Catering for International Customers - Research Paper Example

 Catering for International Customers Introduction People always tend to confuse the term marketing with selling. The latter is the end result of the former and although the two are interdependent, there is a fundamental difference in the components of each. There are different definitions of marketing but all of the definitions have some commonalities. First, marketing entails the use of available resources in the firm. Second, the firm must analyze it strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with the aim of using the information to surviving in a dynamic environment. Lastly, all the marketing efforts should be focused on the satisfaction of the needs of customers and the society as a whole. The end result of any marketing result should thus be the satisfaction of the needs of customers, the society and the enterprise. The marketing concept lists the resources within any firm as being the people otherwise referred to as the human resources, the machines used in production which involves techniques and other strategies adopted and the capital involved which is the amount of money that is required to run the business in the production of either a service or a product. The concept also details that there should be an understanding of the inherent needs and wants of both the customer and the company (Doyle 1995, p. 27). This stems from the understanding of the environment in which the business is set. All of these must be done with the good of the society in general in mind. No marketing initiative is complete without the consideration of the marketing mix. This involves the production of services or goods that the customers need, at a price that is reasonable, meaning that the target market can afford and is willing to pay. Furthermore, the product or service should be promoted in a manner that is likely to elicit awareness on the part of the customer so that he is convinced to buy that product or service. Finally, the product should be availed in a place that the customer can readily access. These controllables that the marketers can easily manipulate are going to be the key focus in the analysis of the factors to be considered in the expansion of Prestige Presentations which is a successful retailer of gift items currently centered in Birmingham but aiming to expand into a different market in Stratford upon Avon. Discussion The marketing mix, otherwise regarded to as the four Ps including Product, Price, Promotion and Place is controllable. However, there are other factors that are uncontrollable in the market and which any successful marketer should be aware of. These are mostly environmental factors which include the technological developments, the competitive practices in the market, the institutions and business practices including regulations and laws, the economy of the country of operation and the social and cultural practices of the target market (Kandampully & Duddy 1999, p. 53). Prestige Presentations which specializes in the sale of gift items is currently centered in Birmingham which is a conservative English society. The composition of the target market is therefore not very diverse meaning that the culture and social norms of the people there are similar. However, the company is seeking to expand into Stratford which is a more diverse society. The composition of the market in Stratford is mainly tourists who come from different cultures and backgrounds and as such requires a different approach in marketing from that in Birmingham. In the earlier discussion, one of the components of the marketing concept was that it must be focused on the customer and should aim to satisfy his needs. The customer has often been referred to as king and this has stemmed from the realization by marketers that money is not made from products but rather from people. Therefore, the first step by Prestige Presentations should be an analysis of the customer wants and needs that are inherently different in Stratford than in Birmingham due to the difference in the composition of the population. The company should realize that having large inventories of products that do not reflect the needs of the customers will result in the loss of those customers to competitors who may have a better grip at the composition of the market. The first issue is the diversity and the frequency with which customers visit Stratford. Bill Sykes, the owner of Prestige Presentations should ensure that a market research is conducted so that the composition of the market can be better understood. The profiles of tourists who frequent Stratford and at the specific times of the year that they do should be the first consideration. For example if most of the tourist during the summer come from Greenland and those from China come during the fall, then the company should stock gift items that reflect the culture of Greenland in those summer months and those that reflect the Chinese culture during the fall. Marketing in Birmingham is relatively easy since the composition of the population does not change from time to time as it does in Stratford. Therefore, the marketing in Birmingham can be said to be reflective of domestic marketing while that in Stratford can be regarded as being international marketing. The customer in international marketing can be more complicated as there are many differences including the language, customer tastes, religion, fashion, the standards of living and the ideologies. The second issue is that international customers are bound to face different conditions from those in their native countries. Broadly, marketing to international customers poses a challenge in legal matters, insurance and the unfamiliarity in the social, cultural and economic realities of the foreign customers (Sanchez 2003, p. 42). There is also a great difference in the payment systems and transport between the indigenous one and those that the foreign customers are accustomed to. There is also the problem of the currency that the customers may have. Those that originate from Europe may use the euro which is an accepted currency in the United Kingdom. However, international customers may be more accustomed to the use of the American dollar which is more widely used in the world compared to both the euro and the British pound. The business outlet in Stanford should therefore be aware of the currency differences and also the different modes of payment including internationally accepted credit cards and should aim to have the necessary facilities to enable the customers to be comfortable with the payment mode that best suits them. The third issue is that the outlet in Stanford will require a relatively larger marketing budget than the one in Birmingham. This is because the former is meant to appeal to a larger and more segmented market than the former. This may entail the use of a larger channel like the internet to create awareness to international customers. The business will also require being operational in 24 hours of the day since customers who may be in different time zones may require making enquiries at their convenience. At chat system may be the most viable option as customers can get first hand information by chatting with operators who may not necessarily be located in the premises. It is paramount to consider all the channels of communication as many people prefer to talk directly with a person, for example through the telephone rather than through a channel like the internet. This means that the business must carefully plan its activities in such a way that all the needs of the customers are anticipated and initiatives rolled out that may be important in the fulfillment of those needs. Marketing to international customers is characterized by many risks arising from uncertainties which is also an issue for consideration. An example is fashion. This is a constantly changing aspect of the society. Perhaps, the most comforting thing about the fashion industry is that it is rapidly becoming globalized and what is regarded as fashion in one society is most likely the fashion in another society as the world becomes continually integrated (Drucker 1999, p. 31). However, some societies are very conservative and stick to certain fashions that change in different ways from those of other cultures. For example, Muslims have a very particular way of dressing. Although the fundamental design of their dress does not change, there are small differences in the dress of different Muslim communities. The Chinese also have a very particular way of dressing that has been refined over the years to what it is today. Africans too have distinct dressing styles from those of other societies. In order for Prestige Presentations to be successful in Stratford, the management must ensure that they stay abreast with the changes that occur in the native lands of their clients (Mohamad 2002, pp. 9). In this way, these customers will feel at home as the products that they purchase in their own homes will be readily available here. Since the composition of the Stratford population has many cultures in it an issue to consider is the different set of the marketing mix that will be necessary for each of the population sets and at the different times of the year that they are likely to visit the area. There is therefore a very great challenge in the coordination, management and integration of the programs that are adopted in marketing so that the marketing objectives laid out by the company are realized. The marketing to international clients needs more effort and time. It is also a very risky venture as it is dependent on many environmental factors that are beyond the control of the company. For example, if the company has researched that tourists from Africa usually arrive in June and a conflict arose in one of the countries that contribute this population prior or during this period, then the stocks that had been bought so as to cater for these customers will not be sold to the expected quantities meaning that losses will inevitably be made. Political instability, disasters and other natural occurrences that may hinder the travel of people can influence the numbers of tourists that will travel to Stratford and in turn affect the revenues that are expected. Some of these include earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires and hurricanes. Other uncontrollable circumstances like an economic downturn may deplete the resources that people have allocated to travelling and this will inevitably affect returns gotten from sales expected. Sales personnel Traditionally, the “wait and see” attitude could have been adopted by management teams in the hope that people will notice the businesses despite limited marketing initiatives. Today however, sales is an integral part of management and as such, there are concerted efforts that have been made with the aim of increasing sales in various businesses. The advent of technology has somewhat eased sales promotion although the competition is also aware of the same advantage (Wilk 1998, p. 321). Thus, to increase revenues, there is a need for consideration of new point solutions, internet opportunities, lead generation programs and other channel strategies that give a company the edge over the others. Perhaps, the most important part of sales is the composition of its human resources. There is a myriad of characteristics that the management at Prestige Presentations needs to consider in the sales people that they do decide to contract. There are two groups of sales teams including the internal based sales teams and also the field based sales teams. A high turnover in sales teams has been noted in various industries (Spiro, Gregory & William 2008, pp. 136). Therefore, the most important point for managers to consider should be the motivation of the sales people in a bid to retaining them. The fundamental difference between the internal sales team and the field ones is that the former spends more time in administrative tasks and researching accounts. Marketing to international clients is a complicated affair when compared to marketing for the domestic clients. Therefore, the sales people who are aimed at marketing for those clients need to be equipped with more skills and qualifications that those of domestic clients. The first factor to consider is the strategic plan. Planning is always an important part of all company operations (David 1986, p. 46). Therefore, the process of considering the type of people to hire for the sales position should be a plan of action that will detail the duties that the personnel will be expected to conduct. We have discussed that the marketing to international clients will require the use of more marketing channels than marketing to domestic clients. Thus, there is need for those contracted to do this to have more skills marketing channels and techniques. International customers may belong to different religions, cultures, social setups and language backgrounds (De Mooij 1998, p. 36). Not everybody who will visit Stratford will have knowledge of English which is the native language. The sales people that Prestige Presentations will hire may be required to have knowledge in a number of languages. This will be essential in conducting sales on the phone and also chatting up clients on the internet. These people will also be required to have pertinent knowledge of the different religions in the world. A study on the different cultures may also be required. This is especially important since different people of diverse cultures will be arriving on specific times in the year or at the same time and hence the sales personnel will be expected to know how to treat each. The physical appearance of the groups of people is different. Therefore, the sales personnel should be attentive to the way that the people who they plan to sell to appear physically, the regalia they adorn as well as their dialects which can be assessed from their accents. The sales personnel should be flexible (Munyon, Summers & Gerald 2011, p. 229). This skill will aid them in changing their behavior in light of the changing characteristics of their customers. As diverse cultures and religions will be marketed to, it is important that the sales personnel be in a position to adapt to them differently. The personnel should also exude self-confidence. This is an integral part of marketing as they will be judged by the way that the conduct themselves and the knowledge on the customer that they do have. Some of the ways to build self confidence are to have self awareness, to exercise self control and to be well informed. They must also be people of integrity. This means that they must have strict values that they adhere to and that are meant to reflect the beliefs of the company. Additionally, the sales people will be expected t be very thorough. This entails making detailed plans and being well prepared. It also includes them having a keen eye for details. Other qualities include: having excellent communication skills, having interest in the customer needs and wants and being able to satisfy them, being time conscious and being able to meet deadlines, being presentable at all times to create a good impression on the customers, exhibit initiative, having the qualities to be able to identify, define and solve problems, being result oriented, being empathetic; meaning that they should be capable of setting aside their personal opinions, biases and prejudices and be able to take another person’s perspective, having map reading skills so that they can direct visitors to different locations, being able to perform basic arithmetic, being diplomatic which entails having tact and assertion in the resolution matters arising, being a team player and having the communication skills to be able to pass information to other team members and to motivate them. KNOWLEDGE (essential , desirable) WORKSKILLS(essential,desirable)GENERAL SKILLS/ ATTRIBUTES(essential , desirable)Experience(essential, desirable), QUALIFICATIONS(essential, desirable). Person Specification: Sales Personnel Essential Desirable Qualifications Degree level or equivalent education Post-graduate qualifications Experience Over 3 years experience in a similar position in a reputable organization Other experiences that exemplify appreciation for change Experience in dealing with the media and public relations Knowledge Knowledge of a foreign language Knowledge of other cultural practices Geographical knowledge General skills Customer handling Meeting deadlines and time consciousness Diplomacy Team player Ability to prioritize Ability to manage contracts and monitoring them Work skills Negotiation skills Management skills Marketing skills Communication with team members Research skills Ability to influence others √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Conclusion Catering for international customers is more complicated as compared to catering for domestic customers. The business in Stratford upon Avon will be inevitably faced with more complications than the one in Birmingham. This is because the composition of the population in Stratford is of many cultural, religious, social and economic backgrounds. Furthermore, the differences in the societies means that there may be language barriers, diet as well as fashion differences. Naturally, in order to ensure the success of the business, Bill Sykes, the owner of Prestige Presentations, will be required to invest more time and money in an attempt to build a successful business here. This will start by conducting a market research in order to understand its diversities. Furthermore, the marketing mix of the business will have to be varied depending on the type of customers that do visit the area. As the marketing techniques and the marketing mix changes, the management will have to contract people who are aware of these differences as its sales personnel. They will be required, among many other qualities to be able to communicate well with the customers, to be diplomatic, to possess knowledge on different cultures, religions, geographic locations, currencies among others and have a set of language skills which may involve knowledge of a foreign language References David, F. R. 1986. Fundamentals of Strategic Management. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ De Mooij, M. 1998. Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA Doyle, P. 1995. ‘Marketing in the new millennium’. European Journal of Marketing, 29(12), 23–41 Drucker, P. F. 1999. Management Challenges for the Twenty-first Century. Butterworth Heinemann, Woburn, MA Kandampully, J. & Duddy, R. 1999. ‘Competitive advantage through anticipation, innovation and relationships’. Management Decision, 37(1), 51–60 Mohamad, M. 2002. ‘Globalization: Challenges and Impact on Asia’, in Richter, F.-J. and Mar, P. C. M. 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