154) What is the difference between a core belief and a secondary belief?
155) Why is it important for marketers to understand people’s views of themselves?
156) What steps might a marketer take to shift froma reactive stance to the marketing environment to a more proactive stance?
Scenario
Casey Brickly opened The Landing on the north shore ofWitmer Lake in 1962. With a sandwich counter on one side and a bait shop and grocery on the other, The Landing was an immediate hit with weekend lake visitors and local residents alike. In the summer, boaters parked at the piers and bought all their lake needs–rods and reels, bait, fishing licenses, snacks, soft drinks–at The Landing. Even during the winter months, snowmobilers and ice fishermen were lured to The Landing for a snack and hot coffee or hot chocolate.
As time passed, the business changed and grew tremendously. What was formerly a weekend tourist area gradually became a year-round residential area. Many of the houses, which were built as cottages in the 1950s and 1960s, were being remodeled into year-round homes. By the end of the 1970s, the days of small motor boats and 10 mile-per-hour speed limits were gone; skiing and fast speed boats became all the rage. And The Landing continued to attract flocks of patrons.
In the 1980s, however, Casey started to realize that the grocery area in The Landing could not compete with larger local retailers. He eventually enlarged the sandwich counter, transforming the bait shop and grocery into a restaurant with a full menu typical ofany diner.
“Getting rid of the bait shop was hard to do,” Casey admitted. “I still had a summer crowd that relied on us for their fishing needs, but we couldn’t survive a whole year on four months of profit.”
As the 1990s approached, the atmosphere ofWitmer Lake and the neighboring lakes became more upscale. “I could see that people were spending more on their speed boats than what they had originally paid for their cottages!”Casey exclaimed. Many of the cottages were being inherited by children and grandchildren of the originalowners. Once again, the scene started to change as many of the lake houses were used only as weekend lake homes. Unlike the previous generation, a vast number of the current owners could afford to live closer to their jobs while maintaining lake homes. “At this point, business wasn’t growing,” Casey said.
As local competition continued to increase, Casey converted the diner atmosphere of The Landing into a bar with a lounge area. “The change might have been too drastic,” Casey said, “but it was the only way we could maintain a strong, year-round business in spite of the population shifts and competitive forces.”
157) What microeconomic forces have impacted The Landing the most?
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158) What macroeconomic forces have impacted The Landing the most in the long run? 159) Which macroeconomic force may be most responsible for The Landing’s 43-year survival? Answer: The natural environment–namely, Witmer Lake–has been most responsible for attracting consumers to the area. It is the one macro force that has remained constant.
160) What political forces, ifany, are evident in this scenario?
161) How has the baby boompopulation affected business at The Landing in the past four decades?
162) What demographic forces have likely influenced the recent upscale atmosphere of the area surrounding Witmer Lake?
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163) Some of the older patrons of The Landing have spoken negatively about the conversion of the diner into a bar. What are two examples ofsocial responsibility that Casey could embrace in an effort to offset that negativity?
164) What possible shifts in cultural values may once again affect Casey’s mission at The Landing?
165) What might allow Casey Brickly to now take a more proactive stance in responding to the marketing environment?
