Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers' needs and wants. Critics, however, maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before. They feel marketers encourage consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services they do not really need.   Take a position: Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants versus marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers

In order for a market to exisit, there must be a need for a product, ability to pay, willing to buy, authority to buy, and be a group large enough to result in a profit. Without these, you do not have a viable market. What are some things a person can do to prevent not having a viable market?

2/ What is marketing myopia? What are the short- and long-term implications for business in this situation?

List and briefly describe 4 variables from the external marketing environment. Provide a brief description of how each of the variable that you list may be able to influence marketing decisions. For example, if you include "technology" as one of your variables from the external marketing environment, you could describe the manufacturing of micro chips that are in many of the products that people use daily, i.e., the camera in your vehicle that shows you what is behind you when you back up uses a micro chip. Many chips are manufactured internationally. Recently, Congress supported legislation that enhances production of micro chips here in the United States. Accessibility to micro chips, enhanced product features, such as rear view alerts for drivers, also enhances product development and innovation. All of the example impacts several aspects of marketing. Then, in your answer, you would list at least two aspects of marketing that can be impacted based on the information in the…

Take a position Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants versus marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers.

In your view, does marketing simply fulfill the needs that consumers already have, or does it cause consumers develop a need for the product/service that is being marketed?  Defend your assertion with a specific example. How would you respond to those who adopt the opposite argument?