ACTIVITY SHEETS IN BMGT 103: BUSINESS MARKETING

(Week 3 – Analyzing the Marketing Environment)

Name: Keefe P. Mentino Yr.&Sec.: 12-ABM Inclusive Dates: Jan. 25-29,2021

ACTIVITIES
Discussion Questions:
1. Name and describe the types of publics in a company’s marketing environment.
ANSWER:
A public refers to any group that has an actual or potential interest or impact on an organization’s ability to
achieve its objectives. There are seven types of public namely, financial, media, government, citizen-action,
local, general, and internal publics. Financial publics are the group that influences the company’s ability to
obtain funds. Examples include banks, investment analysts, and stockholders. Media publics are the group
that carries news, features, editorial opinions, and other content or information about the firm. Examples
include television stations, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and social media. Government publics are the
group that impacts the firm through policy decisions and other legislations. Marketers must consult their
lawyers upon issues of product safety, truth in advertising, and other matters. Another type of public is the
citizen-action publics. These impacts the firm through public interest litigations or proceedings and other
activities. The decisions of the firm’s marketing can be questioned by consumer organizations,
environmental organizations, and minority groups. Local publics include the local community, residents
and organizations. General public on the other hand, refers to all the people in the society whose opinion of
the company can impact its performance. A firm should be concerned on the general public’s attitude
toward their offers and activities as they can affect the overall buying behavior. Lastly, internal publics are
the group which influence the functioning of the organization. It includes workers, managers, volunteers
and the board of directors.
2. What are publics in the marketing context? Why are they important to marketers? Suggest the publics for
a specific business.
ANSWER:
In the marketing context, public is a term denoted to as a group of people that influence the business
activities of a company or firm. They may also include the people who have real or potential interest in the
company. They are the one responsible for building the firm’s image among the customers or industry.
They might range from financial publics which includes banks and investors, up to the internal and general
public.
Publics and building a relationship with them is important to marketers as they are the one who are the
receiver of their marketing strategy implementation. They are the major contributor of the overall sales and
performance of the company. They are also the one that provides a reputation for the company. If they are
dissatisfied, they might reflect to a worse reputation feedback for the firms. If they are satisfied, they might
reflect to a better reputation feedback for the firms. If the marketing team is able to build a profitable and
stable relationship with the public, it could result to more promotion of their brand values, more
opportunities, and a strengthened community relations.
A sample business is of a trending investment company here in Capiz, but I will not drop its name for
privacy. For this specific firm, their financial public include the bank and other financers. Their media
publics include the local radio stations and their internal publics include the uplines and workers of the
company. The government public of the company include the agencies such as the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Their citizen-action publics include the
organizations that question the legality of the investment scheme. The local community in Capiz is their
local public and the general public is all the people who can possibly shape the firm’s reputation.
 3. Describe Generation Z. What differentiates GenZers from other demographic groups, such as baby
boomers, Generation X, and millennials?
ANSWER:
Generation Z are the young people born after 2000 which take up approximately 82 million of the
population. Many analysts also say that people born after 1995 is also included in this group. They are the
young consumers which represent tomorrow’s markets as they are already forming their brand relationships
that will affect their buying behavior in the future. They are made up of kids, tweens, and teens, which have
revolutionary ideas about the products and the marketplace.
GenZers are different from other demographic groups due to their thorough fluency and comfort with
digital technology, and willingness to try new products and technologies in the marketplace. They are
willing and able to buy products and all types of goods, most especially and receptive to digital marketing
channels. They are able to blend the offline and online worlds seamlessly as they socialize and shop.
Another difference of them on the other groups is the fact that you also somewhat market to their parents.
Marketers must be able to address the concerns involving the children’s privacy and vulnerability to
marketing pitches so that they will avoid the fury of parents and public policy makers.
4. How would you characterize the current state of the economic environment in developed countries? How
does it impact the activities and approach of marketers?
ANSWER:
We cannot deny the fact that even developed countries can face problems in economic factors that could
affect their current state in the economic environment. One example is of the United States of America.
Their unemployment has been shrinking for the past five years from a 5.28% in 2015 to just 3.86% in 2019.
Their inflation rate has also dropped from 2.5% at the start of 2020 to becoming 0.3% at April. Their real
GDP percent changes has also been steady annually at 2.3% in 2019 and 2.9% in 2018. Yet, this
improvement was astounded by the pandemic. Unemployment rate raised from 3.86% at 2019 to as high as
13.3% in the second quarter of 2020. Inflation rate also increased from 0.3% at April to 1.4% at the end of
the year. Real GDP percent changes also dropped from 2.3% in 2019 to significantly -32.9% in the second
quarter of 2020 (US Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2020).
This significant drop in their economic state made marketers to change and tweak some bit of their
activities and approaches. First, they had to engage on a less-contact approach since the risk of the virus is
high. They had to prioritize safety and accessibility in their marketing and products. They changed their
approach to a safer way and addressed the current needs of the people. This example shows that marketers
should really focus on the economic environment of a state. They must be able to provide value marketing
wherein there is the right combination of product quality and good service at a fair price.
5. Why should marketers play close attention to the political environment?
ANSWER:
Political environment is consisted of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups which influence or
limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. Marketers should pay attention on this
environment as their decisions are strongly affected by its developments. It is given such importance
because it has the government policies that might affect the business. It is said to be among the least
controllable factors that can sway the firm.
Political environment is also playing a vital role in shaping the economy of the country. This shows that it
is important to carry out a political environment or situation analysis in such cases like entering a foreign
market. Understanding the political environment of a country can help assess micro and macro risks and
know the preventive measures to be done in order to mitigate its effects.

Case Study: Online, Mobile, and Social Media Marketing - Sharing Economy
 Changes in the technological environment have created amazing opportunities for new business models
while at the same time threatening traditional ones. For example, Airbnb has shaken up the hospitality industry by
allowing people to rent out spare rooms or their entire homes to strangers. The Uber and Lyft ridesharing businesses
allow consumers to find a ride from people looking to earn extra money with their vehicles. And with Uber you
don’t have to worry about having enough cash or giving your credit card to the driver—payments and tips are all
done through the Uber app. Traditional hotel and cab companies are crying foul, claiming that these businesses are
not playing by the same regulatory rules to which they are subject. Others are concerned about safety amid reports
of riders allegedly being attacked, kidnappings, and driver accidents, questioning the thoroughness of background
checks of the 160,000-plus Uber drivers around the world. Some countries, states, and cities in the United States
have banned Uber because of these issues.

Questions:

1. Describe how Uber’s business model works and the role technology has played in its success. What are
the arguments for banning these types of businesses? What are the arguments for defending them?
ANSWER:
The business model of Uber has made it possible for individuals to simply tap their smartphone and have a
cab or taxi arrive at their location in the least possible time. It is based on the sharing economy model that
works through exchange of service and money between two community members. It is a standout taxi
specialist organization that utilizes a cellphone application. The process embraces an enrolled client putting
a demand for a taxi utilizing the Uber application. An Uber driver is then quickly dispatched or sent out to
the traveler's area and drops them off in the desired location or goal and gets payment using charge cards.
However, the drivers are not the traditional cab drivers. In fact, Uber encourages anyone with a car to be an
Uber driver. In other words, their drivers are crowd sourced from the regular community members.
Technology played a big role in Uber and its success. Uber used the technology for targeting the people
who want to give their cars for sharing a ride. Also, they operate their business through websites and
mobile applications where the customer can book its ride and connect with the driver. Uber also assist and
facilitate its customer by providing them a way to pay through the Uber app which helped in the success of
the business in the competitive market. Concisely, technology made the information gathering, processes,
and implementation easier and convenient to Uber and its customer which helped them to reach success in
their market.
Some arguments for banning this type of business are that they abuse and not follow the rules and laws to
which they are subjected to follow. Other arguments in banning this business are related to safety,
kidnappings, and driver accidents. They could point out the heavy risk and the uncertainty that this business
brings to the customer and riders. On the other hand, arguments for defending these businesses are that they
provide an efficient marketplace and that they provide cheaper and more convenient services to the
customer. They also improve the utilization of resources and by doing or continuing this business, parking
problems in big cities can be solved as cars will be less parked by owners. Another argument for defending
is that they also provide a quality ride based on your feedback unlike of the traditional business.
2. Describe examples of two other businesses based on the sharing economy model and create a new
business idea based on this concept.
ANSWER:
Two other business based on the sharing economy model are TaskRabbit and SitterCity. TaskRabbit is an
online labor-sharing marketplace that matches labor with local demand. It is where you can find someone
to help you move in or out, paint your house, assemble your furniture, and many other labor options.
SitterCity is an online caregiving community that provides an easy way for parents and sitters to get
connected. Parents can state the job requirements that could be anything from daily to a one-time
babysitting job, and sitters can apply for various openings. Parents can know the background of their sitter
through background check and reviews of the business.
 Creating a business idea based on this concept can make or break you. It needs proper and fussy planning
to pull it out properly. A new business idea for this concept could be sharing the cooking skills of
community members. For example, a trained or professional cooks could offer their service to cook lunch
or dinner for customers who don’t know how to cook or on various events such as caterings. The customers
could book their services online through a website and have these cooks come and cook for them. The
billing or rate of payment could be on an hourly basis, depending on the quality and quantity of food to be
prepared and served.

Case Study: Marketing Ethics - Your Insurance Renewal Notice Could Be a Trap
Consumers in the United Kingdom seem to be at the mercy of their own insurers. Hidden within the fine
print of the renewal notices is the true cost of renewing the insurance, often as much as a 100 percent increase. This
is despite the fact that there have been no claims on the insurance and perhaps the value of the insured asset has
fallen since last year. Unwittingly, consumers have signed up for continuous payment to authorities. In effect, this
means that consumers have agreed to continue to buy the insurance year over year, regardless of an increase in price,
unless they contact the insurer and cancel it. If only cancelling insurance was that simple. If consumers fail to read
the small print in their contracts carefully, they are hit by a cancellation fee. With higher percentages of consumers
checking insurance quotes on price comparison websites, insurers still take the chance of inertia when the consumers
receive their renewal notices. Insurers seem to rely on the fact that a certain percentage of consumers do not bother
to read the documents, and if they do, they do not readily notice that the price is far higher than the previous year.
The Financial Conduct Authority, which has responsibility for dealing with disputes arising out of financial
services, receives around 500 complaints a year regarding insurance renewal. From April 2017, UK insurers are
required to include text on their renewal communication to encourage consumers to shop around for the best deal. In
cases when consumers have renewed with the same insurer four times, an additional message is required in the
renewal communication to encourage shopping around. Insurers are also required to disclose last year’s premium
alongside this year’s for clear comparison.
1. Discuss the aspects of the competitive environment of the insurance industry that might encourage this
type of practice.

ANSWER:

We cannot deny that sometimes, due to a very competitive environment, different industries including
insurances might encourage this type of practice. In this particular scenario, the aspect that made them do
this type of practice is the increasing number of players or sellers in the insurance industry. Now that there
is also a global market concept, there is a fair amount of competition all around. This makes them do all
that they can to persuade and deceive the customers so that they can attain them since there are many
uprising sellers coming. They’ll do all they can so that they’ll be able to stay in the industry for a long term.

From having an oligopoly competition, the insurance industry is slowly turning to a perfect competition
due to the increasing number of valued competitors. In this competitive environment, the barriers to entry is
given much importance and they try to gather customers through lowering entry amounts. This then
provokes them to retract it in the renewal by deluding others through putting a text that prices go higher but
in a small size. Another aspect involved in this practice for the competitive environment is the information
availability. Around the market, customer can freely see the starting prices of insurances and their policies,
making competitors to not be able set higher prices. Then, they try to get it back by providing small text
size for the price increase in the renewal. They recover the low amount of starting investment by providing
a minimal description of renewal prices that tricks people and customers. All in all, companies will do all
they can so that they’ll be able to keep up with it competitors.

2. Discuss whether or not technology and access to price comparison websites can banish this type of
fraudulent practice in the insurance industry.

ANSWER:
 Technology and access to price comparison can absolutely help in expelling this practice in the industry.
By doing this improvements, cautiousness will be promoted among customers in picking their insurance.
By having more cautious, careful and inquisitive customers, companies will then be forced to put up all the
data needed and abandon such fraudulent acts. They can be simply be reported then through technology if
they don’t abide by the policies.

For example, portals or websites like Trivago is created to compare hotel rates and accommodation. This
website has been successful in preventing scams and deceitful activities of the company. By boosting this
sites, other competitors in the industry would have to register so that they would not be left alone. By
registering themselves, they now commit to a true information to be given and spread. Any misinformation
by the company can easily be detected and reported. That’s why insurance company should also have these
technologies that can provide access to price comparisons. It already started with the Policy Bazaar that
compares insurance policies. Now, we need to boost it or create a much better platform so that access will
be there and comparison can be done easily. By developing this technology, we can definitely help in
preventing any kind of fraud being done to customers by the insurance company.

For written works and compositions:

Criteria Excellent Good Fair Poor

Focus and Details (8-10 points)
Topic is well-focused and
specific. Main ideas are clear
and well supported by
detailed and accurate
information.
(6-7 points) (4-5 points) (0-3 points)
There is a clear and well- There is a focused The topic and
focused topic. Main ideas topic but main ideas main ideas are not
are clear but are not are not especially clear.
supported by detailed clear.
information or facts.

Date Accomplished: Jan.31, 2021 Date Submitted: Feb. 2, 2021