Factors That Affect the

Marketing Mix
External Factors
• Elements outside of the business’s
control that affect the
marketplace
Internal Factors
• Elements within the business that can be
monitored and adjusted by the
organization and that affect the
marketplace.
 External Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix
1. Customer attitudes
2. Economic conditions
3. Technological advances
4. Political forces
5. Natural forces
6. Competition
 External Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix
• Customer attitudes
o Individuals’ feelings or opinions affect everything
from fashion to food, from cars to planes and may
change quickly and without warning.
• Economic conditions
o Layoffs, unemployment rates, interest rates, and cost
of living affect customer spending.
• Technological advances
o New technology may make a product obsolete or
may help in improving product quality or
productivity.
 External Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix
• Political forces
o May impact both business decisions and customer
spending.
• Government regulations
• National security and international relations
• Consumer trust of the system
• Natural forces
o Natural occurrences as simple as a thunderstorm can
impact sales for all different types of businesses.
 External Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix

 Competition - Activity among competitors

may affect traffic and sales in the business.
o For example: Is your biggest competitor
currently implementing a customer appreciation
program to
motivate customers to shop exclusively at their
store?
Internal Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix

• Company objectives
• Company policies
• Financial situation
 Internal Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix

• Company Objectives
o Exactly what does the business want to achieve?
Is the goal to be the market leader or is it to
o maintain a level of business to assure surviving the
first critical years?
o These very different goals will require different
marketing mix decisions.
 Internal Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix
• Company policies
o Will you offer store credit to your customers?
o Will you provide paid vacation time for employees?
 Internal Factors That Affect
the Marketing Mix

• Financial situation
o Cash flow patterns should be analyzed
regularly to maintain an organization’s
financial stability.