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Topic: Student Questions

Discuss The Principal Ways In Which The Marketing Mix Might Be Expected To Change As A Firm Shifts From A Domestic To An International Marketing Strategy

Posted by Anonymous on 5/31/2004 at 5:18 AM ET 250 Points
I am going to take final exam of marketing, but I cann't find the answer of it up to now. If anyone could give me specific answer, I will be very glad.
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  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 5/31/2004 at 9:12 AM Member
    1. Currency Exchange

    2. Shift to the most popular media in each country.

    3. Follow individual market trends. For example, a country without many TVs is probably not a good place to invest in commercials.

    4. Respect individual cultures (i.e. the Humor Ads in the US, EU, and AU may not be well received in Cambodia)

    These are just some simple, brief examples to get you thinking in the right direction. The rest you need to learn on your own.

    Good Luck!
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 5/31/2004 at 12:52 PM Accepted
    If I remembe my marketing textbooks correctly, the marketing mix is made up of product, price, place, and promotion. All can change when youshift from domestic only to an international strategy.

    Product - different countries have different needs, laws, etc. For example, if you sell a VCR in the US, it needs to meet US video format, be UL certified, and 110 volt. Sell to Europe, and it would need European video format, CE listed, and 230 volts. The consumers may also prefer different look and function, and there are language changes also.

    Price - pricing strategy can change due to ecomonies, different costs for countries, etc. If you import, then there are shipping and possible duty costs which would need to be covered. Mexico used to have duties on imported cars that would effectively cause their prices to double. India can't afford what we pay for laundry detergent, so the P&G products sold there sell at a much lower price.

    Place - how you sell also changes based on how the consumers shops. For many years, Japan's retail shops were small shops (no WalMarts) and there were many middle men between the supplier and the retailer - though this is changing recently.

    Promotion - how you market it would definitely change. At the minimum, you would need to translate ads/promotions and go through different channels/magazines/etc., and you probably need to change the content of the promotion to match the market (an ad showing women in bikinis would not be appropropriate in many muslin countries).
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 6/1/2004 at 1:42 AM Member
    As Peter advises, everything changes... The whole strategy needs to be reviewed per market geographic and demographic segment...

    Who will be the buyers in the new territory?
    What will they pay?
    How must we speak to them?
    How can we reach them -with a message, and with the product?

    Product must comply with local requirements for usability etc.

    Pricing will vary – as will cost structures. Take something a lot further and generally it costs more in freight. Plus different countries have sometimes nonsensical customs duties and taxes which may only be in place to protect their markets from foreign marketers.

    Distribution may be the area where there is most opportunity for change and variance: Companies often do not wish to replicate their domestic logistics and management structures so instead of owning their distribution channel they may choose to outsource it to an agent or distribution franchise. This may have cost advantages over setting up a subsidiary and with all the risk that entails this may be a far less risky proposition. Then if their product takes off in the new market they can always maximize their profits by setting up a subsidiary or else by buying out the agent.

    Promotions have to be attuned to the local market – for a start they will need to be translated for language and cultural mores, but even then there are some things that do not translate at all and most companies either leave the communications to their agent or else hire a local advertising agency to review the overseas concepts and come up with a localized, or completely new, version.


    Hope this helps, good luck with the exams.
  • Posted by jcmedinave on 6/1/2004 at 11:09 AM Member
    The environment differences (Regulations, opportunities, Tax, local protections, intellectual property,...), the Competition (development, innovation, costs, differences, local image, confrontation, structure,...), and The type of Customers (needs, satisfaction level, special characteristics, income level, loyalty, maturity of market,...) push you to change your Marketing Mix or to emphasize more in one or other topic.

    Bye,

    Juan Carlos
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