The microenvironment consists of five components. The first is the organization’s internal environment—its several departments and management levels—as it affects marketing management's decision making. The second component includes the marketing channel firms that cooperate to create value: the suppliers and marketing intermediaries (middlemen, physical distribution firms, marketing-service agencies, financial intermediaries). The third component consists of the five types of markets in which the organization can sell: the consumer, producer, reseller, government, and international markets. The fourth component consists of the competitors facing the organization. The fifth component consists of all the publics that have an actual or potential interest in or impact on the organization’s ability to achieve its objectives: financial, media, government, citizen action, and local, general, and internal publics. So the micro environment consists of six forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers: a. The company itself (including departments). b. Suppliers. c. Marketing channel firms (intermediaries).d. Customer markets. e. Competitors. f. Publics.
1. The Company’s Microenvironment
As discussed earlier the company’s microenvironment consists of six forces that affect its ability to serve its customers. Lets discuss these forces in detail:
a. The Company
The first force is the company itself and the role it plays in the microenvironment. This could be deemed the internal environment. * 1). Top management is responsible for setting the company’s mission, objectives, broad strategies, and policies. * 2). Marketing managers must make decisions within the parameters established by top management. * 3). Marketing managers must also work closely with other company departments. Areas such as finance, R & D, purchasing, manufacturing, and accounting all produce better results when aligned by common objectives