Marketing Environmental Audit: Influencing Factors

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Micro-Environment
Macro-Environment
SWOT Analysis
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Many factors influence the marketing strategies of organisations. Every industry is impacted by internal and external changes in the market. Thus companies have to adjust their strategies in order to stay relevant in their field. This environmental audit examines the marketing strategy of a yogurt company from the UK, using Yazoo as the primary example, and evaluates the impact of various environmental factors on its course of action. The analysis is focused on factors from the internal and external marketing audits and the company’s recent marketing campaigns.

Micro-Environment

According to Statista (2017), the company remains one of the most popular brands of yogurt in the UK. In fact, in 2014, it was the second most popular yogurt in the country (Figure 1). However, the products’ popularity dropped the following year, which reveals a flaw in the company’s marketing campaign. The company’s assessment of its customers’ needs and preferences can be seen in the newest addition to its assortment – drinks without sugar (Yazoo 2017b). This change is based on the current preferences of the market.

*Figure 1. Brands of yogurt drinks ranked by number of users in the UK in 2014 and 2015 (in thousands) (Statista 2017).*

The company’s customer analysis yields the following results:

The target audience is represented by young adults and adolescents.
The latest advertising campaign ‘#ShakeItUp’ is an example of using current trends to appeal to a particular audience (Yazoo 2017a). The games and interactive graphics on the website appeal to a specific niche.
The company’s distribution channels also show the direction of business, as the company is active on social media.
Unmet needs are being fulfilled in the creation of a new dairy product called No Added Sugar (Yazoo 2017a).
Customer loyalty is declining (Dawes, Meyer-Waarden & Driesener 2015). Thus new campaigns and initiatives are needed to sustain profitability.

The example of Yazoo shows that the company tries to introduce new ideas fairly often, basing its efforts on customer participation. For instance, in 2015, the company started marketing a new dairy product which resembled a smoothie – a drink that was becoming more popular among people concerned with their health (Arthur 2015). The focus on health concerns also became a part of its marketing campaign as the drink was said to contain no artificial sweeteners and flavours.

The analysis of competitors shows that:

The main competitors are Danone and their product Actimel, and Müller with a milk drink called Frijj (Statista 2017).
Danone’s target audience differs from Yazoo’s, as the former markets its milk drink to families and health-driven individuals. Frijj, on the other hand, is marketed to young people as well.
Sarooghi, Libaers, and Burkemper (2015) argue that the industry’s environment strongly impacts the companies’ possibilities for innovation. Actimel and Yazoo pursue different target audiences, which allows them to co-exist in the same environment. However, Frijj is a strong competitor whose influence on the market is substantial.

Macro-Environment

The social environment of the business shows the following trends:

Customers’ motivations for purchasing specific products has shifted in the last few years. The desire to purchase ‘green’ products, especially food, grows every year. As Khalili and Duecker (2013) state, customers are much more attentive to the details of manufacturing now than they were before.
The current generation of young consumers is also interested in making conscious choices about their food. For this reason, Yazoo launched the drink mentioned previously, No Added Sugar. This decision is based on health-related trends.
Wee et al. (2014) state that organic food products and the concept of healthy food are becoming more and more widespread. Thus the addition of new healthy dairy products is clearly an attempt by Yazoo to address the changing environment (Ghadge et al. 2017). The social climate greatly affects the company’s marketing strategy.

The impact of the technological environment is also significant (Schaltegger & Wagner 2017). As was mentioned previously, the company spends a significant amount of its resources on social media. As Yazoo wants to appeal to a younger audience, its marketing decisions are based on the fact that this generation spends a significant part of the day online.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths	Weaknesses
A clear understanding of the target audience. Campaigns that are created to appeal to the public are aligned with the latest trends. Customer loyalty, while declining, is still present. A strong presence on social media. The company is ready to change and improve.	A niche audience may not attract enough customers. The current trends of conscientious purchasing and environmental protection are not reflected by the company in their marketing. A highly limited range of products.
Opportunities	Threats
A focus on ‘green’ products and more attention to environmental issues. Social media presence and attractive marketing campaigns may bring more customers to the brand.	Strong competitors that are interested in health-related issues. Competing products that appeal to a wider audience.

Conclusion

Yazoo is an example of a company that follows a number of current trends while ignoring some of the most popular ones. For instance, people’s rising interest in products that are marketed as healthy should be exploited by the company much more. Yazoo can consider adding new products to its range, focusing on No Added Sugar as a healthy option for young people, and bringing more attention to some environmental issues such as recycling and clean manufacturing. Overall, the factors of customer interest and unmet needs seem to be the most relevant to the yogurt market in the UK.

Reference List

Arthur, R 2015, ‘Move over fruit, it’s time for dairy! Yazoo sees yogurt smoothies soar as snackification strikes’, Beverage Daily. Web.

Dawes, J, Meyer-Waarden, L & Driesener, C 2015, ‘Has brand loyalty declined? A longitudinal analysis of repeat purchase behavior in the UK and the USA’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 425-432.

Ghadge, A, Kaklamanou, M, Choudhary, S & Bourlakis, M 2017, ‘Implementing environmental practices within the Greek dairy supply chain: drivers and barriers for SMEs’, Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 117, no. 9, pp. 1995-2014.

Sarooghi, H, Libaers, D & Burkemper, A 2015, Examining the relationship between creativity and innovation: a meta-analysis of organizational, cultural, and environmental factors’, Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 714-731.

Schaltegger, S & Wagner, M (eds.) 2017, Managing the business case for sustainability: the integration of social, environmental and economic performance, Routledge, New York, NY.

Statista 2017, Brands of yogurt drinks and cold milk drinks ranked by number of users in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2014 and 2015 (in 1,000). Web.

Wee, CS, Ariff, MSBM, Zakuan, N, Tajudin, MNM, Ismail, K & Ishak, N 2014, ‘Consumers perception, purchase intention and actual purchase behavior of organic food products’, Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 378.

Yazoo 2017a, Heritage. Web.

Yazoo 2017b, No Added Sugar milk drinks. Web.

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