RedPin is a combination restaurant, bowling alley, and bar in Oklahoma City. It boasts 10 bowling lanes; a full-service bar; space for private parties; a menu of local, made-from-scratch fare; and a large canal-front patio. By analyzing the marketing environment and developing strategies accordingly, RedPin has been able to find success in good and bad economic conditions. Marketing does not occur in a vacuum. Unforeseen developments external to the firm can directly impact the success of its marketing strategy. For this reason, marketing professionals continually scan and analyze the external environment. It is also critical that organizations identify and evaluate the direct and indirect competitors seeking to acquire market share and profits_________

The Marketing department of any firm has to analyze the external economic conditions (such as inflation rate, unemployment rate, GDP growth, economic sector growh), and also, social conditions such as consumer preferences. This is because the firm cannot market itself in ways that are not compatible with external conditions.

The Marketing professionals also have to take into account competitors, both existing and potential, because there is a limited percentage of market share that each competing firm can have, and the goal of marketing is to increase the firm's marketshire in respect to the other firms.