Marketing environment scanning for MBA Students

marketing useful for know about the scanning the marketing environment. Its useful for the students who is studying the marketing management in their elective papers

1. Scanning Business Environment : Environmental scanning is a process of gathering information about the events and their relationship within an organization’s internal and external environments. The primary aim environmental scanning is to help management determine the future direction and find out the future prospects of business organization.  Internal and External : Internal Environment refers to those factors an Organization. Ex: Policies and programmes , organizational structure, employees, financial and political resources. These factors can be changed or altered and hence are known as controllable factors. On the other hand, the external environment includes those factors that are outside of the organization; while management has no control over these items, the company must prepare for and respond to the factors. Elements of the external environment include the economy, changes in technology, regulation, competition, socio-economic factors, and others. Internal ----- Strength (S) Weakness (W) External------ Opportunities (O) Threats (T)

2. Value Chain: A value chain is a series of consecutive steps that go into the creation of a finished product, from its initial design to its arrival at a customer's door. The chain identifies each step in the process at which value is added, including the sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing stages of its production. A value chain is a model that helps companies determine their competitive advantage and refine their business practices to operate with maximum efficiency and the largest possible profit margins. COMPONENTS OF A VALUE CHAIN: According to Porter’s definition, all of the activities that make up a firm's value chain can be split into two categories that contribute to its margin: primary activities and support activities.

3. Primary activities  are those that go directly into the creation of a product or the execution of a service, including: Inbound logistics : Activities related to receiving, warehousing, and inventory management of source materials and components Operations : Activities related to turning raw materials and components into a finished product Outbound logistics : Activities related to distribution, including packaging, sorting, and shipping Marketing and sales : Activities related to the marketing and sale of a product or service, including promotion, advertising, and  pricing strategy After-sales services : Activities that take place after a sale has been finalized, including installation, training, quality assurance, repair, and customer service Secondary activities  help primary activities become more efficient—effectively creating a competitive advantage—and are broken down into: Procurement : Activities related to the sourcing of raw materials, components, equipment, and services Technological development : Activities related to research and development, including product design,  market research , and process development Human resources management : Activities related to the recruitment, hiring, training, development, retention, and compensation of employees Infrastructure : Activities related to the company’s overhead and management, including financing and planning

4. Core Competencies : The core competencies in business are its unique and fundamental capabilities, setting it apart from the competitors and making it the best in the market. It advocates the collaboration of diverse teams having unique skills to achieve one goal, i.e., producing the best end product. Brands like Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, etc., have established themselves as the best in their respective field by identifying their core capabilities and introducing innovative core or end products. * Value-Added Service * Excellent Customer Service * Product Innovation * Strategic Marketing * Unmatched Quality Here are some core competencies examples to provide a better understanding of the concept. However, the more common distinctive competencies of a successful business are: