A)

Marketing can be interpreted as the ‘… the creation, distribution, promotion and pricing of goods, services and ideas’ ( International Marketing: Stanley J. Paliwoda). Over the last decade, marketing has become hugely important in todays current climate and has become a cornerstone in businesses wishing for a successful existence. Macro environmental factors and micro environmental factors are critical to analyse when studying the reason why Jessop’s initially declined, as it could be argued that these two environments are to blame. However, “to what extent” is the main question we are trying to answer here, and through extensive and thorough research, I will present a reasonable argument as to why these factors caused the initial decline of Jessop’s and perhaps, more importantly, identify the main reasons for the decline.

Firstly, lets look at the micro environmental issues that arguably contributed to the decline of Jessop’s. As a general definition, micro environmental issues can be described as ‘ a firms immediate environment that affects its capabilities to operate efficiently in its chosen markets’ (Foundations Of Marketing – David Jobber and John Farey’. In other words, this consists of the marketing mix, which is an essential part of the marketing dilemma. Individually assessed, the place, price, promotion and product are all equally important in determining why Jessop’s declined so rapidly.
In terms of product, time utility and place utility are vital. The product must meet and exceed customer expectations whilst being readily available for the market. As competition stepped up and became more innovative, it is possible Jessop’s lost their focus which resulted in a loss in sales.
When price is concerned, its paramount that its at the right level as price can be perceived as an indicator of quality. If the consumer feels the price is to high, then they will look elsewhere, especially during times of economic uncertainty where price becomes the main purchasing issue. In addition to this, consumers have less disposable income during recession periods so this could also be a minor reason why Jessop’s declined, but not a major