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Hi, I'm Jeff. And in this lesson, we'll learn about how technology can be used in a company's marketing, including social media and e-commerce. So let's get started.
First, let's talk about the macro factors in marketing. When there are fundamental shifts in the social, legal, economic, or political environment, that will impact business. Why this matters is because technology can cause shifts in these environments. And then those changes can impact business.
The advent of social media has certainly created a macro social impact. Social media are online based communication tools that are utilized to share information. And this allows individuals to affect a business more directly. With online reviews, comments on Twitter or blog articles, one person can change the way a company does business.
Legal, and political issues have also shifted at the macro level due to technology. For example most companies perform business using the internet. But that has not always been the case.
It is only recently that discussions of a political and legal nature have occurred about the equality of access to the internet. The macro impacts were caused by changes in technology. And the results of these impacts will be felt by most businesses.
And economic macro factors have been greatly changed by technology. One obvious example is the rise in e-commerce, otherwise known as online sales. Companies that wish to grow in the retail market need an e-commerce presence now.
Virtual communities in which information about the company and products can be exchanged with customers, and the customers themselves can interact, are also becoming important.
And there are now a wide variety of customer loyalty programs that integrate with technology on websites and smartphone apps to encourage customers to make repeat purchases and share their experiences on social media.
As you can see, in order for a company to remain competitive in the modern world, it's important that they engage customers using many different marketing methods that rely on technology. And because technology is always changing, this means a company must constantly update their technology to meet current demands. It's important to monitor current trends, to track customers and how they interact with the company's technology, and to have processes in place to respond quickly to changes.
A site or an app cannot be built once then left alone. It will require maintenance. This will be true for web sites, sales systems, programs and apps, online review methods, and operating systems.
If you remember from a previous lesson, when developing social technology, companies should also be concerned with the four C's-- consumption, how customers use content, curation, how companies manage content, creation, how companies create content, and collaboration, how content is shared.
All right, great job. In this lesson, we learned about the macro factors in marketing, and how technology impacts those factors. And we discussed how technology is always changing and how this requires a company to update their systems to keep pace.
Thanks for your time. And have a great day.