Discussion Question 1 - How do the goals set for the marketing program in the planning phase relate to the evaluation phase of the strategic marketing process? What would you do with the results of the evaluation if: a) you exceeded your goals? b) you fell short of your goals?

Discussion Question 2 - Environmental scanning is critical to acquire information on events occurring outside of the organization. For example, in 2009, the U.S. economy faltered and the unemployment rate rose. As a result, dollar (type) stores flourished. The poor economic trend actually became a huge opportunity for an entire retail segment. Select one of the five environmental forces (social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory), discuss an actual trend that fits into that particular environmental force, and provide an accompanying marketing opportunity.