Natural environment refers to combination of natural resources which is used by business as inputs and affects their marketing activities. This includes use of raw materials from nature for producing goods. All agricultural inputs are also used in manufacturing, not only this; machineries used in business are also made from metals of nature. A business unit needs energy in the form of gas or diesel oil or electricity for all its activities which come from nature. However, in the recent years unlimited use of natural resources has resulted in natural environment changes. In many parts of the world air and water pollution have reached alarming levels. There is a great concern about global warming, floods, famines, tsunami and earthquake. Therefore, marketers need to be aware of the threats and opportunities associated with the natural environment and it is the duty of business to protect this natural environment. Before starting marketing operations an organization has to evaluate the following aspects of natural environment.
Geographical Location
An important aspect in marketing
is the identification of ideal geographical location. The study of geographical
location becomes important to assess the availability of raw materials,
concentration of the best potential customers, physical features of an area
such as roads, water and other materials that may be needed to produce or sell
a product.
Availability of resource
Availability of required
resources plays a crucial role in marketing. Marketing operations involve
massive investment in capital expenditure and therefore availability of
required resources for marketing need to be considered to achieve good profits.
One basic reason for India emerging as a BPO & IT hub is mainly because of
availability of skilled employees at a cheaper price.
Access to natural resources
Natural resources are materials
that are available in the natural environment that are considered valuable in
their relatively natural form such as oil, fresh water, minerals or land. Some
natural resources are non – renewable and some can be renewed. Natural
resources cannot be created, so a firm has an advantage if it operates in a
country where these resources exist. Firms can obtain natural resources,
however by entering new countries they can. For ex: many foreign oil companies
have entered Middle Eastern countries to access their oil reserves.
Concern for environment
Use of certain products can
inevitably damage the natural environment. Further these days government across
the globe are keen on focusing on natural environment protection as a result of
which marketers are under pressure to not to use harmful materials, cut
hazardous waste, reduce energy use, and improve product recycling in its
operations. Therefore, an increased focus on environment issues, has
contributed to a rise in the demand for environment friendly products and
services.
Increased energy cost
We are living in an industrial
civilization which functions on energy, without energy modern life would cease
to exist. In the present context energy resources are essential for all
economic activities like agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, IT,
Communications. However increased use of energy resources has resulted in
severe problems and challenges. Ex: Global warming. Further the cost of energy
resources is also continuously increasing for various reasons and therefore
companies are searching for alternative means of energy such as solar, nuclear,
wind, and other forms of energy
