Answer the following questions as part of your work as a business and marketing consultant to CGC.

the concept of "Environmental Analysis" which involves identifying and responding to potential factors and trends in the marketing environment such as the competitive, economic, political, legal and regulatory, technological, and sociocultural forces in the marketplace.

1. Select ONE external environmental factor. Provide a definition of the factor and discuss its potential impact on Common Ground Caf and the restaurant industry within the last two years. Include at least two business or academic article citations from the University library in addition to any insights obtained from your textbook.
2. Common Ground Caf is located in YOUR HOMETOWN or current city of residence. Identify at least two potential BRAND COMPETITORS and discuss how CGC can differentiate its restaurant or offering from the competition.

For example, a student was addressing the question: "define market segmentation and discuss its importance to firms". An excerpt of their response incorporating secondary sources stated:

"Although every person needs to eat and buy clothes, they will not all buy the exact same items at the same store.There are differences in people's habits, wants, needs, preferences, and so many other categories that lead to people buying different items and services.This is where market segmentation comes into play.Market segmentation is determining which specific group of people to which a business wants to sell their product.After the determination, the company will create specific plan for marketing and will strategically use their resources to reach the group (Cortez, Clarke, & Freytag, 2021).Without market segmentation, these companies would be attempting to sell to millions of people with generalized efforts that may or may not appeal to a large number of customers.As a part of these efforts, businesses will narrow down to whom they want to sell their products by looking at customers' needs, their "customer buying behavior and profitability" (Yoseph, et al., 2020).By looking at these elements, businesses are able to figure out which marketing investments will provide the greatest return for the company and to whom they should truly tailor their offerings.This is critical for businesses, especially smaller ones like Common Ground Caf, because they can use their limited resources in the most strategic manner with the smallest amount of waste possible.If a company is unable to identify their market segment(s), then it could be the start of a slow decline of the business and potentially its death."