Cooper Tire and Rubber Company

¶ … Cooper Tire and Rubber Company

Fields outlines three environmental forces affecting the marketing position of Cooper Tire and Rubber Company: social, economic, and technological. In spite of grammatical errors, the entry is well-organized and logically presented. Each of the forces is explained in relation to the specific marketing needs of the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company. If I were to respond online to the Fields post, responding directly to the author, I would write the following:

First, please expand on your ideas about the social forces of marketing. Your explanation about the baby boomer generation growing older and also replacing tires with longer-lasting ones makes sense. However, it would be helpful to explain what you mean by the following: "the children of the baby boomers are saving more and are more incline to purchase products that are more culture than their parents." What exactly do you mean by this statement?

You mention that southern culture is different from the rest of the United States. Would you care to comment about how Cooper Tire and Rubber Company might market their products to the young Southern demographic, or to a Southern audience of any other target age? Are any other social variables such as race or gender going to affect the way Cooper Tire and Rubber Company markets their products?

Finally, I appreciate your suggestion to focus on low cost tires given the current economic recession and increasing costs of raw materials. However, do you also feel it might make sense to manufacture a higher quality product that might set apart Cooper from its competitors -- especially since you already mentioned the baby boomer preference for longer-lasting tires? In fact, you also note that "customers are looking for products that are top quality" in your section on the technological forces affecting Cooper's marketing position.

Irvin, Jeffrey. Lowes Home Improvement Warehouses

Irvin comments on the social, competitive, and regulatory forces affecting Lowes. If I were to respond online to Irvin's comments I would note the following:

appreciate your understanding of how corporate culture can affect the implementation of new ideas and concepts. Your experience at Lowes shows that a hierarchical organizational structure is not necessarily beneficial. Understanding a changing demographic demands flexibility at the upper levels of management. I would appreciate your expanding on how Lowes might target their products to specific generational cohorts.

Similarly, it would be helpful if you would explain why you believe Lowes to be an oligopoly and how you feel that designation is affecting the company's current marketing strategy. You do not mention Home Depot, which I think would be an important competitor and one Lowes would need to distinguish itself from. More importantly, it would be helpful to know what, if anything, you believe Lowes could do better to distinguish itself from its competitors.