Questions:

Critically evaluate the concepts of market environment and market segmentation. Discuss their
value and purpose for organisations within the built environment in general, as well as your chosen organisation.

Conduct a critical analysis of an organisation assessing its product or services development and
how these impact upon the organisation’s future marketing strategy. You should use a range of
theories and tools in your analysis and include some industry examples

Marking criteria
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• select an example of a building you are familiar with
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• make recommendations for the client on the identified aspect of the building.
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Answers:

Introduction

The external environment of a business organization mainly consists of the various factors in the industry which can affect its operations. The success of business depends on the external or the market environment and the ways by which these factors are able to influence the business. The procedures and policies of the business are affected by the environment in which it has the operations. The industry or sector in which the organization operates also affects the profitability and revenues of the company. The organizations thereby need to react or act in a timely and appropriate manner to changes that take place in the environment of the business (Andreeva & Kianto, 2016).

The report will be based on the detailed analysis of the market environment and segmentation process of the market. The products and services that are offered by the organization will also be analysed in the report. The organization that is taken into consideration for this analysis is The Corcoran Group which is s real estate based organization operating in the United States of America.

Market environment

The operations of a firm are affected by various factors. The factors that are able to affect the organizations to a large extent are a part of the market environment. These factors are controlled by organizations in the different sectors. The organizations need to understand that the market environment contains both the positive and negative factors which can affect the business organizations. The marketing environment of the company consists of the forces and actors outside the marketing department (Chen, Delmas & Lieberman, 2015). The environment of the company also helps in creating positive relationships with the customers. The operations of the firm are surrounded different external and internal factors that are able to increase the capability of the firm to improve its operations. The internal environment related to the marketing in the firm comprise of major factors like, the employees, the capital assets, the organizational structure and the services and products (Cohen & Amorós, 2014).

The external marketing related environment of the company is based on both the macro environment and the micro environment. These factors are not controlled by the firm, however, the decisions that are taken by the marketers are highly influenced by these factors. The micro environmental factors of the market are mainly based on the industry in which the organizations operate (Durand, Grant & Madsen, 2017). The various factors that are a part of the micro environment of the organization are as follows,

• The suppliers – The business operations are highly dependent on suppliers and the raw materials that are supplied by them. The suppliers of the company have the power when they are the only in the industry and they hold the position of the largest supplier in the industry.
• The resellers – The success of organizations is mainly based on the resellers of the goods that are manufactured by them. The different forces in this case include, the wholesalers and the retailers (Engert, Rauter & Baumgartner, 2016).
• The customers – The success of the strategy that is formulated by the organization is mainly based on the customers who are the receivers of the finished products of the company. The customers thereby play the most important role in the establishment of the marketing strategy of the company (Frynas & Mellahi, 2015).
• The competition – The levels of competition that is present in the market is also based on the services and products that are offered by the company. The uniqueness of the products is a major factor which affects the competition that is faced by the companies in the industry. The differentiation of products and the services mainly affect the competitors in the industry (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014).
• The general public – The satisfaction levels of the general public is also a major duty of the organization. The company thereby needs to take decisions that are related to the perspectives of the general public in the areas in which it operates. The customers thereby hold a high power to create a win-win situation for the company so that the goals can be achieved (Hubbard, Rice & Galvin, 2014).

The macro environment based factors that can affect the organizations are as follows,

Demographic factors – The demographic factors are able to impact various segments of the market which include, the region, country, educational level, lifestyle, age, values and the cultural norms.

Economic factors – The economic environment in which the organization has its operations affects the process of decision making related to the services and products that will be offered to the customers (Meyer, Neck & Meeks, 2017).

Physical or natural factors – The resources of the earth that are used by the company have an effect on the sustainability of the area of its operations. The company thereby needs to think of ways which can be help for them to take care of the earth in an effective manner.

Technological factors – The company needs to consider the various technological changes that have occurred in the external environment. The materials and the technology that has been used for the production of the services and goods can help in the issues in the business (Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017).

Legal and political factors – The company needs to consider the various changes that have taken place in the external environment of operations based on the legal developments and the political changes so that the decisions based on the services and the products can be made accordingly.

Cultural and social forces – The impact that the services provided by the company has on the society of which it is a major part is also taken into consideration for this analysis. The effects that the elements used in the process of production has on the society is taken into consideration in this analysis (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015).

The study based on the decisions that are taken by the businesses and the people for the purpose of proper allocation of resources and the prices that have been decided for the services and the products are also known as the Microeconomics. The macro-economics is further based on the study related to the entire economy. The economy that is studied in this case is related to the area in which the company has its operations.

Market segmentation

The process of market segmentation is based on the ways by which the huge number of consumers in the market are further divided into various segments based on various factors. The sub-groups of the consumers are formed by the company to offer the services and the products in an effective manner to them. The main aim of the organizations behind the segmentation of the market is based on the identification of the segments which are able to provide high yields to the consumers. The market can be segmented by the companies with the help of various methods (Popkova et al., 2015). The business-to-business sellers of the industry are able to segment their markets into various countries or business organizations. The business to consumer based companies can however divide the segments into the demographic segments, the behavioural segments and the lifestyle segments. The main assumption that is made in the process of market segmentation is related to the ways by which the different segments of the market have different programs based on marketing (Sakas, Vlachos & Nasiopoulos, 2014). The different variables that are used for the purpose of this analysis are mainly related to the discounts and the offers, the promotion of various products, the prices that have been set by the company and many more. The segments of market are thereby designed for the purpose of understanding the needs and the demands of the customers and try to analyse the factors which to their motivation (Shah et al., 2015). The marketers thereby use the process of STP with help of which the market can be segmented and a framework can also be provided for the analysis of the target market segments. After the market is segmented, the various segments are further targeted with the specific products that have been found to be matching their choices to a large extent. The services or the products of the company are positioned in such a manner which will help the company to position itself in the industry. Therefore, market segmentation can be defined as the process by which the mass markets of the company are segmented into different groups based on the similarity of their wants and needs (Simon, Fischbach & Schoder, 2014).

Value of the market environment and market segmentation on the organization

The term real estate is thereby based on the production, purchasing and the selling of real estate or the properties. The US economy is largely affected by the successful operations of the real estate market in the country. The various products that are considered to be a part of the real estate industry are, buildings, property, land and the air rights as well (Slater, 2015). The real estate based concept is thereby based on four major types which are,

• The residential part of the real estate industry consists of new constructions and the resale properties as well. The common category that is used by the company are, the single homes that are used by families.
• The commercial part of real estate thereby includes the various shopping centres and the strip malls. The apartment type buildings are also considered to be commercial in nature (Simon, Fischbach & Schoder, 2014).
• The industrial real estate on the other hand includes the property and building manufacturing based activities. These buildings can be used for the research based activities and also for the storage purposes of the goods.
• The real estate also includes vacant land, ranches and the working farms. The various subcategories that are based on vacant land thereby include the undeveloped land, reused land and many more (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015).

 The real estate based sector is quite unpredictable and dynamic in nature. The companies which operate in this industry have to go through huge changes in the course of their operations in the various countries. The market environment and the different external factors are able to influence the operations in the industry to a large extent. The environmental factors have an effect on the purchase related decisions of the consumers which is the most important part of the entire operations of the real estate companies in the industry (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The company that has been taken into consideration for this analysis is The Corcoran Group which operates in the real estate market of the United States of America. This company is mainly a full service based real estate firm. The organization also consists of a group of people who are highly talented and make an effort to provide the best services to its consumers. The company has been operating in this industry for more than 45 years and has further expanded its operations in various parts of the country (Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017). The segmentation process of the market will also affect the successful operations of the company. The organization thereby needs to target the customers in such a manner which will provide them with the opportunity of improving the services in specific areas. The organization has more than 20 offices all over the country and has also appointed 2200 agents who work in an independent manner. The company has started its operations in the real estate industry in the year 1973 and has been quite strong in this area for the various years of its operations. The segmentation based process has thereby provided major benefits to the company in the areas of its operations in different countries (Popkova et al., 2015).

Task 2

Products and services offered by the organization

The various products that are offered to the customers by the company mainly include, houses for sale, houses for rent, open houses, the new developments, the neighbourhood. The products and the services are offered to the different customers based on their choices and preferences related to the types of products that they wish to use. The company has also aimed at designing the advertisement campaigns in such a way which will help in the successful operations in the market. The demands and the needs of the customers are taken into consideration after the formulation of various strategies that can help in the successful operations of the company in the future (Sakas, Vlachos & Nasiopoulos, 2014). The company has been operating the real estate sector of the country from the last 45 years and it has been improving its operations from the time of its establishment. The organization has however faced some major issues related to the changes that have occurred in the external environment due to the changes in the real estate industry. The company has used its time for the purpose of understanding the customers in a proper manner. This has been helpful for the operations of the company in the industry. The choices of the customers and their preferences based on various products have been observed in a careful manner by the company (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015). This has further helped The Corcoran Group to increase its operations in the real estate industry. The real estate industry of the United States has been able to provide huge opportunities to the company to grow and increase its operations in various areas of the country. However, the fluctuations that have occurred in the industry have been able to affect the successful operations of the company in this country. The company is thereby able to operate in the country in a profitable manner. The advertisements that have been created by the company have also been quite effective for the future operations of the Corcoran Group in the market. The company has thereby been able to create its position in the market (Meyer, Neck & Meeks, 2017).

Impact of the products and services on the future marketing strategy

The products and the services that are provided by The Corcoran Group to the customers are able to provide huge competitive advantage to the company in the market. The organization is also able to create a huge share in the market with the help of its innovative products. The services and the products of the company have been designed based on the preferences of the customers in the industry. The future marketing strategy of the company will be affected in a positive manner by the different services. The product mix of the company is suitable for attracting the customers who belong to various parts of the society (Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017). The promotional mix of The Corcoran Group is also quite effective in nature as the company is known in the industry for the formation of various creative advertisements for attracting the customers from various parts of the world. The mission has been brought in the organization to create a comfortable environment for the customers and the ways by which they operate in the market. The advertisements have been able to attract the customers from different parts of the world towards the successful operations of the company (Hubbard, Rice & Galvin, 2014). The wide variety of products is the major reason behind the success of the organization. The Corcoran Group had used the generic strategy of differentiation. The company has tried to create competitive advantage in the market with the help of various products that are a part of the entire product line of the company. The entire range of products are thereby based on the ways by which the company can gain its share in the market. The competitive advantage of a company in the real estate sector is important for providing a cushion based on which the organization can continue its sustainable operations in the industry. The future strategies of the company are also affected by the product line of The Corcoran Group. This has further affected the ways by which the company has been operating in the country. The various strategies that have been implemented by the company are mainly based on the ways by which The Corcoran Group is able to increase its share in the market of the United States. The customer base of the company has been increased with the help of various strategies that have been implemented by the Corcoran Group (Cohen & Amorós, 2014).

Conclusion

The report is based on the analysis of the strategies like marketing environment and market segmentation. The various theories that are related to the segmentation of markets have been discussed in the report. The different factors that are a part of the marketing environment of an organization have been discussed in the report. The entire analysis is mainly based on the real estate industry of the United States of America. The ways by which the external environment based factors have influenced the entire operations of the real estate sector has been analysed. The analysis has depicted that the environmental factors can impact the operations of the organization in a huge manner. The segmentation of the markets is also important for the proper operations of the organizations. This can help the companies to offer the products in the areas and to the customers who demand for them. The segmentation of the market is thereby possible with the help of various policies that are formulated by the companies. The Corcoran Group has been offering different kinds of products for the customers of different segments. The customers of the company are thereby offered the products in such a manner which is suitable for their choices and preferences.

References

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