Marketing Environment
The marketing environment is all of the aspects of the external environment that directly or indirectly affect an organization's acquisition of inputs such as financial, natural resources, raw materials, information and human and the making of outputs such as ideas, services, or goods.. The six forces which include competitive, economic, political, legal, technological, and sociocultural. Marketers utilize this forces to change their marketing strategies so they can handle threats and make money on marketing opportunities
Competitive forces Costco is ranked as the fourth largest retailer in the nation. All business firms, no matter what their industry may be, have some competition. The two main warehouse club competitors…show more content… Costco has a number of different stores located in different countries around the world. They have to be aware of local rules of their global warehouses. Costco has to abide by the legal ramifications for the foreign country where Costco invests their money in to maintain their profitability. Costco also has to follow its duty to his employees to operate the business legally. The company has to make sure they are giving their employees the correct number of hours and wages. They have to operate their warehouses to each of the country's infrastructures and the given country's individual laws. Laws have been established to hinder businesses from benefiting an unethical advantage by using bribery. One federal law, called "U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, " bans Americans businesses from constructing illegal payments to foreign officials to create or maintain business. Because Costco operates in countries around the globe, the U.S Foreign Corrupt Act helps to create a successful operation. In 1980, the Sherman Antitrust Act was established to ban businesses from restraining trade and monopolizing…show more content… Costco positions their products as value and customer service. This correlates with Costco's mission statement, which is " Our business is to give the customer the best value that we can." They want their customers, whether they are shopping for business or consumer products, to believe that they are purchasing good, high- quality products at a deep discount. They promote that they have low prices. Their Kirkland private brand is aimed for customers to believe that their quality product is just as good as manufactured product, but at a cheaper price. People buy in large quantities (bulk) to save money. They offer their customers a small product choice same as other retail stores such as Wal-Mart. A typical Costco offers about 4,000 different products. Lowering the product choice helps Costco save money because of smaller rental fees, faster inventory turnover and allowing them to have larger bargaining power with each of the suppliers. Costco has an excellent return policy that keeps their millions of customers happy. Their return policy consists of a no-questions-asked policy, and customers are allowed to return food items and electronics within ninety days after