International and Strategic Marketing - Assignment Example

?Contents Introduction 2 The International Market 2 Development of the New Product 2 Country Analysis-France 5 Recommendations 8 Conclusions 8 References 9 Introduction In Telmarket, our business and core areas of expertise are market training and consultancy in the UK. Over the past year, our company has grown tremendously, with our client base becoming bigger and covering most of the UK. However, this achievement has been no mean feat and we attribute the company success to our supportive directors and hardworking staff. The several challenges faced over the years have also helped to propel the company into new heights. These include fierce competition from other consulting firms, the credit crunch which saw the company barely survive and the restructuring we had to do to increase efficiency and serve our clients better. The International Market After long consultations with the directors and other stakeholders, it was agreed that the company should move to another level and expand into the international market. This will be a great privilege to the company. After the marketing team completed its analysis on the first location outside the UK that the company should base its services on, we decided to take the business to Paris, France due to a number of reasons that will be outlined later. With the expansion to Paris, the company will also introduce a new product in the market. This is an area that the company has researched on and found high demand for, especially in Paris. The new product involves training programmes for International marketing. The most obvious reason as to the choice of this product is due to the fact that Paris, being a renowned historical city in the world, attracts several local and international tourists every year. The training programmes in International marketing will thus be very useful to the market. Development of the New Product The development of this new product, which is training programmes for the international market, has undergone several stages before the company finally settled on it. The launching of a new product will benefit the company in many ways. First, development of new products is compulsory for companies that need to maintain a competitive edge and attract new clients (Brooke & Mills 2003). Secondly, new products in the market usually earn higher profits than old ones because of their unique qualities and the fact that competitors would not have caught up yet. This is especially advantageous in launching new products in new markets where such products tend to generate curiosity from the market. Thirdly, limiting the company to old products may make the company lose out on emerging markets or existing clients who eventually get bored of the same products presented in the same old ways (Husig & Kohn 2003). Seasonal variation in demand for products may mean that firms’ revenues keep fluctuating. Development of new products which are customized to be profitable during different times is one of the ways companies can use to ensure consistent revenues throughout the year. Technological advances today, especially in Information Technology have made it easy for companies to easily develop new concepts at a faster rate and with lower costs. Developing new concepts therefore helps companies keep abreast with technological advancements (Kotler & Gray 2008). The first step undertaken included the brainstorming of ideas. Once it was made known that the company was going international, the employees in the company were very enthusiastic to pitch in ideas to help in the development of a product that would hit in the international market. Brainstorming on ideas is usually a great way to get new ideas on the table (Cateora & Graham 2002). Apart from contributions by the employees and other experts hired to do the job, clients of the company were also asked for their contribution and the feedback received was very useful. After the ideas were sifted through, the marketing department did further research on the most viable ideas and the ideas were screened. The screening process was done by getting the ideas through to different levels of workers in the company (Husig & Kohn 2003). For instance, there was a screening process done by the supervisors, then middle management, senior management followed and the directors wound up the screening process. Furthermore during the screening process, rough estimates of cost, competition and competitor reaction and other factors were put on the table to decide on the greater ideas (McCall & Stone 2004). These considerations in place, the best options went through to the next stage. The next step was concept development and testing. In this stage, the ideas that had passed through the previous step were presented to clients and employees. This was done by formation of focus groups which were gathered in different sittings and shown mock-ups of the concepts that had been accepted up to that point (Ulrich & Eppinger 2004). The purpose of this was to get feedback on the potential product to be launched. The concepts were also presented to some focus groups through storyboards, which showed the general ideas of the concepts but not the whole idea. The purpose of this stage was to answer crucial questions about the viability of the new products to be launched. These questions include the demand for the product, the likability, benefits offered by the product and to determine pricing for the product (Kim and Wilemon 2002). At the end of this exercise, the number of ideas was narrowed down such that only the ideas that met certain criteria went through. After this step came a crucial step in the development of any new product; business analysis. At this stage there were three ideas that the team had narrowed down to. At this point, only the general ideas of the concept were known and the complete product was yet to be formed (Koen 2004). The purpose of business analysis was to determine in detail issues such as the size of the market, costs of operation of the new product and financial projections associated with the new product. It was also at this point that the company determined whether the new products fit into the company’s profile or not. Business analysis is usually an intense process that requires time and resources for the results to be as accurate as possible (Smith & Reinertsen 1998). The next step after business analysis was done was product and market trusting. The ideas that had gone through all the stages above were now conceptualized and initial designs of the final potential products were made (Cooper & Edgett 2008). Furthermore, the marketing team also came up with marketing strategies for the new products. The new products were shown to clients and their reactions determined. The product that received the most positive response was accepted and after minor adjustments, it was ready to be launched in the market. This step was also crucial in determining the best pricing for the product, advertising and marketing strategies as well as the inclusion of other factors that may arise in the lunch of the product. After this step was market testing where the product was introduced to a larger market and the reaction noted (Wells 2005). In this case, the company introduced the product to a small town with demographics similar to that of the target and noted the reception it received. It was then agreed that the concept was successful and the next step is commercialization, which will involve launching the product to the market it was designed for in Paris. This is the stage at which the company is in currently. Country Analysis-France The decision to launch Telmarket’s international profile in Paris, France was not coincidental or a random choice. A lot of thinking and analysis went into making this very important decision. As with all other decisions that involve changes in location or launching of new products in the market, several factors have to be considered. These factors, which are usually unique to different market segments, determine whether a product will sell or not. General rules of getting into international markets in order to gain competitive advantage were considered in the making of this decision (McCall & Stone 2004). Furthermore, the rules set out by the European Union for getting into markets who are its members were observed by Telmarket. However, the UK being one of the members of the European Union, there were ore advantages associated with this kind of business decision. In France, there were several factors considered and they seem to be compatible with the lunch of the company’s new product. The first factor taken into consideration was France’s culture. France is a European country and most of its culture is similar to other western European countries. However, there are marked differences that make France what it is. For instance, the city of Paris is usually considered the city of love by all and sundry. Most people come from around the world to experience this romanticism (Kidd and Reynolds 2000). The French also have a culture of outdoor cafes that is traditionally French. The country is also full of historical monuments that are part of the French culture, including the Eiffel tower. Paris is also home to some of the greatest architecture n the world and also great works of historical art by famous artists, stored in one of the world’s biggest museum, The Louvre. In designing the international marketing training product, these factors were put in consideration. Another very important aspect of the French culture is the language. French originated in France and spread to other countries in the world due to trade, conquests and explorations by the French. Therefore, the language is considered as part of the French national heritage. The language is also a unifying factor among the people of France, as much as the French cuisine is. The language is also the main means of communication with potential clients and if not utilized properly, it may cause reverse marketing and loss of business (Koen et al. 2001). The economic conditions of France also influenced the decision to enter the French market. France is a developed nation which experiences positive economic growth. Like most countries, France is getting out of the recently ended recession that saw many countries experience slow growth in their economies (Family Education Network 2011). The economic upturn is a positive indication of further future growth and presents a ripe environment for investments especially from other countries. The climate of France was also taken into consideration. Even though the climate in France is similar to that of the UK, there are still differences due to geographical location. For instance, Paris does not experience great fogs like London does. Since the product to be launched deals with international marketing strategies and tourism is a field that my require these services the most, the climate will be a determining factor since it determines the influx and outflow of tourists in the country. France is also a very stable country politically. There have been no political upheavals in the country for several years that have threatened the political state, hence investments in the country. Legislation and taxes that may affect international companies in France are meant to help both the country and the investors, rather than try to stifle out foreign investments. Therefore, France provides very conducive political, social and economic environments for Telmarket to thrive. Religion plays an important role in the lives of the French (Dauncey 2003). The country is predominantly Roman Catholic, which is also the country’s official state religion. This has been the case for several decades, making France a very conservative country. With this in mind, the international marketing programme to be launched in Paris by Telmarket has been checked to ensure that nothing in the product goes against the teachings of the church. Considering the importance that the French put in their religious views, any part of the product that goes against the principles of the Catholic Church will led to a flop of the launch and a low client base, with little hope of growth. France’s geographical position is also very advantageous to Telmarket’s business plans. Paris is easily accessible via the sea, the air, through roads or its high-tech railway system from several other countries in Europe, the UK included (Family Education Network 2011). This means that the international marketing programme has the potential of attracting clientele outside the country due to easy accessibility. This may make it easier for Telmarket to penetrate other countries after launching in France. All these factors precipitated in making France, and especially Paris a launch pad for the company’s international business. Recommendations From the above analysis, it will be in the company’s best interest for it to launch the training programmes in International Marketing in Paris. In most instances, the benefits outweigh the cost by far. However, it is also recommended that the market testing step in the development of new products be carried out on a section of the Paris population. Even though the testing was done on a small town with similar conditions with Paris with positive results, it would be better if the real market was tested to see if there are factors that were overlooked or not given enough emphasis. Apart from this, the company is ready to launch this product in the French market. Conclusions Telmarket’s success in the UK has been through sheer effort and belief that it is actually possible to succeed despite all odds. Telmarket’s management is one that has strong principles and beliefs in its ability to become bigger and better. The company’s strategies have worked well in the UK, and there is no reason why it should not work in France. Launching a new product and launching it in Paris will be the beginning of Telmarket’s course in becoming a successful international company, with its presence all over the world. As the Chinese say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with only one step; Telmarket has just made the first steps in its long and successful journey ahead. References Brooke, Z, M & Mills, W, R, 2003, New product development: successful innovation in the marketplace, Routledge, New York. Cateora P, and Graham, J, 2002, International Marketing, 14th edn, McGraw Hill, New York. Cooper R, G & Edgett, S, J, 2008, ‘Maximizing productivity in product innovation’, Research Technology Management. Dauncey, Hugh, ed., 2003, French Popular Culture: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, New York. Family Education Network, 2011, ‘France’, viewed 7 January 2011, < http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107517.html> Husig & Kohn, 2003, Factors influencing the Front End of the Innovation Process: A comprehensive Review of Selected empirical NPD and explorative FFE Studies, Juni, Brussels. Kidd, W & Reynolds, S, eds, 2000, Contemporary French Cultural Studies. Arnold Publishers, New York. Kim, J &Wilemon, D, 2002, ‘Sources and assessment of complexity in NPD projects’, R&D Management, vol. 33, no.1, pp. 16-30. Koen et al., 2001, ‘Providing clarity and a common language to the ‘fuzzy front end’’, Research Technology Management, vol. 44, no.2, pp.46-55. 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