The company's micro-environment includes factors that directly impact its ability to create value and relationships with customers. These factors include:* Internal environment: top management, finance, R&D, purchasing, operations, and accounting* Suppliers: provide resources needed for production, and their problems can affect marketing* Marketing intermediaries: firms that promote, sell, and distribute goods to final buyers* Customers: 5 types of markets (consumer, business, reseller, government, international) with special characteristics* Competitors: companies offering similar products or services, requiring strategic positioning to gain advantage* Publics: groups that have an interest in or impact on the organization's ability to achieve its objectives (e.g. media, citizen-action groups)These factors are all interconnected and must be considered when designing marketing plans to create value for customers and relationships with them.