The environmental survey in the marketing environment aims to collect the necessary information to systematically analyze the points of influence on companies, identify competitors' threats, opportunities, and weaknesses, and then generate strategies that can be used shortly (Mose & Syaifuddin, 2016).
Situational Analysis
According to (Brnjs & Tripunoski, 2016), this concept includes a comprehensive comparison and examination between the companies of the same market in terms of size, sales, profits, and market share; this includes analyzing the internal and external environment of these competitors and the mechanism for implementing their mission, vision, and objectives. This analysis leads to a comprehensive knowledge of competitors and standing on their strengths and weaknesses; then, the decision is taken to enter the market or not, and accordingly, practical strategies for the competition are built.
The Analysis Used for Apple
After reading the background literature, I believe that PEST analysis is the most appropriate approach for Apple. This analysis was developed in 1967 by Francis J. Aguilar; PEST analysis is based on the opinions of several experts from various backgrounds (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016). These experts analyze the environment in which companies operate by several factors:
- Political Factors: This section examines factors related to the country's stability, laws and regulations, and taxes imposed in this country.
- Economic Factors: Experts discuss the country's financial position, income level, and prospects.
- Social Factors: This aspect concerns the living conditions in the environment surrounding the company, the country's culture, and lifestyle.
- Technological Factors: This part concerns the extent of technical development in this country and its impact on the management of institutions in it.
After this analysis, conclusions can be drawn about the opportunities and threats that companies operating in the same surrounding environment will face (Visual Paradigm Online, 2020).
Conclusion
There are many survey tools and environmental analyses of the marketing environment. The most important of these tools is a SWOT analysis to examine companies' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A PEST analysis was recently added to this analysis to explore the political, economic, social, and technological aspects, as well as the legal and environmental elements. Finally, Porter's five forces analysis examines alternative products, new competitors, competitiveness, buyer power, and supplier capacity (Investopedia, 2019). The appropriate analysis can be used for each company separately, or they can be used together to obtain a complete picture of the environment surrounding the company.
References
Brnjs, Z. & Tripunoski, I. (2016). Situational analysis is the function of developing a company's competitive advantage. Entrepreneurship: Types, Current Trends and Future Perspectives, p. 134-153. Retrieved from
http://ebooks.ien.bg.ac.rs/1168/1/eee_brnjas_tripunoski.pdf
Clarke, A. E. (2021). From grounded theory to situational analysis: What's new? Why? How?. In Developing grounded theory
(pp. 223-266). Routledge.
Investopedia (2019). Understanding Porter's 5 forces vs. PESTLE analysis(2019). New York: Newstex. Retrieved from
ProQuest Central
Mose, A., & Syaifuddin. (2016). Analysis of Macro and Micro-Environment on the Marketing Strategy Formulation and the
Influence on the Competitive Advantage (Case Study).Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 15, 35-41. Retrieved from ProQuest Central
Rastogi, N. & Trivedi, M. K. (2016). PESTLE technique—A Tool to identify external risks in construction projects. International
Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 3(1), 1-5. Retrieved from https://www.irjet.net/archives/V3/i1/IRJET-V3I165.pdf
Visual Paradigm Online. (2020). Strategic Analysis with PESTLE & Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Retrieved from
https://online.visual-paradigm.com/knowledge/strategic-tools/pestle-and-five-forces-analysis/