"Is environmentalism more of an opportunity or threat for marketers?"

"Is environmentalism more of an opportunity or threat for marketers?" The marketing environment includes forces such as competitive, economic, political, legal and regulatory, technological, and sociocultural. I’ll be talking about the economic and competitive forces.

Economic forces play a major role in the marketing environment. The state of the economy affects supply and demand, as well as how much consumers are willing to spend. In the current economic condition people have become more conscious with their spending. More and more people are shopping at discount stores such as “dollar stores” and Wal-Mart. They offer a variety of products at prices that are greatly marked down from other stores. For these types of stores, the marketing environment has been a great opportunity for them. It’s no doubt that most people like nice things and many of them would pay a great deal for items of a certain brand. There are certain things I could never fathom, such as spending $100 or more for a pair of ripped jeans. However, I wouldn’t think twice to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle. With companies such as Harley Davidson, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and any other expensive company you’re paying for the name. As soon as the economy is back on track there’s no doubt that people will go back to spending insane amounts on products.

Competitive forces also contribute to the marketing environment. Companies that manufacture products that are similar to or can be substituted for other companies products are faced with competition. Competition can be a threat to some companies. Those that market themselves better may have an advantage over others; however, you still have those that remain loyal to a certain brand. Competition between companies leads to different promotions and price reductions in hopes of compelling the consumers to buy one product over another.

I think it depends what you base your observations on whether or not environmentalism is a threat or an opportunity for marketers. Depending on what companies you are looking at as well as the external forces at hand. Do you think, at anytime, all the external forces can cause a threat or opportunity on any company?