application exercise
Ethics exercise
Video Assignment
Case assignment
Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing from faculty around the country begin on page 16
2 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
LEARNING OUTCOMES
4-1 Discuss the external environment of marketing and explain how it affects a firm
The external marketing environment consists of social, demographic, economic, technological, political and legal, and
competitive variables. Marketers generally cannot control the elements of the external environment. Instead, they must
understand how the external environment is changing and the impact of that change on the target market. Then marketing
managers can create a marketing mix to effectively meet the needs of target customers.
4-2 Describe the social factors that affect marketing
Within the external environment, social factors are perhaps the most difficult for marketers to anticipate. Several major
social trends are currently shaping marketing strategies. First, people of all ages have a broader range of interests,
defying traditional consumer profiles. Second, changing gender roles are bringing more women into the workforce and
increasing the number of men who shop. Third, a greater number of dual-career families has created demand for time-
saving goods and services.
4-3 Explain the importance to marketing managers of current demographic trends
Today, several basic demographic patterns are influencing marketing mixes. Because the U.S. population is growing at a
slower rate, marketers can no longer rely on profits from generally expanding markets. Marketers are also faced with
increasingly experienced consumers among the younger generations such as tweens and teens. And because the
population is also growing older, marketers are offering more products that appeal to middle-aged and older consumers.
4-4 Explain the importance to marketing managers of growing ethnic markets
The minority population today is about 118 million. By 2050, around one in three U.S. residents will be Hispanic. The
United States will flip completely to a majority-minority makeup in 2041. Many companies are now creating
departments and product lines to effectively target multicultural market segments. Companies have quickly found that
ethnic markets are not homogeneous.
4-5 Identify consumer and marketer reactions to the state of the economy
In recent years, U.S. incomes have risen at a slow pace. At the same time, the financial power of women has increased,
and they are making the purchasing decisions for many products in traditionally male-dominated areas. During a time of
inflation, marketers generally attempt to maintain level pricing to avoid losing customer brand loyalty. During times of
recession, many marketers maintain or reduce prices to counter the effects of decreased demand; they also concentrate on
increasing production efficiency and improving customer service.
4-6 Identify the impact of technology on a firm
Monitoring new technology is essential to keeping up with competitors in today’s marketing environment. The United
States excels in basic research and, in recent years, has dramatically improved its track record in applied research.
Innovation is increasingly becoming a global process. Without innovation, U.S. companies can’t compete in global
markets.
4-7 Discuss the political and legal environment of marketing
All marketing activities are subject to state and federal laws and the rulings of regulatory agencies. Marketers are
responsible for remaining aware of and abiding by such regulations. Some key federal laws that affect marketing are the
Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, Robinson-Patman Act, Wheeler-Lea Amendments to the
FTC Act, Lanham Act, Celler-Kefauver Antimerger Act, and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Many laws, including privacy
laws, have been passed to protect the consumer as well. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade
Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration are the three federal agencies most involved in regulating marketing
activities.
Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 3
4-8 Explain the basics of foreign and domestic competition
The competitive environment encompasses the number of competitors a firm must face, the relative size of the
competitors, and the degree of interdependence within the industry. Declining population growth, rising costs, and
shortages of resources have heightened domestic competition.
TERMS
applied research
demography
Millennials
baby boomers
environmental management
inflation
basic research
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
purchasing power
component lifestyles
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
recession
Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC)
Generation X
target market
LESSON PLAN FOR LECTURE
Brief Outline and Suggested PowerPoint Slides:
Learning Outcomes and Topics
PowerPoint Slides
LO1 Discuss the external environment of marketing and
explain how it affects a firm
4-1 The External Environment
1: The Marketing Environment
2: Learning Outcomes
3: Learning Outcomes
4: The External Marketing Environment
5: Target Market
6: Understanding the External Environment
LO2 Describe the social factors that affect marketing.
4-2 Social Factors
7: Social Factors
8: Social Factors
9: American Values
10: The Influence of Values on Buying Habits
11: Component Lifestyles
12: The Role of Social Media in Communication
13: How Firms Use Social Media
LO3 Explain the importance to marketing managers of
current demographic trends
4-3 Demographic Factors
14: Demographic Factors
15: Demographic Factors
16: Tweens
17: Teens
18: Millennials
19: Generation X
20: Baby Boomers
LO4 Explain the importance to marketing managers of
growing ethnic markets
4-4 Growing Ethnic Markets
21: Growing Ethnic Markets
22: Growing Ethnic Markets
23: Marketing to Hispanic Americans
24: Marketing to African Americans
25: Marketing to Asian Americans
LO5 Identify consumer and marketer reactions to the state
of the economy
4-5 Economic Factors
26: Economic Factors
27: Economic Factors
28: Consumers’ Incomes
29: Purchasing Power is…
30: Inflation is…
31: A recession is…
4 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
LO6 Identify the impact of technology on a firm
4-6 Technological Factors
32: Technological Factors
33: Research
34: Stimulating Innovation
LO7 Discuss the political and legal environment of
marketing
4-7 Political and Legal Factors
35: Political and Legal Factors
36: Political and Legal Factors
37: Federal Legislation
38: State Laws
39: Regulatory Agencies
40: Bureaus of the FTC
41: Consumer Privacy
LO8 Explain the basics of foreign and domestic competition
4-8 Competitive Factors
42: Competitive Factors
43: Competitive Factors
44: Competitive Factors
45: Chapter 4 Video
Suggested Homework:
• The end of this chapter contains assignments on the GaGa’s Inc. video and One Direction case.
• This chapter’s online study tools include flashcards, visual summaries, practice quizzes, and other resources that can
be assigned or used as the basis for longer investigations into marketing.
LESSON PLANS FOR VIDEO
Company Clips
Segment Summary: GaGa’s Inc.
GaGa’s Inc. produces a frozen dessert called Sherbetter in a variety of flavors. GaGa’s is very small product line and Jim
King, the founder and CEO, discusses the challenges his company faces in their product category. He also reveals other
environmental challenges to his product.
These teaching notes combine activities that you can assign students to prepare before class, that you can do in class
before watching the video, that you can do in class while watching the video, and that you can assign students to
complete on their own after watching the video.
During the viewing portion of the teaching notes, stop the video periodically where appropriate to ask students the
questions or perform the activities listed on the grid. You may even want to give the students the questions before
starting the video and have them think about the answer while viewing the segment. That way, students will be engaged
in active rather than passive viewing.
PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOU:
PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOUR STUDENTS:
• Review the Company Clips video segment from
Chapters 2 and 3. This exercise reviews concepts
for LO1, LO2, and LO3
• Review your lesson plan.
• Make sure you have all of the equipment needed
to show the video to the class, including the DVD
and a way to project the video.
• Have students familiarize themselves with the
following terms and concepts: competition,
demography, and target market.
VIDEO REVIEW EXERCISE
ACTIVITY
Warm Up
Begin by asking students “How do businesses go about researching and determining
a target market?”
Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 5
In-class Preview
• Segue into a discussion of the external marketing environment and social
factors as variables that marketing managers must integrate into their
marketing plans.
• Review how elements in the external environment create opportunities as well
as threats to a firm’s marketing mix.
• Ask students to volunteer the seven classifications, or factors, that marketing
managers may attempt to manage or shape within the external environment.
• Review the cohorts in present-day demography. Ask why demographic
characteristics are important to know.
Review the Company Clips questions with students. They should be prepared to
answer them after viewing the video.
Viewing
(solutions below)
1. Explain how GaGa’s Inc. has used environmental management to help shape
the external environment in which they are selling Sherbetter.
2. Values influence buying habits; in what way(s) does GaGa’s recognize its
customers’ values?
Follow-up
.
• Have students use the Internet or Yellow Pages to identify companies that
pitch “sustainability” or other green marketing practices,. Students should then
e-mail or call one of the companies and ask the manager or sales personnel to
describe their clientele and the types of products they sell to them. Ask
students to be prepared to share their research at the next class meeting.
Solutions for Viewing Activities:
1. Explain how GaGa’s Inc. has used environmental management to help shape the external environment in
which they are selling Sherbetter.
GaGa’s manages its environment by targeting stores that have a lower slotting fee and have shoppers that fit the
2. Values influence buying habits; in what way(s) does GaGa’s recognize its customers’ values?
REVIEW AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR CHAPTER 4
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What is the purpose of environmental scanning? Give an example
Although students’ answers will vary, they should address some of the following points: Environmental scanning—
6 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
2. Give an example of component lifestyles based on someone you know.
Students’ answers will vary.
3. Explain how consumers’ buying habits may change during a recessionary period.
An economic recession is a phase when income, production, and employment fall, and together reduce the demand
4. Give three examples of how technology has benefited marketers. Also, give several examples of how firms
have been hurt because they did not keep up with technological change.
Students’ answers will vary widely. For example, they may mention that the new technology in fake fats in foods
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
1. Form six teams. Each team is responsible for one of the uncontrollable elements in the marketing
environment. Your boss, the company president, has asked each team to provide a one-year and a five-year
forecast of what major trends the firm will face. The firm is in the telecommunications equipment industry. It
has no plans to become a telecommunications service provider like, for example, Verizon and AT&T. Each
team should use the library, the Internet, and other data sources to make its forecasts. Each team should
examine a minimum of one data source. The team should then pool its data and prepare its recommendation.
A spokesperson for each team should present the findings to class.
The results will vary by team.
2. Every country has a set of core values and beliefs. These values may vary somewhat from region to region of
the nation. Identify five core values for your area of the country. Clip magazine advertisements that reflect
these values and bring them to class.
This will vary depending upon the part of the country students are from. For example, students from the south may
3. Baby boomers in America are aging. Describe how this might affect the marketing mix for the following:
• Bally’s Health Clubs
• McDonald’s
• Whirlpool Corporation
• The State of Florida
• Target Stores
Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 7
4. You have been asked to address a local Chamber of Commerce on the subject of Millennials consumers.
Prepare an outline for your talk.
The outline should include the following elements: Millennials consumers are skeptical, having been bombarded
5. How should Ford Motor Company market differently to Millennials, Generation X, and baby boomers?
Millennials: Gen Yers have grown up in a media-saturated, brand-conscious world and love customized products.
So, Ford should develop a car that is just for this generation alone and provide customized features that reflect the
6. Go to the library and look up a minority market such as the Hispanic market. Write a memo to your boss
that details the many submarkets within this segment.
Students’ answers will vary. Students should be invited to look at Web sites as well as at traditional books or
periodicals. The submarkets within these cultural groups will probably include the following: 1) age submarkets
7. Using the library and the Internet, find examples of large companies directing marketing mixes to each major
ethnic group.
Students’ answers will vary.
8. Periods of inflation require firms to alter their marketing mix. Suppose a recent economic forecast expects
inflation to be almost 10 percent during the next eighteen months. Your company manufactures hand tools
for the home gardener. Write a memo to the company president explaining how the firm may have to alter its
marketing mix.
8 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
Inflation is a general rise in prices resulting in decreased purchasing power. Inflation generally causes consumers to
9. The Federal Trade Commission and other governmental agencies have been both praised and criticized for
their regulation of marketing activities. To what degree do you think the government should regulate
marketing? Explain your position.
Governmental regulation that directly impacts marketing includes 1) pricing regulation, 2) advertising regulation, 3)
10. Can you think of any other areas where consumer protection laws are needed?
Students’ answers will vary. [If you use this as an in-class discussion question, push students to think of the impact a
11. What topics are currently receiving attention in FDA News (http://www.fdanews.com)? What effect has the
attention had on market share?
Students’ answers will vary according to the current news topics.
APPLICATION EXERCISE
Demographic factors play a large role in shaping the external marketing environment. One of those demographic factors
is culture. The importance of cultural understanding cannot be overstated, especially in today’s global marketplace and
our own multicultural country. In general, Americans tend to be ethnocentric; that is, they are quick to prejudge other
cultural norms as wrong (or of less significance) because they differ from American practices. One way to be exposed to
another culture is by examining the foods typical of that culture. In this exercise, you will need to work in a team to
create a guide to ethnic dining in your city or area. The finished guide will be descriptive in nature; it is not meant to be a
rating guide.
Activities
1. Identify ethnic dining categories for inclusion in your guide. Once you have identified categories for your area,
make a list of restaurants for each category.
2. You will need to create a data collection form so that the same information is collected from each restaurant. For
example, you will want to include the name, address, and phone number for each restaurant. Think of other
information that would be helpful.
3. Divide up the restaurant list your team generated in activity 1 so that each team member is responsible for collecting
information from a certain number of restaurants. Consider dividing the list geographically so that each team
member can visit an assortment of ethnic restaurants. If your budget allows, eat at a few of the restaurants in
addition to collecting the information. After you have all the information, meet to review and compare your
findings.
4. Was there a meal or type of food that you particularly liked? Disliked? Which type of ethnic restaurant seemed most
foreign to you? Why do you think that was?
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to allow those students who have had only minimal exposure to cultural
differences an opportunity to experience those differences through the common element of food. Students will create a
Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 9
basic ethnic dining guide for restaurants in their area. The guide is not meant to be a rating guide. It is simply meant to be
an informative guide.
Setting It Up: If your college or university is in a larger metropolitan area, you will probably have a greater variety of
ethnic restaurants nearby. If, however, you are in a more remote location, you can adapt the exercise for the Internet.
Simply have students search for a variety of ethnic restaurants in a larger city, like New York, Atlanta, Chicago, or Los
Angeles. Push students to look for restaurants outside the most common (i.e., Italian, Chinese).
This application exercise is based on the following Great Idea in Teaching Marketing:
Mark Andrew Mitchell
University of South Carolina – Spartanburg
THE GUIDE TO ETHNIC DINING
Introduction
The importance of cultural understanding cannot be overstated, especially in today’s global marketplace. Americans tend
to be rather ethnocentric; that is, quick to prejudge other cultural norms as wrong (or of lesser significance) simply
because they differ from American practices. Universities have a responsibility to develop the students’ appreciation of
other cultures and their understanding of coupled global markets.
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of this project is to expose students to other cultures by examining the foods typical of that culture. Students
identify and profile ethnic dining establishments in their local service area. Further, descriptions of each ethnic dining
category are written to develop the student’s appreciation of the differences in diets and dining habits among cultures.
The purpose is consistent with current university efforts to “internationalize” programs, personnel, and curriculum. The
finished product (THE GUIDE TO ETHNIC DINING IN your area) is distributed across the region to your community
partners, such as The Chamber of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism, Visitor’s Bureau, hospitality marketers, and
your university’s office for international studies. This allows the institution to fulfill its service mission. It must be noted
that the finished guide is meant to be descriptive and not a rating service for possible patrons. The development of a
rating service may create adversarial relationships with some restaurateurs in your community—not an enviable position
for the university.
Student Application
This project can be administered in a Principles of Marketing, International Marketing, Consumer Behavior, or
Marketing Research course. This class provides professional services to area Chambers of Commerce, travel and tourism
personnel, hospitality marketers, and university personnel.
Proposed Process for Successful Completion of Project
The following is an action plan to guide the preparation of “The Guide to Ethnic Dining” in your market:
• Identify ethnic dining categories for analysis.
• Profile ethnic dining habits within each category.
• Identify ethnic restaurants in your area.
• Develop a data collection form.
• Divide the restaurant list among students.
• Collect information from restaurants.
• Compile collected information.
• Report findings to community partners.
• Enjoy personal use of the guide!
• Take pride in the public distribution and use of your work!
10 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
Information Collected
As noted earlier, the guide is meant to be descriptive and not comparative. The following information is suggested for
inclusion in your guide:
• Name of establishment
• Translation of name (if applicable)
• Location and directions
• Days/Hours of operation
• Self-reported specialties
• Price range
• Availability of ethnic entertainment
• Availability of children’s menu
• Credit cards accepted
• Availability of alcoholic beverages
• An invitation from the owner or manager, possibly in native language
Division of Labor
After you categorize the types of ethnic dining available (i.e., Mexican, Italian, Greek) in your area, develop a list of
applicable restaurants. (You can use the ethnic dining categories to construct specialized teams to conduct the project.)
Each student is then assigned responsibility to contact particular restaurants to secure the desired information. This
process allows you to avoid duplication of effort. Students submit the collected information using a common word
processing software package supported by the institution. The students’ collective works are then compiled for printing
and electronic distribution.
ETHICS EXERCISE
Gary Caplan has developed a new energy drink designed to burn calories while sleeping, which he intends to market to
grossly overweight consumers. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 percent of Americans are
obese. Gary’s mother, a doctor, argues that it’s unethical to target the obese—that they are as vulnerable a target market
as much as the elderly and children.
Questions
1. Is Gary targeting a “vulnerable” market?
2. Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? Go to http://www.marketingpower.com and review the
statement. Then write a brief paragraph on what it contains that relates to Gary Caplan’s marketing
decision.
The AMA Statement of Ethics does address this issue when it states, “we will recognize our special commitments to
VIDEO ASSIGNMENT: GaGa’s Inc.
GaGa’s Inc. produces a frozen dessert called Sherbetter in a variety of flavors. GaGa’s is very small product line and Jim
King, the founder and CEO, discusses the challenges his company faces in their product category. He also reveals other
environmental challenges to his product.
1. When Jim King says that “the health department” didn’t like him making Sherbetter out of his kitchen, he is
referring to what?
a. The Food and Drug Administration
b. The Federal Trade Commission
c. The Consumer Product Safety Commission
d. His local health care organization
2. Which of the following factors does GaGa’s discuss regarding who buys its product?
a. EcoTech and ethnicity
b. Inflation and age group
c. Consumer incomes and purchasing power
d. State laws and market share
3. Requiring such large slotting fees:
a. Decreases inflation.
b. forces competition for market share to be among large companies with significant capital.
c. decreases the work that FDA inspectors have to do.
d. increases innovation by allowing new products to pay to be displayed.
12 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
4. When Jim King discusses the factors involved in NOT using wholesale distributor CISCO or direct sales to the
consumer, which category of external environment factors is he discussing?
a. social
b. demographic
c. economic
d. competitive
5. Seasonal factors preventing Jim King opening a scoop shop in New England fall into which category?
a. social
b. demographic
c. economic
d. competitive
6. That GaGa’s has been able to stay in business and keeps searching for ways to reach its customer speaks to what
American Value?
a. Self-sufficiency
b. Upward Mobility
c. Work Ethic
d. Conformity
CASE ASSIGNMENT: One Direction
In 2011, pop music sensation One Direction became the first English music group to reach the number one spot on the
Billboard 200 chart with a debut album. Assembled by Simon Cowell in 2010 and introduced on Cowell’s The X Factor
television series, One Direction quickly amassed tween fans in England and the United States through a unique
interactive marketing campaign. According to the campaign’s narrative, a One Direction superfan who went by the
moniker “1DCyberpunk” stole the band’s laptop, promising only to give it back when fans proved their support by
completing a series of social media–based challenges. Active participants were rewarded with exclusive content and
events, culminating in a massive online album listening party during which the laptop was finally returned.
The fifty-day campaign was developed by marketing firm AIS in conjunction with One Direction’s record label,
Syco. According to AIS Creative Director Richard Coggin, “Syco had a lot of great content—videos, merchandise,
singles, albums, lyrics, running orders, signed photos, radio and TV appearances—and our brief was to glue it all
together and engage the fans on a daily basis. Filtered through 1DCyberpunk, the content became more valuable and
sought-after.” Though complex and often difficult to manage, the campaign was a success, netting 200,000 participants,
twelve trending topics on twitter, and more than 2.5 million views on YouTube. Perhaps most importantly, it laid the
foundation for a passionate U.S. fan base that was desperate to see the band in their home country, buy the debut album,
and send One Direction to the top of the charts.
Emma Hall, “U.K. Boy Band One Direction Rises Via Social Media,” Advertising Age, April 12, 2012,
http://adage.com/article/global-news/u-k-boy-band-direction-rises-social-media/234105 (Accessed March 25, 2013).
TRUE/FALSE
1. Tween girls who are interested in popular music and are tuned into social media comprise a likely target market for One
Direction’s 1DCyberpunk campaign.
2. Basing an advertising campaign on social media-based challenges was a gamble for AIS and Syco because even the most
active users do not spend more than 6 hours on social media every month.
3. One Direction’s 1DCyberpunk campaign utilized one of the two key strategies used to effectively market to Generation
X—engaging them through promotions that get them involved.
4. In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act, which imposes regulations on social media advertising
campaigns like One Direction’s 1DCyberpunk campaign.
5. If Syco and AIS wanted to target the burgeoning Hispanic youth market in America, they should have advertised the
1Direction campaign on Spanish-only television stations.
14 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Suppose that before launching the 1DCyberpunk campaign, Syco attempted to garner as many Facebook fans, Twitter
followers, and other social media supporters as possible. This would be an example of:
a.
Inflation.
b.
Environmental management.
c.
Basic research.
d.
Recession.
e.
Applied research.
2. Which of the following is a value that affects the success of One Direction’s social media campaigns?
a.
People in the United States today are piecing together component lifestyles.
b.
Today’s consumers are inquisitive and appreciate entertaining marketing efforts.
c.
Tweens are directly or indirectly responsible for sales of over $180 billion annually.
d.
A very slow economic recovery began in July 2009 and continues to this day.
e.
All of these.
3. Which of the following hypothetical results of the 1DCyberpunk campaign would likely be most concerning to the FTC?
a.
One Direction fans may purchase tour posters printed with hazardous ink.
b.
California may levy a tax on online advertising like the 1DCyberpunk campaign.
c.
Fans may purchase expired One Direction-branded foods.
d.
Online data may be collected on unsuspecting One Direction fans.
e.
One Direction-branded debit cards may face new regulations.
4. Which of the following statements about social networking is not true?
a.
Because Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking site, it is a good launching point for a
social media campaign like 1DCyberpunk.
b.
Only about 20 percent of those 45 and older say the information on social networking sites is very
valuable or extremely valuable to them, so a campaign like 1DCyberpunk might not be so successful
among baby boomers.
c.
Four minutes out of every five spent on the Internet are dedicated to social networking, so
1DCyberpunk might even make up the majority of a fan’s time spent online.
d.
Social media have changed the way we communicate about bands like One Direction and purchase
their merchandise and music.
e.
54 percent of Facebook users who “like” a brand’s Facebook page are much more likely to purchase
that brand, so a social media campaign like 1DCyberpunk can have a significant effect on One
Direction’s sales.
5. Of the following social media platforms, where would Syco and AIS have the smallest degree of success if it wanted to
reach tweens?
a.
FashionPlaytes.com.
b.
Twitter.
c.
Everloop.
d.
Walt Disney’s Club Penguin.
e.
Viddy.
16 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHAPTER 4
James S. Cleveland, Sage College of Albany
DISCUSSION BOARD TOPICS TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION
Discussion board questions provided to students to encourage them to engage in thinking and writing about the content
of the Principles of Marketing course usually take the form of a provocative statement to which students are asked to
respond. An example of this would be “All PR is good PR.”
Discussion topics such as this one are abstract and often require that the instructor provide an initial reply to show
students what is expected of them in their own replies. For students with limited work experience, this approach may be
quite appropriate. For adult students with extensive experience as employees and consumers, however, the abstract
nature of such topics can be frustrating.
I have developed, therefore, a series of discussion board questions to use with experienced, adult students. These
questions are designed to encourage them to use their experiences as employees and consumers as doorways to better
understand the course material, and to make their own responses more interesting to themselves and to the other students
in the class who will read and comment on them.
Each question has three parts:
1. First, there is a sentence or two from the students’ textbook introducing the topic. By using the text author's
own words, students are enabled to locate relevant material in the text more easily, the text content is
reinforced, and confusion resulting from use of variant terms or expressions is minimized.
2. Second, there is a reference to text pages the student should review before proceeding. Since the goal of the
exercise is for students to apply the course content to their own experiences, reviewing the content first is
important.
3. Third, there is a request for the student to think about or remember some specific situation in their experience to
which they can apply the text material, and a question or questions for them to address in their reply.
Here are additional such discussion board questions. Each is written to fit the same text cited above but could easily be
rewritten and revised to fit another text.
Series A
1. No single business is large or powerful enough to create major change in the external environment.
2. Review what the assumption this is true means for marketing in section 4-1b of your text and review what the
textbook means by the external environment.
3. Then describe a) whether you agree or disagree based on b) personal experience with a large company being able to
change the external environment or not.
Series B
1. By the beginning of 2012, one minute out of every five spent on the Internet worldwide was dedicated to social
networking.
2. Review the material in section 4-2c of your text.
3. Then describe how this trend affects the how you are see advertising material, and how the time you spend online
affects your purchasing decisions.
Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment 17
Felicia G. Lassk, Western Kentucky University
UTILIZING AN INTERNET PERSONALITY TEST
IN THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR COURSE
An interactive assignment that integrates personality testing and the Internet is the use of the Keirsey Temperament
Sorter in a class presentation on personality. You can find The Keirsey Temperament Sorter by searching for "Keirsey
Temperament Sorter and accessing the sorter on the Keirsey.com Web site. The 70-item personality test is based on Carl
Jung’s psychological types. The class is held in the computer lab. Each student accesses the URL and completes the
personality test in approximately 20 minutes. This assignment enables students to learn about their own personality type.
The Web site includes information about each personality type including leadership styles, career recommendations, and
celebrities that are categorized under each personality type. After the students print out the information, like personalities
are grouped together. These students then discuss the appropriate marketing strategies that would be successfully utilized
in marketing a product to someone with their personality type. Each group presents their results to the class.
Kim McKeage, University of Maine
STUDENTS PRACTICE MAKING
MARKET/PRODUCT GRIDS ON THEMSELVES
This in-class project has students use a segmentation scheme that they have already studied. This could include:
• VALS
• Lifestyle
• Price Sensitivity
• Quality Sensitivity
• Attributes/Features Desired
• Involvement
• Demographics
• Geographic region
• Product Usage (Heavy vs. Light Users)
If students wish to use VALS, I instruct them ahead of time to get on the internet and access the VALS survey online so
that they can determine their type.
On the day when we do this exercise, students form groups of five to eight persons. The group is instructed to pick a
product category. I recommend the following categories to them as items they might be familiar with:
• Automobiles (cars, trucks, SUVs, etc.)
• Athletic shoes
• Recreational products (sports equipment, hiking gear, etc.)
• Entertainment products (movies, CDs, etc.)
• Food (packaged, grocery, or restaurants)
• Computer software/hardware
• Clothing
18 Chapter 4 ♦ The Marketing Environment
Students then have to describe which market segments are represented in their group according to the segmentation
scheme(s) they choose to use. They must also develop a market/product grid to describe how to target different products
(within their chosen category) toward the different market segments represented within their group. The product
positions can be for existing products or imagined products (especially if no existing product fits a position they want).
Students must discuss the general, overall “position” of the product and, for fantasy products, how they would
accomplish that positioning. For example, if they want to position an athletic shoe as a “performance” (overall position)
shoe, they might show advertisements with sports professionals using the shoe under demanding circumstances. To get
credit on the exercise, students must write up a complete market/product grid with their accompanying notes. Some of
the groups present their solution to the class.
This exercise quickly shows students the limitations of using only demographics to describe their customers, and really
clarifies the process of segmentation and positioning for them.
