Write a short essay addressing the issues below.
Shifts in the external marketing environment often necessitate changes in a company’s marketing plans. All companies are affected by external factors, but certain factors can have a stronger influence on particular products.
There are five types of external factors that impact products including political/regulatory, economic, competitive, technological, and social/cultural. Which of these factors would have the greatest impact on each of the following products: a Toll Brothers home, P&G Tide laundry detergent, Apple iPod, Pfizer heart medicine, and Gap jeans? Match each product with one external factor. Use each factor only once. Be sure to explain how a given factor might affect product sales.