Chapter 3 – Scanning the Marketing Environment Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, concepts, generational cohorts, and regulatory laws from Chapter 3: Scanning the Marketing Environment.

Environmental scanning

The process of identifying, interpreting, and explaining external trends that can impact businesses.

Environmental forces

The five uncontrollable external factors affecting organizations, suppliers, and customers: social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory.

Demographics

Describing a population according to characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, and occupation.

Baby boomers

The generational cohort born between 1946 and 1964, comprising 76 million people, with 10,000 retiring every 24 hours and holding half of the country's wealth.

Generation X

The generational cohort born between 1965 and 1980, consisting of 55 million self-reliant and skeptical individuals.

Generation Y (millennials)

The generational cohort born between 1983 and 1996, consisting of 62 million strong-willed, passionate, and optimistic individuals.

Generation Z

The generational cohort born between 1997 and 2010, characterized as independent, hardworking, and financially responsible.

Culture

Values, ideas, and attitudes shared by members of a group.

Macroeconomics

The study of the performance of the economy as a whole, focusing on indicators such as GDP, inflation, and deflation.

Inflation

An economic condition where production costs and overall prices increase.

Recession

Periods characterized by declining economic activity.

Microeconomics

The study of consumer spending power and ability to buy goods and services, examining gross, disposable, and discretionary income.

Electronic commerce

Any activity using electronic communication that expands customer value, promotes interactivity, and offers convenience, choice, and increased control.

Internet of Things

Smart devices such as phones, watches, and glasses that track information and provide useful consumer data to marketers.

Social Media

Online platforms used to keep in touch, read news, see trends, fill spare time, and find inspiration, considered effective advertising channels by marketers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Technology used in marketing to create customer value and engagement, power chatbots, drive dynamic pricing, and generate tailored content.

Big data

Large volumes of consumer information generated by new technologies, including social network data, transactional data, and natural language (voice) data.

Marketing analytics

The evaluation of marketing performance using metrics, divided into descriptive analytics, diagnostic analytics, and predictive analytics.

Types of competition

The four economic structures of market competition: pure competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and pure monopoly.

Factors driving competition

External market elements affecting competitive rivalry, including barriers to entry, buyer and supplier power, and existing competitors and substitutes.

Small businesses as competitors

More than 33 million U.S. small businesses that employ 46 percent of employees, generate 66 percent of new jobs, and represent 44 percent of GDP.

Federal Trade Commission

A federal regulatory agency tasked with protecting competition, enforcing distribution and pricing regulations, and preventing deceptive advertising.

Regulatory advertising laws

Legal regulations designed to protect consumer privacy and rights, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (1991), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (1998), and European Union Data Protection Act (1988).