Challenges Facing International Marketers - Essay Example

………………………………………………………………………….xxxxxx …………………………………………………………………….xxxxxx …………………………………………………………………………xxxxx ………………………………………………………………………..xxxxx @2012 International marketing It deals with marketing companies and organizations across the national boarders. It is a strategy that applies techniques in use in the home country to other countries abroad. International marketing ensures diversification of markets, market growth and economies of scale for companies that involve themselves in this kind of marketing. It also ensures that companies market their products abroad to avoid oversaturation of domestic markets. It is also known as global marketing (Bradley 2005). It applies such policies in other countries with the aim of marketing business and its products. With the increase in the use of international marketing in the globe today, it is essential to understand it in depth. It is also necessary to understand policies that international marketing applies to. Some of the policies that this strategies uses include marketing mix, entry mode selection and others. They all aim at competing in the market abroad. The process of internationalization describes the intersection of international marketing and global marketing. Some scholars view international marketing as an extension of exporting products to other countries outside the home country (Doole & Lowe 2008). The paper analyzes international marketing and global marketing together with their impacts on a certain brand in a business. Global marketing entails marketing products on a global scale and adoption of similar standards. These standards relate to global marketing. It also entails adopting similar global brand image for the company’s product. For instance, a company can adopt a global image like Coca Cola because it is a famous brand in the globe. Global marketing also entails applying different marketing practices for the company (Bradley 2005). The international environment guides companies on how to market in the international market. The environment is made up of the legal aspect, competition and customers which affect it differently. Technology, economic and the political aspect also make up the international market. Challenges facing international marketers International marketers face several challenges as they involve themselves in the international marketing. They make it a little bit difficult for marketers to carry out their marketing easily without facing hick ups here and there. These challenges transform the international market because the marketers have to find ways of curbing these challenges. Despite these problems that marketers face, they still enter the international market to market their products (Doole & Lowe 2008). Dramatic changes taking place in the global marketing pose as a great challenge to marketers. This means that they have to keep up with these changes and trends in the global marketing so that they do not lag behind. Such changes include changes in technology and in the products (Bradley 2005). Marketers, therefore, have to keep up with the changing technology so that their products are manufactured using the latest technology. Consumers always want to purchase the best products hence; marketers have to ensure that their products are the best in the market. The international market is complex, and not all marketers are able to meet its complexity which poses a challenge. Competition from other marketers in the international marketing is another challenge that marketers face. Some countries have advanced technology than others; therefore, their marketers have an advantage over the others. This poses a challenge to other marketers who do not have advanced technology because they are competing for market (Bradley 2005). This non-uniformity challenges some marketers as they compete for the same market in the international arena. Other companies have better resources than the rest, which means that they produce the best quality products or offer quality services in the market. The rest of the companies only offer low quality services and products, so they do not capture customers internationally. Obtaining all information regarding the needs of consumers in the international marketing is a challenging task for the marketers. This is because they have the obligation of ensuring that they satisfy the needs of their consumers in the market. That means collecting data and information regarding their needs, tastes and preferences so that they satisfy the market. They also have the challenge of ensuring that they have a clear knowledge of customers abroad so that they use it to improve their products. This knowledge about consumers helps the marketers to add value to the kind of services and products they offer to the market. It is a challenge because it requires the use of a strategic approach to marketing and producing products (Doole & Lowe 2008). Difference in the legal environment is a challenge that marketers face. Legal environment of the home country is usually different from that of the other market. That means that policies applying to marketing in one country differ to such policies in the other country. Therefore, markets face the challenge of familiarizing with the legal environment of the foreign country where they market their products. Difference in the administrative procedures between the two countries is another challenge that marketers face. Countries have different procedures regarding the administration so what one country considers right night be wrong in another country. Marketers have the challenge of having full knowledge concerning such procedures in the foreign country they sell their products. International marketing mix Marketing mix is a strategy under international marketing where it considers the differences in consumer taste and preferences. It also considers different market segments in the entire market so that it meets all their need (Bradley 2005). This crucial is vital when companies want to determine a product or brand and how they offer. The marketing mix decision is extremely crucial for any company that wants to go international successfully. Recently, companies are also applying the four C’s. They include cost, convenience, consumer and communication. They are used together with the four P’s in the marketing mix. Marketing mix ensures that a business analyzes all the needs of consumers in the market. It then subdivides the market into segments with each segment having similarities in the needs. It ensures that all segments of the market at large have their needs met by the kind of products or services they offer. The segments can be divided on the basis of each country or region so that the business establishes all their demands. Companies make marketing mix decisions by the help of the four P’s. Recently, there has been the invention if the four C’s by companies so that they help them in the policy of market mix. The four P’s make up the producer model and is in use by most producers in the world as they carry out international marketing (Doole & Lowe 2008). On of the four P’s is the price which describes the amount that a consumer is willing to pay for a certain brand or product in the market at a given period of time. It is crucial for the company because it determines whether it runs at a loss or profit. Therefore, companies are extremely careful when setting the price of their brands so that they are fair to the consumer and to them as a company. The consumer perceived value of the brand is also another determinant they bear in mind when setting prices for their products. Under this P of the marketing mix, there are strategies that companies consider. One of such is the market skimming price and neutral pricing. The penetration pricing is the third policy where the company looks at the initial price that the brand entered the market with so that it helps in setting the next price. Promotion is the second P under the marketing mix (Bradley 2005). This describes methods that companies use to communicate information regarding the product to the consumers. Promotion has such elements like advertising and sales promotion. Companies that aim at entering into the international market have to promote their brands and products to the market. This ensures that consumers get enough knowledge on their products and that they act as ways of advertising. Promotion also constitutes of personal selling and public relations as tools that assist in promoting products internationally. In the marketing mix, companies ensure that they make decisions that ensure a good image of their products in the international market. Communication can be done either orally or through advertising media like through the internet or in billboards. Place is the other P under marketing mix in international marketing. Place ensures that a company provides its products at a place convenient to its customers. Strategies that apply to place included intensive and selective distribution of products to the targeted market. Franchising is also a strategy under promotion, and it ensures that products reach the international market to the relevant consumers (Doole & Lowe 2008). It also entails availing products to the international market. Product is the fourth P in the marketing mix, and it is the item that meets the demands of the consumers. The product can be in two forms; tangible and intangible form. Both can be sold in the international market. The intangible product includes the tourism industry or financial industry among others that take the services form. They are sold in the international market in the form of services rendered to customers outside the home country of the company. Markers consider product mix where they consider the number of product lines for a certain brand in the company. This ensures that products compliment each other in the international market. Range of market entry methods Companies need to make decisions on how they will enter the international market effectively so that they achieve their objectives of doing so. There are two market entry methods available for companies, and they include the initial mode of entry and the specific modes of entry. Each entry is applicable at certain situations regarding the international market. Both modes apply to all companies that enter the international market depending on the time they are entering. The initial mode of entry applies where a company is entering the international market for the first time. Therefore, it needs to make appropriate decisions to guide its entry and ensure it reaches the market effectively. The initial entry mode is extremely crucial to a company because it shapes the view of consumers regarding the products. Hence; companies ensure that consumers in the international market have the best image of the product (Doole & Lowe 2008). It is this entry that creates the reputation of the company in the international market. Companies entering the market for the first time ensure that the product is of high quality and that they capture many consumers. This ensures that they get customer loyalty in the international market. The specific mode has two mode which include exporting and joint ventures. The exporting mode is more of the international marketing. It involves selling products or services to outside countries. A company can enter the international market by exporting its products and services to other countries other than its home country. It enters the market by going over the boarders through its products so that it explores its markets. Exporting products means that the company has to pay certain tariffs and other costs related to exporting. The joint venture is an entry under the specific mode of entry into the market. It takes place where businesses agree to form an entity together. In international marketing, companies can make such an agreement so that they are able to enter the international market. Joint ventures as a form of entry into the market help companies to reach a larger market by pooling sources together. It can also take place when a company makes an agreement with another international country with the aim of entering the other country. In such a case, they share expenses, assets and revenues according to their agreement. They have a common goal of entering the international market. Internationalisation process theory (IPT) Internalization process involves increasing and expanding involvement of companies in international marketing. According to these theories, companies tend to invest in countries with short psychic distance. They prefer investing in such countries because of their convenience. Experts have come up with theories that explain this process. These theories include the trade theory which has several other theories under it. Under this trade theory there are several other theories that explain the internationalization process in details. Some of these theories include the absolute cost advantage, comparative cost advantage, location theory among several others (Doole & Lowe 2008). Organizations settle for different theories that are suitable for the products they market in the international market. Companies choose a theory on the basis of its advantages and disadvantages it may have on the products. In the case of this company and its products, the suitable theory is the Greenfield investment theory despite the fact that it is complex. This case analyzes products of a supermarket and how it plans on reaching the international market. The supermarket aims at expanding the market for all its products outside the home country. Therefore, this theory will be extremely useful in ensuring that the internationalization process is made easy for the business. The business settled for this theory on the basis of its advantages over the other theories of this process. One of such advantages is that it is more effective than the other theories. This specific theory ensures that the business has an absolute advantage for the products it exports. This means that it ensures it uses less labor in the production process and efficiency in the same. Some of the disadvantages of this theory are that it is complex. Its complexity in implementing discourages many firms and companies from using it. It requires some expertise to deal with this theory due to its complicated nature. It is also time consuming in that it takes a lot of time to implement. It requires more time than the other theories of internalization, therefore, discouraging most companies from using it. It requires much time to formulate policies that companies need to use under this theory which also means that it is expensive. Hiring experts to help in implementing and formulating this theory makes it expensive for most companies. Country of origin effect and its influence on consumer perception Country of origin effect refers to the effects that the manufacturing country has on the international market and its products. The country from which products originate from adversely affects perceptions of consumers on the specific product. It acts as a way of differentiating products from those of its competitors. Study shows that products that are identical, but different from those of the country of origin get a different perception by consumers. The country of origin not only affects perceptions of consumers, but also their willingness to purchase the products. Consumers use the country of origin effect as a basis for making decisions regarding products, especially on the luxurious products (Doole & Lowe 2008). Consumers also have a tendency of preferring products from their own country to products from other countries. They perceive them to be more reliable and trust them than other products and services from other countries. For instance, they perceive brands from another country to be weak and of low quality. Experts, however, explain that this perception can be used in favour of a country against other products. They argue that a country can use this effect to curb the negative country of origin effect by instilling some positive perception in consumers. This is the reason why companies brand their products so that they influence customers on the quality and credibility of such products in the market. The fact that consumers perceive products on the basis of the place of their origin can work both positively and negatively for the international marketing. Companies can use it to influence customers to perceive their products positively so that they purchase them. This can be done by improving their quality so that they have a positive perception. Such customer perceptions are usually on the basis of the image that a certain country has to the eyes of the consumer. For instance, there is the common image of France being the best in producing wines. German is also perceived by many consumers as the best country in manufacturing engineering products. This is the image that most consumers have about products from the above countries. It clearly shows the effect of the country of origin in the international market. There is also a relationship between brands, their names and the origin of such products. Research shows that the country of origin effect affects brand names of various products and their image in the eyes of the consumer. Consumers perceive the quality of any product by looking at its brand name which automatically describes the country of origin of the product. Therefore, the country of origin effect affects consumer perceptions on products in the international market (Doole & Lowe 2008). References 1. Alon, I., 2003. Chinese economic transition and international marketing strategy: Greenwood Publishing Group: pg. 234-299. 2. Bradley, 2005. International marketing strategy: Financial Times Prent. Int: pg. 250-306. 3. Doole, I & Lowe, R.,2008. International marketing strategy: analysis. Development and implantation: Cengage Learning EMEA: pg. 456-678. 4. Jones, M. V., 2009. Internationalization, entrepreneurship and the smaller firm€; evidence from around the world: Edward Elgar Publishing: pg. 156-189. 5. Mayer, F., 2007. The death of the brand? Challenges facing international brands in the 21st century- an analysis with examples and recommendations: GRIN Verlag: pg. 34-67. 6. Peters, N., 2011. The country of origin affect on perception of services: entry mode decisions as a determinant of usability: GRIN Verlag: pg. 98-116. Read More