Chapt 4 Market Enviorment

Marketing Environment: Refers to all of the forces outside of marketing that affect marketing management’s ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers. The market environment consists of both the macro-environment and the micro-environment. In short words its how businesses keep up with the unexpected turns that can't be controlled. From inflation,  to America's increase in Hispanics over the next 30 years. Companies have to try to keep ahead of the game, Including Innovated  corporations. IBM ranks in the top ten most innovative companies.

Craig Hayman, General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM Software, talks about IBM’s study “The State of Marketing 2011,” The survey shows that while technology is booming; from email to social networks and mobile media  has opened up many more possibilities for communicating with customers, it has also led to confusion and information overload for the costumer. "Marketers need better analytic tools to turn data into action overall and particularly in social media for which being there simply isn’t enough to win friends and drive business results".

 In 2005 IBM prepared itself for new consulting services to help organizations prepare for the potential loss of highly valued skills and knowledge as the baby-boom generation reached retirement age. "The aging population will be one of the major social and business issues of the 21st Century, and companies worldwide are starting to examine what this means in terms of skills, knowledge, and growth" said Mary Sue Rogers, global leader, IBM Business Consulting Services. At that time it was estimated that by 2010, the number of workers between ages 45-54 would grow by 21 percent, the number of 55-64 year old would expand by 52 percent, and the number of 35-44 year old would decline by 10 percent.Even though it is said that Generation Y that ranges from people born from 1979 to 1994 was suppose to be smaller then the baby boomer cohort (Pg42 of MRKTG5) but it surpassed due to immigration.
The prime rule of marketing is that everyone's a target for their business: Big, small, Old, infants... IBM doesn't really market to infants but it does target widely.

In April 2011 IBM developed a tiny bug that shows promise as a weapon against dangerous super-bugs that have become resistant to antibiotics. In this day and age EVERYONE worries about their health. The tiny bug is remarkable and if it succedes it will open doors to a whole new way of medicine.
*WSJ video of tiny bug*
http://online.wsj.com/video/digits-ibm-takes-on-superbugs/80368EFA-679D-4DE2-B13F-4BB70DE264D6.html