6 Economic Factors: These deal with the Macro level factors relating to means of production and wealth distribution. It also includes the forces of supply and demand, buying power, willingness to spend, consumer expenditure levels, and the intensity of competitive behavior.
7 Competitive Environment: These are those firms that market products that are similar to, or can be substituted for, a business’ product(s) in the same geographical area. The four general types of competitive structure are monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and perfect competition.
Other Factors: The other factors making up the external business environment are:
(1) Suppliers, which are other firms and individuals that provide the input resources needed by the organization to produce goods and/or services.
(2) Intermediaries, who are independent businesses that perform all the activities necessary to direct the flow of goods and services from manufacturers/marketers to ultimate consumers/customers. They include wholesalers, retailers, agents and distributors.
(3) Customers who constitute a portion of the target market of the business; they are the ones the business strives to satisfy.
